# Notepad++: A Windows Source Editor That Is Still Getting Releases > Notepad++ is a GPL-licensed Windows text and source code editor built on Scintilla, with a portable mode and a plugin ecosystem. The repository is active, but the README is thin on install and usage, so most of what you need lives in the official site and the build guide. **notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus** — Notepad++ official repository - Repository: https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus - Website: https://notepad-plus-plus.org/ - Stars: 29,431 · Forks: 5,378 - Language: C++ - License: NOASSERTION - Published: 2026-09-21 · Updated: 2026-09-21 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/notepad-plus-plus-notepad-plus-plus ## What Notepad++ replaces, and for whom Notepad++ describes itself as a free source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several programming languages and natural languages. The target is the Windows user who needs more than the built-in Notepad but does not want a full IDE. It sits in the middle: syntax highlighting and multi-document editing without a project model, a build system or a language server. The repository name is notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus, and the topics list editor, notepad, notepad-official and windows. That last topic is the boundary. The README states the editor runs in the MS Windows environment, and the supported systems document is the place to check whether your particular Windows version is covered. If you are searching for Notepad++ for Mac, Linux or Android, the repository does not offer those builds. The related searches show people ask for all three, which suggests the gap is persistent rather than temporary. The licence is listed as NOASSERTION in the repository metadata, but the README is explicit: use is governed by the GPL License, and the project calls itself free in both the speech and beer senses. That combination matters for anyone embedding or redistributing it. ## Scintilla, Lexilla and the PowerEditor directory The top level of the repository is the clearest description of the architecture. Three directories sit alongside the application code: scintilla/, lexilla/ and boostregex/. Scintilla is the editing component that handles text buffer management and rendering; Lexilla supplies the lexers that turn source text into highlighted tokens; boostregex backs regular expression search. PowerEditor/ is where the application itself lives, and the README points to BUILD.md for compiling it. This layout tells you something about the project's shape. The editor is assembled from components that have their own upstreams, so a Notepad++ release is partly a decision about which Scintilla and Lexilla revisions to pull in. It also means a bug in highlighting may belong to a lexer rather than to the editor, which changes where a report should go. The build tooling is visible too: appveyor.yml sits at the top level, and the README badge references a GitHub Actions workflow at .github/workflows/CI_build.yml. Two CI systems for one Windows-only application is a maintenance cost the project has chosen to carry, and it is worth knowing before you assume a single pipeline gates every release. ## Installing Notepad++ and a first real use The repository README does not contain installation steps. It says to see the Notepad++ official site for more information, and the related searches confirm that download is what people look for. So the honest answer is: get the installer from the official site, not from a mirror, and check the signature. Since version 7.6.5, releases are signed with GPG. The README gives the key material, and the public key file nppGpgPub.asc is in the repository. The README does not print a command for importing it, so the check is a comparison you perform yourself: the key ID is 0x8D84F46E and the fingerprint is 14BC E436 2749 B2B5 1F8C 7122 6C42 9F1D 8D84 F46E. It is an RSA 4096/4096 key created on 2019-03-11 that expires on 2027-03-13, signed as Notepad++ with the address don.h@free.fr. If the fingerprint you see does not match that string, stop. The related searches include a portable variant, and the repository does not document how that package is assembled, so treat the installer and the portable archive as two separate things to verify rather than assuming one implies the other. For building from source instead, the README defers entirely to BUILD.md, which is the file to read before starting. The repository does not state a supported compiler version in the README, so the build guide is the only place that answer can come from. ## Where Notepad++ is the wrong tool The Windows-only constraint is the largest limitation, and it is not a temporary one. The README frames the application as running in the MS Windows environment, and the supported systems document exists precisely because some users cannot or do not want to move to the newest Windows. There is no cross-platform build in this repository. The second limitation is structural. Notepad++ is a text editor, not an IDE. There is no project model, no integrated debugger and no language server protocol client described in the README. If your work depends on refactoring across a codebase, go-to-definition or a test runner inside the editor, this is not the tool, and the plugin ecosystem is the only place that could change the answer. The third is documentation scope. The README is short by design. It covers what the project is, the GPG key, supported systems, the build guide and contribution rules. It does not document rollback between versions, migration of settings, or what happens to your configuration when you move between a portable and an installed copy. If those details matter to you, the README is silent and you should look at the official site and the community forum instead. ## Notepad Next and the cross-platform alternative The related searches surface Notepad Next, and the comparison is straightforward. Notepad Next is a separate project that reimplements a Notepad++-style editor with cross-platform ambitions. The difference in approach is not cosmetic: Notepad++ is a C++ application assembled from Scintilla, Lexilla and boostregex and built for Windows, while an alternative that targets multiple platforms has to make different choices about the editing component and the UI toolkit. That matters for the decision. Choosing Notepad++ means accepting the Windows boundary in exchange for a mature component stack and a long release history. Choosing a cross-platform reimplementation means accepting a different maturity curve and a different set of lexers and plugins. The searches for Notepad++ for Mac, Linux and Android are effectively people running into this fork in the road. A second comparison point is the online option that also appears in the searches. A browser-based notepad has no install and no GPG key to verify, but it also has no local file access in the same sense and no plugin directory. The two solve overlapping but not identical problems. ## Release cadence, maintenance and upgrade cost The repository is not archived, and the last push was on 2026-09-19. Recent releases are v8.9.8 on 2026-08-23, v8.9.7 on 2026-07-14 and v8.9.6.4 on 2026-06-03. That is a steady cadence across the summer, with patch-level releases appearing between minor ones. The upgrade cost is low on the surface and slightly higher underneath. Because the editor bundles Scintilla and Lexilla, a release can change highlighting behaviour for a language you depend on, and the release notes are the only place that would say so. The repository does not document a downgrade path, so if you pin a version for a team, keep the installer you validated rather than assuming you can fetch it again later. The GPG key has an expiry date of 2027-03-13, which is a concrete thing to watch. When that date passes, releases signed with the same key will need a new key or an extension, and your verification check will fail closed. That is the correct behaviour, but it is also a scheduled piece of maintenance for anyone who automates signature checks. On licence, the README states GPL and the repository metadata says NOASSERTION. That mismatch is worth resolving with your own legal review if you plan to redistribute a modified build; this article cannot give you that answer. ## Conclusion Adopt Notepad++ if you work on Windows and want a GPL-licensed editor that opens instantly and handles large plain-text files, with a portable build for locked-down machines. Do not adopt it if you need macOS, Linux or Android, and do not expect the repository README to teach you the editor; it points to the official site and BUILD.md instead. Verify first that your Windows version appears in SUPPORTED_SYSTEM.md, then check the GPG signature on the release you download against key 0x8D84F46E before installing. ## FAQ ### Is Notepad++ still developed? Yes. The repository is not archived, the last push was on 2026-09-19, and releases shipped in June, July and August 2026. The most recent listed release is v8.9.8 from 2026-08-23. ### How do I install Notepad++? The repository README does not give install steps; it directs you to the official site for more information. Since version 7.6.5 releases are GPG-signed, and the public key is in the repository as nppGpgPub.asc with key ID 0x8D84F46E. ### How do I open Notepad++? The README covers the repository, not the runtime user interface, so it does not describe launching the application. What it does say is that Notepad++ runs in the MS Windows environment and that the supported systems document lists which Windows versions are covered. ### How do I install Notepad++ in Ubuntu? You cannot from this repository. The README states Notepad++ runs in the MS Windows environment, and the topics list windows, so there is no Linux build here. ## Sources - [Issues](https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/issues) - [notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus on GitHub](https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus) - [Project website](https://notepad-plus-plus.org/) - [README](https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/blob/master/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/releases) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/notepad-plus-plus-notepad-plus-plus