Skink vs nano

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

GNU nano and Skink are both modeless: you open a file and type. Nano is preinstalled on many Linux distributions and is perfect for editing a config file.

Skink is a separate download, but it adds what you need for code: language servers, tree-sitter highlighting, tabs and splits, project search, git and a real terminal. Both keep the shortcuts on screen or one key away.

Who should pick nano

Machines you do not own. You edit /etc files where you cannot install anything.
The smallest tool. You need nothing beyond editing, search and replace.
On-screen help. You like nano’s two-line shortcut help at the bottom.

Who should pick Skink

You write code. You want nano’s ease plus completion, diagnostics, go to definition and rename.
Familiar shortcuts. Ctrl+S save, Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V copy and paste, Ctrl+Z undo, as in desktop editors.
One window for everything. Several files as tabs, a file tree and a terminal side by side.

Feature comparison

	Skink	nano
Editing model	Modeless	Modeless
Mouse	On, always	Off unless `-m` / `set mouse`
LSP	Built in	No; can run an external linter or formatter
Syntax highlighting	tree-sitter, 19 languages	Regex `.nanorc` files
Tabs / splits	Yes / yes	Multiple buffers, no splits
File tree, project search	Yes	No
Built-in terminal	Yes	No
Git	Gutter, hunks, blame, panel	No
AI agents	ACP client	No
Plugins	None yet	None
Works over plain SSH	Yes	Yes
Preinstalled	No	On many distributions
Footprint	Small	Very small
Maturity	Alpha	Decades

nano keys and their Skink equivalents

Nano’s keys come from Pico. Skink’s come from Micro and common desktop editors. The ones that differ most:

Action	nano	Skink
Save	`Ctrl`+`O`	`Ctrl`+`S`
Quit	`Ctrl`+`X`	`Ctrl`+`Q`
Search	`Ctrl`+`W`	`Ctrl`+`F`
Cut line	`Ctrl`+`K`	`Ctrl`+`K` (same)
Paste	`Ctrl`+`U`	`Ctrl`+`V`
Go to line	`Ctrl`+`_`	`Ctrl`+`L`
Undo / redo	`Alt`+`U` / `Alt`+`E`	`Ctrl`+`Z` / `Ctrl`+`Y`
Help	`Ctrl`+`G`	`Ctrl`+`E`, then type `help`

Two keys to watch

In Skink, Ctrl+O opens a file and Ctrl+U starts recording a macro. If your fingers insist on nano’s keys, rebind them in ~/.config/skink/bindings.json:

{
  "Ctrl-o": "Save",
  "Ctrl-w": "Find"
}

Mouse in nano vs Skink

Nano supports the mouse, but you have to ask for it: start it with nano -m, or add this line to ~/.nanorc:

set mouse

Then a click places the cursor and the wheel scrolls.

Skink always has the mouse on, and it does more:

drag to select
Alt+click to add cursors
click tabs and the file tree
drag split dividers
scroll long lines sideways with Shift+wheel or a trackpad swipe

See mouse and trackpad.

When you need more than nano

The usual path is nano for configs, then a jump to Vim or VS Code when you start writing code. Skink is meant to remove that jump: it stays as easy as nano and grows into an IDE when you open a project.

More on that in an editor as easy as nano, with LSP and syntax highlighting.

Try it

curl -fsSL https://skink.cc/install.sh | sh
skink notes.txt

No sudo; it goes to ~/.local/bin. Nano stays installed, so EDITOR and sudoedit keep working as before until you change them.

Next: quick start.