• Best Editor For Python Programming
• Best Code Editor For Javascript
• Best Code Editor For Python
• Best Code Editor For Python Mac Install

SPONSORS DevMountain Coding Bootcamp.Tech domains Use Coupon Code - HISPERT18 - at checkout Get a domain: $4. Skip navigation Sign in.

Best Text Editors For Linux| 2018 Edition Without further delay, let’s start our list of the most impressive, feature-rich, and useful source code editors for Linux: 10. After trying multiple editors and IDE’s in my last 12 years coding with python, I found Vim to be my best buddy. It works everywhere! (not just mac) Trust me today you are coding on Mac and tomorrow you might have to code and run debugger on some other environment. If you learn to use Vim, platform and environment would never matter.

I'm about to start a new job where the coding practices are heavily centered around TDD and refactoring, and whose primary development language is Python. I come from the Java world, and have been a confident user of Eclipse for a good, long time. When not working in Java, I use emacs.

I'm looking for an IDE for Python that will give me a lot of the capabilities I've grown used to with Eclipse, not only for refactoring but in terms of code completion, project management, SCM integration (currently CVS, but likely to switch to git one of these days) et al.

What IDE should I use?

Dave HillierChris RChris R

closed as off-topic by l4mpi, jb., Dismissile, Afzaal Ahmad Zeeshan, LarsTechMay 21 '14 at 14:07

This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:

• 'Questions asking us to recommend or find a tool, library or favorite off-site resource are off-topic for Stack Overflow as they tend to attract opinionated answers and spam. Instead, describe the problem and what has been done so far to solve it.' – l4mpi, jb., Dismissile

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

22 Answers

Have tried many different (Kate, Eclipse, Scite, Vim, Komodo): each one have some glitches, either limited functions, or slow and unresponsive. Final choice after many years: Emacs + ropemacs + flymake. Rope project file open dialog is extremely quick. Rope refactoring and code assist functions are super helpful. Flymake shows syntax mistakes. Emacs is the most configurable editor. I am very happy with this config. Python related part of config is here: public.halogen-dg.com browser/alex-emacs-settings/configs/cfg_python.el

My 2 pennies, check out PyCharmhttp://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/

(also multi-platform)

TimTim

I use TextMate for all my Python programming needs. It's not an IDE per se, but it does a lot of stuff that an IDE does (without all the cruft of an IDE). It has syntax highlighting, code folding, integration with various SCMs through the use of additional bundles (I know it supports SVN, Git, Mercurial, Darcs, and probably a few others). It's also quite extensible and customizable (again, through the use of bundles). It also has a basic concept of projects. One place where it doesn't shine, though, is in code completion; some bundles have limited support for code completion, but it's generally not as amazing as that of most language-specific IDEs. Given how awesome TextMate is, though, I don't know sacrificing that. TextMate's definitely made me much more productive.

mipadimipadi

Pydev for Eclipse, as others have mentioned, is good.

Netbeans has a beta Python plugin that is a little rough around the edges, but could turn into something really cool.

Additionally there is a long list of programming centric text editors for the mac, that may or may not fit your needs.

• Textmate - costs money, people love this program, but I haven't used it enough to see what all the fuss is about.
• Jedit - Java based text editor, has some nice features, but the startup time isn't great (due to Java).
• CarbonEmacs - Decent Emacs port.
• AquaEmacs - Better Emacs port.
• TextWrangler - Lite, free (as in beer) verision of BBEdit.
• BBEdit - The old guard. The defacto editor before Textmate stole its limelight. Expensive.
• Smultron - Very nice editor, the UI is similar to Textmate.
• Idle - Python's own little editor, has some nice features, but also some major problems. I've personally found it too unstable for my usage.
• Sublime Text - This is really sweet text editor that has some surprisingly good Python support.
• Pycharm - Another solid full on IDE for Python.

zekelJames McMahonJames McMahon

Eclipse with Pydev works best for me on any platform.

ismailismail

I really enjoy using PyCharm. http://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/

I usually use either komodo edit or aquamacs with ropemacs. Although I should warn you, IDE features won't be what you're used to if you're coming from a Java or C# background. I personally find that powerful IDEs get in my way more than they help.

UPDATE: I should also point out that if you have the money Komodo IDE is worth it. It's the paid version of Komodo Edit.

Jason BakerJason Baker

I like Spyder, it has many tools, such as profiling, intelligent indentation helper and a good autocompletion support

linellolinello

If you have a budget for your IDE, you should give Wingware Professional a try, see wingware.com .

Alex MartelliAlex Martelli

I've used WingIDE and have been very happy. Intellisense is pretty good, some other things are a bit wacky but overall it's a very productive tool

jeanjean

If you are looking for an interactive environment and not needing to code modules, I would suggest IPython. Though this is developed with scientists/statisticians in mind, it will run just as well without any of the scientific packages installed. The features are powerful, with code completion, integrated help, integrated debugging, etc., and it functions as a notebook with Markdown and MathJax integration. By far the best choice for those that need powerful features without wishing to load megabytes of GUI into RAM--since it is browser based, it is used in your always loaded chrome/safari instance. ;-)

DallasDallas

Eclipse PyDev plugin.

jbaskojbasko

since you are familiar with Eclipse maybe you are interested in Pydev

KonstantinosKonstantinos

Python support on netbeans is surprisingly good, and comes with most of the features you're looking for.

TextMate or Panic's Coda. NetBeans works very well, if you want a full-blown kitchen sink IDE.

I've searched on Google for an app like this for a while, and I've found only options with heavy and ugly interfaces.

Then I opened Mac App Store and found CodeRunner. Very nice and clean interface. Support many languages like Python, Lua, Perl, Ruby, Javascript, etc. The price is U$10, but it's worth it!

Jan K. S.Jan K. S.

'Which editor/IDE for ...?' is a longstanding way to start a 'My dog is too prettier than yours!' slapfest. Nowadays most editors from vim upwards can be used, there are multiple good alternatives, and even IDEs that started as C or Java tools work pretty well with Python and other dynamic languages.

That said, having tried a bunch of IDEs (Eclipse, NetBeans, XCode, Komodo, PyCharm, ...), I am a fan of ActiveState's Komodo IDE. I use it on Mac OS X primarily, though I've used it for years on Windows as well. The one license follows you to any platform.

Komodo is well-integrated with popular ActiveState builds of the languages themselves (esp. for Windows), works well with the fabulous (and Pythonic) Mercurial change management system (among others), and has good-to-excellent abilities for core tasks like code editing, syntax coloring, code completion, real-time syntax checking, and visual debugging. It is a little weak when it comes to pre-integrated refactoring and code-check tools (e.g. rope, pylint), but it is extensible and has a good facility for integrating external and custom tools.

Some of the things I like about Komodo go beyond the write-run-debug loop. ActiveState has long supported the development community (e.g. with free language builds, package repositories, a recipes site, ...), since before dynamic languages were the trend. The base Komodo Edit editor is free and open source, an extension of Mozilla's Firefox technologies. And Komodo is multi-lingual. I never end up doing just Python, just Perl, or just whatever. Komodo works with the core language (Python, Perl, Ruby, PHP, JavaScript) alongside supporting languages (XML, XSLT, SQL, X/HTML, CSS), non-dynamic languages (Java, C, etc.), and helpers (Makefiles, INI and config files, shell scripts, custom little languages, etc.) Others can do that too, but Komodo puts them all in once place, ready to go. It's a Swiss Army Knife for dynamic languages. (This is contra PyCharm, e.g., which is great itself, but I'd need like a half-dozen of JetBrains' individual IDEs to cover all the things I do).

Komodo IDE is by no means perfect, and editors/IDEs are the ultimate YMMV choice. But I am regularly delighted to use it, and every year I re-up my support subscription quite happily. Indeed, I just remembered! That's coming up this month. Credit card: Out. I have no commercial connection to ActiveState--just a happy customer.

Jonathan EuniceJonathan Eunice

You might want to look into Eclim, an Eclipse server that allows you to use Eclipse functionality from within your favorite text editor. For python-related functionality, it uses Rope, PyFlakes, and PyLint under the hood.

mindthiefmindthief

I've been using an Evaluation copy of Sublime Text. What's good is it doesn't really expire.

It's been good so far and was really easy to get started with.

Sagar HatekarSagar Hatekar

I may be a little late for this, but I would recommend Aptana Studio 3.x . Its a based on eclipse and has everything ready-to-go for python. It has very good support for DJango, HTML5 and JQuery. For me its a perfect web-development tool. I do HTML5 and Android development too, this way I do not need to keep switching different IDE's. It my all-in-one solution.

Note: you need a good amount of RAM for this to be snazzy !! 4+ GB is awesome !!

Freakyuser

Visual Studio Code + Official Python Plugin

Here you see an overview of its current Python features:

Chocolat

It's lightweight and offers Code Completion. Costs money.

EDIT:Apparently Chocolat was an interesting option in 2013 but since then many others came up and development stalled. Nowadays I recommend Visual Studio Code + Python Plugin.

BijanBijan

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged pythonmacoside or ask your own question.

We have evaluated over 20 free HTML editors for Macintosh against over 40 different criteria relevant to professional web designers and developers. The following applications are the best free HTML editors for Macintosh, both WYSIWYG and text editors, rated from best to worst. Each editor listed will have a score, percentage, and a link to more information.

Best Value: Komodo Edit

What We Like

• Lots of add-ons available.

• Built-in FTP client.

• Auto-complete and syntax checking features.

What We Don't Like

• Slow to load.

• Feels cluttered.

• Difficult to install color schemes.

Komodo Edit is hands down the best free XML editor available. It includes a lot of great features for HTML and CSS development. Plus, if that isn't enough, you can get extensions for it to add on languages or other helpful features (like special characters).

Komodo Edit is not the best HTML editor out there, but it is great for the price, especially if you build in XML. I use Komodo Edit every day for my work in XML, and I use it a lot for basic HTML editing as well. This is one editor I'd be lost without.

There are two versions of Komodo: Komodo Edit and Komodo IDE.

Best for JavaScript Developers: Aptana Studio

What We Like

• Integrated debugger.

• Build-in Code Assist feature for tags.

• Built-in terminal emulator.

What We Don't Like

• No longer in development.

• Minimal support for PHP.

• Some dependencies.

Aptana Studio offers an interesting take on website development. Instead of focusing on HTML, Aptana focuses on the JavaScript and other elements that allow you to create rich internet applications.

One thing I really like is the outline view that makes it really easy to visualize the document object model (DOM). This makes for easier CSS and JavaScript development.

If you are a developer creating web applications, Aptana Studio is a good choice.

A Full Featured Java IDE: NetBeans

What We Like

• Version 9.0 released by Apache after acquisition.

• Supports the Jigsaw Module system.

• Supports Java Shell, new in JDK 9.

What We Don't Like

• Needs high-memory computer to run quickly.

• Not many plug-ins.

• Auto-completion is buggy.

NetBeans IDE is a Java IDE that can help you build robust web applications. Like most IDEs, it has a steep learning curve because they don’t often work in the same way that web editors do. But once you get used to it you’ll be hooked.

One nice feature is the version control included in the IDE which is really useful for people working in large development environments. If you write Java and web pages this is a great tool.

Best for LAMP Developers: Bluefish

What We Like

• Auto-completion and auto-tag closing.

• Powerful search and replace.

• Quick to start and load files.

What We Don't Like

• Not for novice programmers.

• User interface looks intimidating.

• Too many tabs and toolbars.

Bluefish is a full-featured web editor for Linux. There are also native executables for Windows and Macintosh. There is code-sensitive spell check, autocomplete of many different languages (HTML, PHP, CSS, etc.), snippets, project management, and auto-save.

It is primarily a code editor, not specifically a web editor. This means that it has a lot of flexibility for web developers writing in more than just HTML, but if you’re a designer by nature you might not like it as much.

A Powerful Multi-Language IDE: Eclipse

What We Like

• Robust debugging and profiling profile.

• Code-completion feature.

• Fast deployment and implementation.

What We Don't Like

• Slow when working with large files.

• Not recommended for large businesses.

• Steep learning curve for novice programmers.

Eclipse is a complex, Open Source development environment that is perfect for people who do a lot of coding on a variety of platforms and with different languages.

Eclipse is structured as plug-ins, so if you need to edit something just find the appropriate plug-in and go.

If you are creating complex web applications, Eclipse has a lot of features to help make your application easier to build. There are Java, JavaScript, and PHP plugins, as well as a plugin for mobile developers.

A Swiss Army Knife IDE from Mozilla: SeaMonkey

What We Like

• Tabs for WISIWYG editing, HTML tags, HTML code, and browser views.

• Suitable for building simple, basic websites.

What We Don't Like

• Composer element no longer being maintained.

• Generates HTML 4.01 Transitional code.

SeaMonkey is the Mozilla project all-in-one internet application suite. It includes a web browser, email and newsgroup client, IRC chat client, and Composer, the web page editor.

One of the nice things about using SeaMonkey is that the browser is built-in, so testing is a breeze. Plus it's a free WYSIWYG editor with an embedded FTP client to publish your web pages.

Best Editor For Python Programming

A Basic HTML Writer: Amaya

What We Like

• Useful for up to HTML 4.01.

• Supports SVG and MathML.

What We Don't Like

• Last updated in 2012.

• No longer in development.

Amaya is the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) web editor and web browser. It validates the HTML as you build your page and displays your Web documents in a tree structure, which is useful for learning to understand the DOM.

Amaya has a lot of features that most web designers won’t ever use, but if you want to be certain that your pages follow the W3C standards, this is a great editor to use.

Straightforward and Stable: BBEdit 12

What We Like

• Supports HTML5.

• Opens large files.

• Great customer support.

• Rock-solid software.

Best Code Editor For Javascript

What We Don't Like

• Advanced features require paid version after 30-day free trial.

• Must search menus for features and options.

Best Code Editor For Python

BBEdit is a paid program that has a set of free capabilities (the same capabilities that the now-defunct TextWranger had. While Bare Bones Software, the makers of BBEdit do offer a paid version, you may find the free version does everything you need. You can review a feature comparison here.

Note

Best Code Editor For Python Mac Install

If you're using TextWrangler, it is not compatible with macOS 10.13 (High Sierra). However, the free (and paid) version of BBEdit is.