Best Text Editors for PHP

VSCode: A revolutionary approach to code editing. It's completely free, open-source, and compatible with all platforms. Experience more than just basic syntax highlighting and autocomplete; with IntelliSense, you gain intelligent suggestions that are based on the types of variables, definitions of functions, and imported modules. You can also debug your code directly within the editor, allowing you to launch or connect to your active applications while utilizing breakpoints, call stacks, and an interactive console for deeper insights. Collaborating with Git and other source control management (SCM) systems is simpler than ever; you can review differences, stage files, and commit changes right from within the editor itself. Easily push and pull changes from any hosted SCM service without hassle. Looking for additional capabilities? You can enhance your experience by installing extensions that introduce new languages, themes, debuggers, and connections to various services. These extensions operate in their own processes, ensuring they won't hinder your editor's performance. Discover the endless possibilities with extensions. Furthermore, with Microsoft Azure, you can efficiently deploy and host a variety of sites built with React, Angular, Vue, Node, Python, and more, while also being able to store and query both relational and document-based data, and scale effortlessly using serverless computing solutions. This powerful integration streamlines your development workflow and enhances productivity.

A highly advanced text editor designed for coding, markup, and writing. With the Goto Anything feature, you can quickly access files using minimal keystrokes and effortlessly navigate to symbols, lines, or specific words. This editor allows you to make multiple edits simultaneously rather than repeating one change multiple times. Thanks to multiple selections, you can efficiently modify numerous lines at once, easily rename variables, and handle files more rapidly than you ever thought possible. The Command Palette provides access to less frequently used features, such as sorting, syntax adjustments, and indentation modifications. By entering just a few keystrokes, you can search for exactly what you need without the hassle of navigating through menus or remembering complex key commands. Additionally, Sublime Text boasts a robust Python API that enables the development of plugins to enhance its existing capabilities. With the ability to install Package Control through the command palette, you gain straightforward access to a wealth of community-created packages that can extend the editor's functionality even further. This makes it an invaluable tool for anyone looking to streamline their coding or writing process.

Notepad++ serves as a free alternative to traditional Notepad and is designed for editing source code across various programming languages. Functioning within the Microsoft Windows ecosystem, it operates under the terms of the GNU General Public License. The editor is built on the robust Scintilla editing framework and is developed using C++, making use of the pure Win32 API and Standard Template Library (STL) to achieve enhanced execution speed and a compact file size. By optimizing numerous processes while maintaining user-friendliness, Notepad++ aims to contribute to the reduction of global carbon dioxide emissions. The software’s efficiency allows computers to use less CPU power, enabling them to operate at lower energy levels, which in turn leads to reduced power consumption and a more sustainable environment. This approach exemplifies how software development can align with eco-friendly initiatives.

Apache NetBeans is a dynamic, open-source Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that supports the development of applications in various programming languages, such as Java, JavaScript, PHP, HTML5, and C/C++. Renowned for its modular framework, NetBeans equips developers with a comprehensive suite of tools and features tailored for creating desktop, mobile, and web applications. It boasts advanced code editing, debugging, and profiling functionalities, as well as an integrated visual GUI builder for crafting user interfaces in Java. Additionally, NetBeans provides support for multiple version control systems like Git, SVN, and Mercurial, enhancing collaborative efforts among teams. As a project under the Apache Software Foundation, NetBeans is continually refined by a vibrant community dedicated to expanding its capabilities, ensuring it remains a dependable and adaptable option for developers in numerous fields. Furthermore, its extensive documentation and tutorials make it accessible for both novice and experienced programmers alike.

Atom is a modern text editor tailored for the 21st century, developed on the Electron framework, and inspired by the features that we cherish in our preferred editing tools. It has been crafted to offer extensive customization options while remaining user-friendly with its default settings. As a vital component of a developer's toolkit, a text editor often collaborates with other tools rather than functioning in isolation. With the integrated GitHub package, you can seamlessly manage your Git and GitHub workflows directly in Atom—creating branches, staging and committing changes, pushing and pulling updates, resolving merge conflicts, and reviewing pull requests, all from within the editor. This package comes pre-installed with Atom, meaning you can start right away! Atom is compatible with various operating systems, including OS X, Windows, and Linux, ensuring a wide accessibility. You can easily search for and install new packages or even develop your own straight from the editor. Additionally, Atom enhances your coding efficiency with its intelligent and adaptable autocomplete feature, and it allows you to conveniently browse and open individual files, entire projects, or multiple projects simultaneously within a single window, making it a versatile choice for developers. Overall, Atom is designed to make coding smoother and more efficient, catering to both novice and experienced developers alike.

If you're looking for an efficient way to enhance your web development experience, then the HTML Editor is about to become your go-to tool. You will feel a sense of empowerment with its convenient tag references, user-friendly features such as code completion, and website elements that refresh in real-time across all pages, complemented by live previews and a multitude of other fantastic tools and functionalities. We introduced end tag highlighting to alleviate the frustration of searching for that elusive closing div tag </div>, and this enhancement applies to other tags as well, so have fun with it! Additionally, we've crafted numerous free, fully responsive templates that you can easily access. The new Template Installer allows you to import these designs into the HTML Editor with just two clicks, making it incredibly simple. If you're eager to learn about CSS Grid, just download a template and experiment with the code to your heart's content. This is how CoffeeCup transforms web development into an enjoyable activity! The revamped welcome screen will kickstart your web development journey effectively. Need to whip up a quick static page? Just click on New HTML Page. Whether you're starting with a stylish responsive template, embarking on a sophisticated web project, or simply experimenting with some PHP, everything you need for enjoyable web development is right at your fingertips from this fresh start screen, ensuring that every session is engaging and productive.

EditPlus is a Windows-based text editor that includes integrated support for FTP, FTPS, and SFTP functionalities. Beyond being a suitable alternative to Notepad, it provides a variety of robust features tailored for web developers and programmers, enhancing their coding experience significantly. This versatility makes it a valuable tool for anyone involved in web development or software programming.

TinyMCE gives you complete authority over in-app rich text editing. As a plug-and-play WYSIWYG component, it effortlessly melds with your web application's current technology infrastructure. You can tailor it to your needs using its extensive set of over 400 APIs and more than a dozen framework compatibilities, or deploy it instantly as a robust, enterprise-level text editor. Premium TinyMCE packages come loaded with functionality, making them an ideal fit for enterprise applications and solving intricate use-cases. Top three premium offerings include: AI Assistant: Accelerate Content Creation with Generative AI → Infuse your application with AI capabilities through ready-to-use writing prompts. PowerPaste: Near-Perfect Copy-Pasting Reduces Support Queries → Flawlessly transfer text from MS Word, Google Docs, Excel, and other widely-used platforms. Spell Checker Pro: Maintain Brand Consistency with Error-Free Text → Multi-language support for up to 13 languages, including specialized terms, and the ability to create custom lexicons. Choose between cloud-based or on-premises deployment. Smooth integration with React, Angular, Vue, Bootstrap, and more.

EmEditor is a quick, lightweight, and highly customizable text editor designed for Windows, offering user-friendly features. It comes in both native 64-bit and 32-bit versions, with the 64-bit variant additionally providing distinct builds optimized for SSE2 (128-bit), AVX-2 (256-bit), and AVX-512 (512-bit) instruction sets, catering to a wide range of user needs. This versatility makes it a popular choice among various coding and editing professionals.

Enhance your coding speed using the integrated development environment tailored for modern web programming languages such as Python, PHP, Perl, Golang, Ruby, and several others. This powerful tool can significantly streamline your development process, making it easier to tackle complex projects efficiently.

Installing LaTeX is a straightforward process, and you can begin utilizing it immediately, regardless of your prior experience. Overleaf provides a fully equipped LaTeX environment that operates on their servers, allowing for instant access. Using Overleaf ensures that you have a consistent LaTeX setup no matter where you are, which is particularly beneficial when collaborating with colleagues and students, as it eliminates any potential version discrepancies or package conflicts that could arise. This seamless integration fosters a more efficient and productive workflow for everyone involved.

TextMate is a robust and highly customizable text editor that supports a vast array of programming languages and is developed under an open-source license. The editor simplifies the process of making multiple edits simultaneously by allowing users to easily add several insertion points for quick code alterations. Users can specify their search criteria, and TextMate efficiently displays results, enabling quick navigation between matches, extraction of relevant text, or previewing intended replacements. It also features a file browser that highlights changes, an editor view that marks modified lines, and the ability to generate diffs for the current file's alterations, all while seamlessly integrating with major version control systems. Whether you're dealing with files that incorporate multiple languages, projects that utilize various build systems, or third-party code with different formatting styles, TextMate adeptly manages it all by linking comprehensive scope selectors to keyboard shortcuts and customized settings. Additionally, this flexibility ensures that developers can maintain their preferred workflows while efficiently navigating complex coding environments.

Geany stands out as a robust, efficient, and lightweight text editor designed specifically for programmers, offering a wealth of features that enhance productivity without slowing down the user experience. It is compatible with Linux, Windows, and MacOS, supports over 40 languages, and accommodates more than 50 programming languages natively. One of the main motivations behind creating Geany was the demand for a versatile, user-friendly, and cross-platform IDE/editor that combines flexibility with power. While various editors fulfill some of these criteria, many fail to adequately address others. Geany is distributed under the GPL v2 license, ensuring that users have the freedom to modify and improve the software, while also allowing the entire community to benefit from those enhancements. Its highly customizable components, such as color themes (known as Geany Themes) and the ability to add new file types, cater to diverse user preferences. Additionally, Geany is equipped with numerous settings that allow for extensive personalization, ensuring it meets the unique needs of its users, including support for popular programming languages like C, Java, PHP, HTML, and JavaScript. Ultimately, Geany appeals to developers looking for a reliable tool that combines simplicity with comprehensive functionality.

QuickEdit is a robust and efficient text editor designed specifically for Android devices, ensuring optimal performance on both phones and tablets. This advanced notepad comes equipped with a variety of enhancements, including a code editor that supports syntax highlighting for over 40 programming languages. It delivers exceptional performance and provides real-time feedback, even when handling large text files exceeding 10,000 lines. Users can easily undo and redo changes without any restrictions, manage line indents effortlessly, and enjoy smooth scrolling in both vertical and horizontal directions. The app allows users to jump directly to a specified line number and automatically detects character encoding for convenience. Additionally, it offers a preview feature for HTML and Markdown files, the ability to edit system files on rooted devices, and quick access to recently opened or added files. Furthermore, QuickEdit supports both light and dark themes, making it a versatile choice for various user preferences. With its extensive features, QuickEdit proves to be an indispensable tool for anyone needing a comprehensive text editing solution on their Android device.

UltraEdit has been the preferred text editor for over 2 million users and many Fortune 100/500/1000 customers for almost three decades. UltraEdit is a powerful and fast data processor that can handle large files. It also supports almost any syntax or source language. UltraEdit is often referred to as the "Swiss Army knife" of text editors. It's a powerful tool that can be used by users across many industries and responsibilities. UltraEdit is able to solve almost any problem in text editing, including project management and programming. It can also handle large file manipulations, remote (FTP/SFTP), data sorting, column/block editing, advanced file searching, and text data reformatting. UltraEdit is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It is supported by a professional team of developers and customer service personnel located in the USA.

When embarking on PHP development, one of the initial challenges is selecting an appropriate Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Many commercial IDEs come with steep price tags ranging from $100 to $500. In contrast, we present a versatile, portable IDE that is completely FREE and packed with essential features, including syntax highlighting for PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript; enhanced autocomplete for those languages; a robust debugger specifically for PHP; contextual and dynamic assistance; a code validation tool; a SQL management system; and much more. CodeLobster IDE efficiently facilitates the PHP development workflow, allowing you to focus on coding without needing to memorize function names, arguments, tags, or attributes, thanks to our comprehensive autocomplete capabilities across PHP, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Additionally, users can easily access helpful information by pressing F1 or utilizing the dedicated Help feature. Our built-in, complimentary PHP Debugger further ensures that you can validate your code seamlessly and locally. Furthermore, CodeLobster IDE's user-friendly interface and extensive support make it an ideal choice for both beginners and seasoned developers alike.

GoCoEdit serves as a versatile code and text editor designed for quick access and modification of both local files on your iOS device and remote files stored on servers. It boasts sophisticated syntax highlighting capabilities for a variety of programming languages, all wrapped in an elegant interface that offers multiple dark and light themes for customization. With a single purchase, you can enjoy the full functionality of GoCoEdit across all your iOS devices, including iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Additionally, there are even more possibilities, as users can enhance certain features of GoCoEdit to suit their individual needs. This flexibility allows for a truly personalized editing experience, making it an ideal choice for developers.

Zed is an advanced code editor crafted for seamless collaboration between humans and AI, emphasizing high performance. Developed entirely in Rust to maximize the efficiency of multiple CPU cores and GPU resources, it allows for the integration of emerging LLMs into your coding workflow for tasks such as code generation, transformation, and analysis. The platform facilitates real-time communication with team members, enabling collaborative note-taking, screen sharing, and project management. With its multibuffer system, users can edit selected excerpts from the entire codebase on a single interface. It also supports inline code evaluation through Jupyter runtimes, allowing for joint notebook editing. Zed is compatible with numerous programming languages, thanks to Tree-sitter, WebAssembly, and the Language Server Protocol. Its quick native terminal is integrated with Zed's language-aware task runner and AI features, enhancing productivity. The editor offers first-class modal editing through Vim bindings, incorporating functionalities such as text objects and marks for efficient navigation. Built by a diverse global community of thousands of developers, Zed encourages users to enhance their experience with a wide array of extensions that expand language capabilities, provide various themes, and more. Furthermore, its user-friendly design aims to streamline development workflows, making it an ideal choice for programmers looking to elevate their coding efficiency.

Lapce is an innovative, open-source code editor designed to provide a swift and responsive experience, especially beneficial for developers tackling extensive projects or intricate codebases. Developed using Rust, Lapce takes advantage of native development's performance benefits to ensure a seamless editing experience that minimizes delays. The editor boasts a sleek, contemporary interface alongside advanced features like multi-caret editing, split views, and integrated terminal capabilities. By incorporating support for the Language Server Protocol (LSP), Lapce delivers accurate autocompletion, syntax highlighting, and efficient code navigation for a variety of programming languages, ultimately boosting developer productivity. Its high degree of extensibility, comprehensive plugin support, and emphasis on performance position Lapce as an optimal choice for developers seeking a lightweight yet robust editor that effectively combines simplicity with functionality, making it appealing to both novices and experienced coders alike. Furthermore, Lapce's commitment to community-driven development ensures that it continues to evolve, addressing the needs of users and keeping pace with the ever-changing landscape of software development.

Experience a versatile, cross-platform code editor that accommodates more than 60 programming languages across 9 different platforms. You can build or compile your projects seamlessly, and by simply double-clicking on an error message in the Build window, you can swiftly navigate to the relevant line of code. Each error and warning is clearly indicated with an icon located in the left margin for easy identification. Additionally, the overview bar next to the vertical scrollbar provides a visual representation of errors and warnings in relation to your current scroll position within the document. For a more efficient workflow, you can either drag the scrollbar slider to a marked location or click directly on the mark to bring it into view. SlickEdit also features an integrated debugging tool that serves as a user-friendly interface for a variety of debuggers. You can set breakpoints, step through code, inspect the stack, and examine variables and members, offering all the essential functionalities you would anticipate from a debugging tool. Furthermore, SlickEdit facilitates debugging for numerous languages, including GNU C/C++, Java, WinDbg, Clang C/C++ LLDB, Google Go, Python, Perl, Ruby, PHP, XCode, Scala, C# with Mono, Visual Basic with Mono, and Android JVM/NDK, making it a comprehensive solution for diverse development needs. This extensive support makes SlickEdit an invaluable tool for developers working in multiple environments.

Textastic for Mac serves as an ideal desktop counterpart to the widely used iOS code editor. Featuring compatibility with over 80 source code and markup languages, it seamlessly extends the robust syntax highlighting capabilities of its iOS version to the Mac platform. Users can easily integrate their own syntax definitions that are compatible with TextMate and Sublime Text. The Mac version is derived from the same code editor that powers the iOS application, ensuring a consistent experience. It utilizes native macOS APIs like Core Text, which enhances performance and speed. The app simplifies your workflow with features such as code completion, file navigation through a symbol list, and support for contemporary Mac functionalities like Auto Save and Versions. Additionally, with iCloud Drive integration, syncing files between macOS and iOS devices becomes a hassle-free process. This application not only supports a vast array of coding languages but also includes features such as iCloud auto-save and macOS Versions, making it a comprehensive tool for developers. Furthermore, it allows for the importation of syntax definitions, themes, and templates from TextMate, enhancing its customization options.

Kakoune is a remarkably efficient modal text editor that emphasizes real-time feedback and offers powerful, intuitive options for multi-selection. Drawing inspiration from Vim, it presents a unique perspective on modal editing by prioritizing a selection-based workflow, which enhances the natural fluidity of text manipulation. Unlike traditional editors where commands are executed on cursors, Kakoune empowers users by allowing commands to act on selections, thus facilitating precise and rapid editing and navigation. With features such as robust multi-caret editing, context-aware autocompletion, and extensive support for various programming languages, Kakoune is optimized for handling large files and intricate codebases with ease. Its design allows for scripting and extension using shell commands, ensuring seamless integration with UNIX tools and offering users a high degree of customization. Renowned for its remarkable responsiveness and adaptability, Kakoune is particularly well-suited for developers who favor a keyboard-driven interface and value immediate, real-time feedback throughout their editing tasks. This makes it an excellent choice for those looking to enhance their productivity in coding environments.

Typora offers a fluid experience for users, serving effectively as both a writing and reading tool. It eliminates the need for a preview window, mode switcher, or any markdown syntax symbols, thereby cutting out unnecessary distractions. Instead, it features a live preview option that allows you to focus solely on your content. The software also facilitates file management with an easily accessible file tree panel and an article list panel, enabling you to organize your files according to your preferences, including integration with sync services such as Dropbox or iCloud. You can effortlessly view the outline structure of your documents in the outline panel, making navigation throughout the document quick and intuitive, as you can jump to any section with just one click. Additionally, Typora allows you to export your work to PDF complete with bookmarks. You can further enhance your productivity by importing and exporting various other formats, such as docx, OpenOffice, LaTeX, MediaWiki, and Epub. To top it off, you can track your document’s length in terms of words, characters, lines, or estimated reading time, providing you with valuable insights into your writing. This comprehensive functionality makes Typora a powerful tool for anyone involved in writing or content creation.

Developed entirely from the ground up, JetBrains Fleet draws on two decades of experience in creating integrated development environments (IDEs). It utilizes the robust IntelliJ code-processing engine, featuring a distributed architecture and a fresh user interface designed for modern developers. Our aim with Fleet was to create a swift and efficient text editor that allows for quick code browsing and editing. It launches almost instantaneously, enabling you to start your work without delay, and has the capability to seamlessly evolve into a full-fledged IDE, with the IntelliJ engine operating independently from the editing interface. Fleet encompasses all the beloved features of IntelliJ-based IDEs, such as code completion tailored to your project context, easy navigation to definitions and usages, real-time code quality assessments, and convenient quick-fixes. The architecture of Fleet is thoughtfully designed to accommodate various configurations and workflows, allowing it to run locally on your machine or to offload some processes to the cloud, showcasing its versatility and adaptability for different development needs. This flexibility ensures that developers can choose the setup that best fits their workflow requirements.

Helix Editor stands out as an advanced, contemporary text editor tailored for developers who desire a swift, customizable, and effective editing experience. Emphasizing productivity, Helix employs a modal editing approach reminiscent of Vim, enabling users to effortlessly navigate, select, and alter text through user-friendly keyboard shortcuts. Its extensive feature set encompasses syntax highlighting, multi-caret editing, and compatibility with programming languages such as Rust, Python, and JavaScript. Furthermore, Helix leverages the Tree-sitter parsing library to deliver precise syntax-aware editing, facilitating the management of intricate code structures. The editor's streamlined interface, combined with its strong emphasis on performance, makes Helix Editor an exceptional choice for programmers who value both speed and adaptability in their development processes. Overall, this editor fosters an efficient coding environment, empowering developers to focus on their projects with minimal distractions.