Microsoft launched “Edit,” a new command-line text editor at Build 2025, embracing open-source principles through GitHub availability. This spiritual successor to MS-DOS Editor fills a gap for Windows developers, featuring mouse support and toggleable word wrap without the complexity of Vim. Community reactions have been mixed—some appreciate the default option while others question reinventing the wheel. The move represents Microsoft’s evolving relationship with open source, alongside updates to WinGet, PowerToys, and Terminal. There’s more to this developer ecosystem shift than meets the eye.
Microsoft has finally scratched a long-standing itch for Windows developers with the announcement of “Edit” at Build 2025. The new command-line text editor, revealed on May 19, fills a notable gap in Windows’ native developer tooling that has existed since the shift to 64-bit systems.
Remember the good old MS-DOS Editor? Well, this is its spiritual successor, but with a modern twist.
For years, Windows developers have been forced to either install third-party solutions or awkwardly context-switch between applications whenever they needed to edit text files. Now they can simply stay in the command line—where developers practically live these days—and edit away.
Stay in the command line where you belong. Edit has finally freed Windows developers from their third-party shackles.
What’s particularly interesting isn’t just the tool itself, but Microsoft‘s approach. They’ve open-sourced Edit on GitHub, continuing their surprisingly enthusiastic embrace of open-source principles.
Who would have thought the company once known for calling Linux “a cancer” would now be releasing open-source tools left and right?
The technical implementation is invigoratingly straightforward. Edit requires Rust and Visual Studio C++ build tools for installation, and includes mouse support, standard menus, and toggleable word wrap. Edit’s support for keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl + O makes file operations accessible and intuitive for most users.
It’s deliberately “modeless,” avoiding the steep learning curve of editors like Vim where you need to remember if you’re in insert mode, command mode, or some mystical third state.
Edit wasn’t developed in isolation, either. Microsoft announced various improvements to Windows developer tools at Build 2025, including updates to WinGet, PowerToys, Terminal, and even plans to open-source Windows Subsystem for Linux.
Community response has been predictably mixed. Some developers welcome having any default editor at all, while others are rolling their eyes at Microsoft “reinventing the wheel” when perfectly good solutions already exist.
The new command-line editor is expected to enhance developer efficiency by allowing direct editing of files without switching applications, streamlining the workflow for Windows developers.
Whether Edit becomes a beloved tool or just another curious software footnote remains to be seen.
But one thing’s clear—Microsoft’s developer strategy continues to evolve in directions that would have seemed impossible just a decade ago.
