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    LiteXL, a Modern Code Editor written in Lua

    Typing is lighter and the look is very pleasant!

    LiteXL, a Modern Code Editor written in Lua

    Lite XL is a modern code editor written in Lua and C Language with a very elegant design.

    It is a fork of Lite, but Lite has not had new commits for a long time, which is why LiteXL was created.

    I did some tests and found it pleasant to type (I even wrote this post on it) and it has a very light interface.

    In this article we will see how to install and get started with LiteXL.

    Installation

    It can be installed in several ways:

    • use your operating system’s package manager;
    • compile from scratch (that’s how I installed it);
    • download the pre-compiled binary in compressed format, unzip and run and/or install.

    If you want to use a package manager:

    choco install lite-xl # chocolatey
scoop bucket add extras && scoop install lite-xl # scoop
sudo port install lite-xl # macports
yay -S lite-xl # AUR
nix-env -i lite-xl # nixos
sudo dnf install lite-xl # fedora

    To download pre-compiled binaries you can download directly from the releases page.

    To compile from scratch, make sure you have the build tools first: GCC, Git, Meson and Ninja.

    Then just run the commands below in order:

    Example in Distros GNU/Linux:

    git clone https://github.com/lite-xl/lite-xl
cd lite-xl
meson setup --buildtype=release --prefix /opt build
meson compile -C build
DESTDIR="$(pwd)/lite-xl" meson install --skip-subprojects -C build
sudo mkdir -p /opt/lite-xl
sudo mv ./lite-xl/opt/* /opt/lite-xl/
sudo ln -s /opt/lite-xl/bin/lite-xl /usr/local/bin/lite-xl

    Then remove the cloned repository: cd .. && rm -rf lite-xl/

    Create an icon to easily access the dashboard:

    sudo vim /usr/share/applications/com.lite_xl.LiteXL.desktop

    Add the content below:

    [Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=Lite XL
Comment=A lightweight text editor written in Lua
Exec=lite-xl %F
Icon=/opt/lite-xl/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps/lite-xl.svg
Terminal=false
StartupWMClass=lite-xl
Categories=Development;IDE;
MimeType=text/plain;inode/directory;

    Update the icon display

    xdg-desktop-menu forceupdate

    After that, just look for your system’s Dashboard and open it!

    Usage

    Some shortcuts are similar to other editors and IDEs, examples:

    • Ctrl + o - Opens a file, detail: There is no drop-down window, an input appears at the bottom of the Editor and you need to type the file path.
    • Ctrl + s - Saves a file
    • Ctrl + z - Undo an operation
    • Ctrl + y - Redo an operation

    And among others.

    The configuration file is in the path:

    lite-xl ~/.config/lite-xl/init.lua

    The file has several comments that intuitively help you self-configure it, for example:

    Change the font and size:

    Example:

    style.font = renderer.font.load("/home/[USER]/.local/share/fonts/JetBrainsMono-Medium.ttf", 16 * SCALE)

    Note: Replace [USER] with your user name! You need to remove the DATADIR and the concatenation, in addition to putting the full path, that is, do not use SHELL variables or shortcuts: ~.

    There are several plugins that you can add that serve: Auto-complete, LSP, Snnipets, ColorScheme,…

    And it can be purchased at the following addresses:

    For more information, documentation, tutorials and tips, access the links:

    lua clanguage

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