An editor as easy as nano, with LSP and syntax highlighting

Open a folder, quick open, type, multiple cursors, save.

Nano is easy because it has no modes and shows its shortcuts on screen. You can make it nicer for code with a few lines in ~/.nanorc: syntax colours, line numbers, the mouse, auto-indent.

What nano cannot do is talk to a language server, so there is no completion, no go to definition and no live errors. For that, pick a modeless editor that keeps nano’s ease: Micro adds it through plugins, Skink has it built in.

Make nano better for code

include "/usr/share/nano/*.nanorc"   # syntax colours (the path varies by system and package manager)
set linenumbers
set mouse
set autoindent
set tabsize 4
set tabstospaces
set softwrap
set constantshow                      # always show line and column

nano -l -m file gives you line numbers and the mouse for one session.

Does nano have autocomplete?

Only a basic one. Nano can complete a word from other words already in the file (Ctrl+] in recent versions).

It knows nothing about your language: no method names, no imports, no types.

Does nano support LSP?

No. Nano’s syntax files can name an external linter and formatter program to run on the buffer, which helps for a quick check. But there is no language server client.

What a language server gives you

A language server (rust-analyzer, pyright, gopls, typescript-language-server, …) reads your whole project and answers the editor’s questions:

completion that knows your types and imports
errors and warnings as you type
hover docs, go to definition, find references
rename a symbol across files, code actions (“add missing import”)
formatting

The nano-like option with LSP: Skink

Skink keeps what makes nano easy and adds the code features.

No modes. Open a file and type. Nothing to learn before your first edit.
Desktop keys. Ctrl+S save, Ctrl+Q quit, Ctrl+F find, Ctrl+Z undo, Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V copy and paste.
Help one key away. Ctrl+E then help opens the manual in a tab; F1 lists every command and action.
Mouse on, no setting needed.
Syntax colours from tree-sitter for 19 languages (Rust, TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Go, Zig, Dart, JSON, TOML, Bash, Markdown, YAML, HTML, CSS, Lua, Make, INI, diff, XML).
Language servers for Rust, TypeScript/JavaScript, Python, Go, Dart and Zig, started automatically when you open a file of that language, if the server is installed.

The code keys

Key	Typed command	Does
`Ctrl`+`Space`	`:complete`	Completion (also opens by itself as you type)
`Alt`+`K`	`:hover`	Type and docs of the symbol
`Alt`+`G`	`:def`	Go to definition
`Alt`+`R`	`:refs`	Find references
`Alt`+`Enter`	`:fix`	Quick fixes and refactorings
`Shift`+`F8` (`F9` before 0.8)	`:problems`	List of errors
`F6`	`:nextproblem`	Jump to the next error
`Alt`+`Shift`+`F`	`:format`	Format

If an Alt key does not reach Skink (common on macOS), press Ctrl+E and type the command instead. Every key has one; see typed commands.

What nano does not have at all

tabs and split panes
a file tree (F8, or :files)
fuzzy file open (Alt+P, or :recent)
search across the project (Alt+S)
git changes in the gutter
a terminal tab (F12)

Install a language server

Skink uses the servers you have installed. Common ones:

rustup component add rust-analyzer          # Rust
npm install -g typescript-language-server typescript   # TS / JS
pip install basedpyright                    # Python (or: npm install -g pyright)
go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest  # Go

Dart’s server comes with the Dart SDK; for Zig install zls. :lsp in Skink shows the server, its memory and progress.

Same settings words as nano

Skink’s ~/.config/skink/settings.json uses Micro’s option names, many of which match nano’s:

{
  "tabsize": 4,
  "tabstospaces": true,
  "autoclose": true,
  "rulers": [80]
}

Nano’s keys differ: nano saves with Ctrl+O and quits with Ctrl+X. See the key table in Skink vs nano, which also shows how to rebind them.

Try it

curl -fsSL https://skink.cc/install.sh | sh
skink hello.py

Next: quick start and Skink vs Micro.