10+ useful online code editors

As a developer, your main tool is obviously those that will allow you to turn your ideas into code: A text editor. As time go by, more online text editors are created that can help you code from any computer with internet access. In this article, let’s have a look at 10+ useful online
code editors.

Amy Editor

Created in 2007 by Petr Krontorád, Amy Editor is an advanced editor with a look and feel of a Mac. Amy Editor features lots of useful options, such as line numbers, syntax highlighting, snippets for more than 20 languages, collaboration, and more.
Amy can edit, save and export files. It can also manage projects.

» http://www.amyeditor.com/

JSBin

As you can guess, JSBin is an online text editor primarily focused on Javascript. I really love the clean and simple interface. Each code can be tested using a powerful “Preview” feature, and then exported into a text file.
Another good thing to note is that JSBin can import popular Javascript frameworks such as jQuery or Mootools, so you can test your js plugins as well.

» http://jsbin.com/

Bespin

Using HTML5 quite intensively, Bespin is a new project from Mozilla Labs. This online editor is very powerful and has lots of cool options. In order to use Bespin, you have to create an account. Note that Bespin can be downloaded and then embedded in any kind of web project, only by adding two files in your header!

» https://bespin.mozilla.com/

Kodingen

Kodingen is another great online editor, probably one of the most powerful tool on this whole list. It can be used unregistered or you can create an account to

use advanced functions as such as SVN repositories, collaborative work, etc.
This editor features templates for most programming languages, syntax highlighting, line numbering and more. A must!

» http://kodingen.com/

EditPad

Unlike the first few editors featured in this post, EditPad is simple and minimal. No syntax highlighting, no project management…Just a plain page to type your text without any distractions. I’m not a big fan, but this “online notepad” can be a life saver on a particularly slow machine.

» http://www.editpad.org/

TypeIt

TypeIt isn’t a code editor and I hesitated to feature it in this post. This handy tool helps you to access special characters such as French accents, like a visual keyboard does. Definitely a site to have in your bookmarks if you’re often working on multi-language sites.

» http://www.typeit.org/

PractiCode

PractiCode is a very basic code editor. It has very limited functions (Handles CSS, HTML and VbScript) but it is perfect to make quick and dirty code.

» http://www.landofcode.com/online-code-editor.php

9ne

9ne (Pronounced Nine) is a nice online text editor, based on the well known GNU Emacs. 9ne provides most of the basic Emacs functionalities and currently supports XML and Javascript syntax highlighting modes.

» http://robrohan.com/projects/9ne/

jsvi

Vi has always been one of my favorite text editors of all times. Why? Because it is powerful, fast, and you’ll find it everywhere: GNU/linux distros, Mac, web servers… Now, you’ll also find Vi online with this implementation called JSVI. Most Vi functions have been implemented into this web-based version.

» http://gpl.internetconnection.net/vi/

HTMLedit

As the name says, HTMLedit is a (very basic) HTML editor that can be used for quick and dirty coding. However, its interest is limited, particularly if compared to most other items from this list.

» http://htmledit.squarefree.com/

DarkCopy

Have you ever felt distracted when working on a buggy piece of code? If yes, there’s no doubt that you will enjoy DarkCopy. This simple online text editor has limited functions but it provides a dark, clutter-free environment so you can concentrate on the most important: getting things done.

» http://darkcopy.com/

SimpleText

SimpleText.ws may have a cool retro Apple look, but it is also a powerful tool that allows you to create, edit, and save plain text files in your web browser. Another good point of SimpleText is that you can host it yourself if you want, using Google Apps Engine. This guide will show you how to do.

» http://www.simpletext.ws/