Nox Editor

A terminal-based text editor written in Rust, featuring syntax highlighting, toast notifications, and a modern user interface.

Features

• Terminal-based Interface: Full-screen text editing experience in your terminal
• Syntax Highlighting: Powered by the syntect library for beautiful code highlighting
• Toast Notifications: Real-time feedback with color-coded notifications (Info, Success, Warning, Error)
• File Operations:
  • Open existing files or start with a new untitled document
  • Save files with Ctrl+S
  • Save As functionality with Alt+S
• Input Handling:
  • Interactive input prompts for file operations
  • Support for standard text editing operations (insert, delete, newline, tab)
• Responsive UI: Adapts to terminal size with proper layout management

Installation

Quick Installation (Recommended)

Use our automated installation script for the easiest setup:

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Tony-ArtZ/nox-editor/main/install.sh | bash

Or if you prefer to download and inspect the script first:

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Tony-ArtZ/nox-editor/main/install.sh -o install.sh
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

Troubleshooting Installation:

If you encounter issues, try these options:

# For debug output
DEBUG=1 curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Tony-ArtZ/nox-editor/main/install.sh | bash

# For interactive mode (choose installation directory)
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Tony-ArtZ/nox-editor/main/install.sh -o install.sh
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh --interactive

The installation script will:

• ✅ Check and install Rust automatically if needed
• ✅ Clone the repository and build the project
• ✅ Install the binary to your chosen location
• ✅ Provide setup instructions for your PATH

Manual Installation

Prerequisites

• Rust (latest stable version)
• Unix-like operating system (Linux, macOS)
• Git

Building from Source

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Tony-ArtZ/nox-editor.git
cd nox-editor

2. Build the project:

cargo build --release

3. Install the binary (optional):

# Install to ~/.local/bin (make sure it's in your PATH)
cp target/release/nox-editor ~/.local/bin/

# Or install system-wide (requires sudo)
sudo cp target/release/nox-editor /usr/local/bin/

4. Run the editor:

nox-editor [filename]

Usage

Starting the Editor

# Open a new untitled file
nox-editor

# Open an existing file
nox-editor /path/to/your/file.txt

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key Combination	Action
Arrow Keys	Navigate cursor (Up, Down, Left, Right)
Ctrl+S	Save current file
Alt+S	Save As (prompts for new filename)
Ctrl+Q	Quit editor
Enter	New line
Tab	Insert tab character
Backspace/Delete	Delete character
Ctrl+O	Open File Browser

Interface Components

• Title Bar: Displays the editor name and current file
• Content Area: Main editing area with syntax highlighting
• Status Bar: Shows cursor position and file information
• Toast Notifications: Temporary messages for user feedback
• Input Prompts: Interactive dialogs for file operations
• File Browser: Browse and open files

Dependencies

• termios: Terminal I/O control
• libc: System interface
• syntect: Syntax highlighting engine
• lazy_static: Global static initialization

Architecture

The editor is organized into several modules:

• main.rs: Entry point and main event loop
• lib.rs: Core data structures (Buffer, FileManager, Toast system)
• renderer/: UI rendering and display logic
• fm/: File management operations
• utils/: Terminal utilities and color management

Key Components

• FileManager: Central component managing the editing session
• Buffer: Text data storage and manipulation
• InputHandler: Manages user input modes and prompts
• Toast System: Notification management with automatic expiration
• Renderer: Terminal UI rendering with syntax highlighting

Development

Project Structure

src/
├── main.rs           # Main application entry point
├── lib.rs           # Core library with data structures
├── fm/              # File management
│   └── mod.rs
├── renderer/        # UI rendering
│   └── mod.rs
└── utils/           # Utilities
    ├── mod.rs       # Terminal utilities
    └── colors.rs    # Color definitions

Building for Development

# Run in development mode
cargo run

# Run with a specific file
cargo run -- example.txt

# Build optimized release
cargo build --release

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

License

This project is open source. Please refer to the LICENSE file for details.

Roadmap

• Undo/Redo functionality
• Multiple file tabs
• Find and replace functionality
• Configuration file support
• LSP system
• Plugin system
• Word wrap support

Credits

Built with Rust and the following excellent libraries:

• syntect for syntax highlighting
• termios for terminal control