whatisgithub

What is editxr?

pixdeo/editxr — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

★ 41SwiftAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

In one sentence

A fast, zero-dependency terminal Markdown editor written in Swift that renders formatting live and lets an AI edit sections with an accept-or-reject diff.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((editxr))
    What it does
      Terminal Markdown editor
      Live rendering
      AI section editing with diffs
    Tech stack
      Swift
      Zero dependencies
    Use cases
      Edit Markdown in terminal
      AI-assisted rewriting
      Multi-file tab workflow
    Audience
      Developers
      Terminal power users

Code map

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Edit Markdown documents in the terminal with live WYSIWYG-style rendering instead of a split preview pane.

USE CASE 2

Use an AI to rewrite a selected section of a document and review the change as an inline diff before accepting it.

USE CASE 3

Work across multiple Markdown files in tabs with fuzzy file switching and navigable wikilinks.

USE CASE 4

Export a Markdown file to styled HTML for viewing in a browser.

What is it built with?

Swift

How does it compare?

pixdeo/editxrverback2308/ytlitekiraa-ai/project-onyx
Stars413634
LanguageSwiftSwiftSwift
Setup difficultyeasymoderatemoderate
Complexity2/52/53/5
Audiencedevelopergeneraldeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Prebuilt binaries install in one command, building from source needs macOS 12+ or Linux with a Swift 5.9+ or 6+ toolchain.

No license file is mentioned in the README, so usage rights beyond running the published binaries are unclear.

So what is it?

editxr is a Markdown editor that runs inside a terminal window. It shows a rendered view directly in the terminal, meaning headings, lists, tables, and code blocks are styled in place as you type. The line your cursor is on stays as raw Markdown text so you can edit it, while everything else around it is rendered. There is no split-screen preview pane. An optional AI editing mode lets you highlight a section of text, type an instruction like "make this shorter" or "rewrite this as a numbered list," and see the proposed change as a color-coded diff before deciding to accept or reject it. This avoids any situation where AI changes are applied without your review. The tool supports local language models through LM Studio, OpenAI, OpenRouter, or an offline placeholder that needs no network connection at all. The editor is written entirely in Swift and has no external software dependencies, so it starts quickly and handles large files without slowing down. Prebuilt binaries are available for macOS (both Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux (x86_64 and ARM), and the Linux versions are statically linked, meaning they work on any Linux distribution without needing a Swift runtime installed. It can also be installed via Homebrew. Additional features include multi-file tabs, navigable links in Obsidian-style wikilink format, 12 built-in color themes with light and dark options, an incremental search, and HTML export that opens the rendered document in a browser. Settings such as theme, AI provider, and per-file cursor positions are saved in a local config file.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Walk me through installing editxr on macOS or Linux using the one-line installer or Homebrew.
Prompt 2
Explain how editxr's AI section editing and diff review workflow works.
Prompt 3
Help me configure editxr to use a local LLM through LM Studio instead of OpenAI.
Prompt 4
What keybindings does editxr use for opening files, finding text, and toggling raw versus rendered view?

Frequently asked questions

What is editxr?

A fast, zero-dependency terminal Markdown editor written in Swift that renders formatting live and lets an AI edit sections with an accept-or-reject diff.

What language is editxr written in?

Mainly Swift. The stack also includes Swift.

What license does editxr use?

No license file is mentioned in the README, so usage rights beyond running the published binaries are unclear.

How hard is editxr to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is editxr for?

Mainly developer.

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