Kakoune

Active

Country: France (FR)
Founded: 2011
Developer: Maxime Coste
Pricing: Free (open-source)
Open source: Yes
Platforms: Linux, macOS, BSD

Indexes

Code Editors/IDEs

Overview

Kakoune is a modal code editor inspired by Vim that implements a 'select first, then act' editing model rather than Vim's traditional 'act then select' approach. It emphasizes interactivity, multiple selections as a core feature, and predictable behavior with immediate visual feedback. Kakoune targets developers seeking an efficient, scriptable text editor with a cleaner grammar than Vim while maintaining competitive keystroke efficiency.

Key Features

Multiple Selections - Central editing paradigm allowing simultaneous manipulation of multiple text ranges with powerful selection primitives.
Modal Editing - Normal and insertion modes for efficient text manipulation using keyboard-driven commands.
Regex-Based Selection - Select all regex matches, filter selections, and split selections using regular expressions with incremental visual feedback.
Client-Server Architecture - Multiple clients can connect to the same editing session, enabling collaborative editing and session persistence.
Contextual Help - Automatic, context-aware help system that provides immediate assistance during editing.
Syntax Highlighting - Support for syntax highlighting across multiple programming languages.
External Program Integration - Simple interaction with external programs and shell commands through fifo buffers for asynchronous tasks.
As-You-Type Completion - Real-time code completion suggestions as text is entered.

Pricing

Plan	Price	Includes
Free	$0	Full access to all features, open-source code available on GitHub

Platforms & Requirements

Kakoune runs on Linux, macOS, and BSD systems. It operates in terminal environments and can be managed through tmux, zellij, kitty, wezterm, or X11/Wayland window managers. No native GUI is provided; it is a terminal-based editor with no official Windows support.

Integrations & Ecosystem

tmux
zellij
kitty
wezterm
X11/Wayland window managers
fzf (fuzzy finder plugin)
kak-lsp (Language Server Protocol support)
grep integration

Alternatives

App	Difference
Vim	Vim uses 'act then select' grammar; Kakoune inverts this to 'select then act' for more intuitive interaction and immediate visual feedback.
Neovim	Neovim is a Vim fork with modern plugin architecture; Kakoune offers a fundamentally different editing model with multiple selections as primary feature.
Helix	Helix is a modern modal editor with built-in LSP support and a similar 'select then act' model but with different command structure and design philosophy.
Emacs	Emacs is a highly extensible editor with different modal paradigms; Kakoune focuses on modal efficiency and multiple selections over Emacs' command-based approach.

Reputation

Kakoune is respected in the developer community for its innovative 'select first, then act' editing model and strong focus on interactivity and visual feedback. It is praised for being more intuitive than Vim while maintaining competitive efficiency and offering a cleaner, more orthogonal design. However, adoption remains niche due to limited platform support (Unix-like systems only), smaller ecosystem compared to Vim/Neovim, and a steeper learning curve for those unfamiliar with modal editors. The project maintains active development and has a dedicated community, though it lacks some modern IDE features like integrated debugging.

Sources (7)