Andrey Letov ported Notepad++ to macOS via an Objective-C++ Cocoa UI layer, shipping a universal binary that replaces the Win32 front-end while keeping the Scintilla engine intact.
Key Takeaways
The port preserves the full Notepad++ feature set: tabbed editing, syntax highlighting for 80+ languages, search and replace, macro recording, and plugin support.
Native macOS behavior comes from replacing only the UI layer with Cocoa APIs for menus, dialogs, file pickers, keyboard shortcuts, and windowing.
Universal binary runs on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs with no compatibility layer (Wine/CrossOver) required.
Free under the GNU General Public License with no ads, subscriptions, or hidden costs; downloadable from the official Notepad++ website.
Windows switchers who previously had no viable path to a native experience are the direct beneficiary.
Hacker News Comment Review
Early testers note the app does not yet meet macOS UX conventions: dragging a file to the Dock icon to open it does not work, and closing the window quits the entire app rather than leaving it running in the background.
The consensus from the single substantive report is that the Scintilla core is intact but the Cocoa integration is incomplete on OS-level affordances that macOS users treat as baseline.
Notable Comments
@sghiassy: “still doesn’t feel native - cant drag a file to the dock icon to open it - closing the window, quits the app”
