🌱 Grass

The terminal editor you already know how to use.
Syntax highlighting, fuzzy finder, find-as-you-type. No modes, no config, no learning curve.

If Grass saved you a keystroke, a ⭐ helps others find it.

Install

pipx install grass-editor

_{No pipx? pip install grass-editor works too. Python 3.9+. Windows notes.}

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Sound familiar?

• You SSH into a box and nano feels bare, but vim feels like a test.
• You don't want to spend a weekend on dotfiles just to edit a file.
• You want highlighting and a fast file jump, not a whole IDE in your terminal.

Grass is for that moment. Open a file and type. Everything else is one Ctrl key away.

What you get

Just type	One mode, like nano. Nothing to memorize before your first edit.
Looks good by default	Syntax highlighting with Meadow, a calm warm theme. No theme hunting. Assumes a dark 256-color terminal; basic colors fall back gracefully.
Ctrl-P fuzzy finder	Jump to any file by typing a few letters.
Ctrl-F live search	Results update as you type.
Safe with your files	Atomic saves. Tabs preserved. A missing trailing newline stays missing, and the status bar tells you.
Language coverage	C, C++, Rust, Go, JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Ruby, Java, shell, HTML, CSS, JSON, YAML, Markdown, and more via Pygments.
CJK ready	Chinese, Japanese, and Korean text renders, edits, and scrolls at the correct width.
Zero config	No config file exists. Nothing can break.
Readable source	About 2,300 lines of Python. Read it in an afternoon, change it in an evening.

Why not just use...?

	Setup needed	Learn first?	Fuzzy finder	Source you can read in a day
Grass	none	no	built in	yes (~2,300 lines)
nano	none	no	no	no
micro	none	little	no	no
vim / Helix	some to a lot	yes (modal)	plugin / built in	no

Grass is not trying to replace Vim or micro. It has no plugins, no LSP, and no mouse, on purpose. If you want those, use them. If you want an editor that gets out of the way, you're in the right place.

The whole keyboard

Key	Action
Ctrl-S	save (asks for a name if new)
Ctrl-Q / Ctrl-C	quit
Ctrl-P	fuzzy file finder
Ctrl-F / F3	find as you type / find next
Ctrl-H	replace all (word, then replacement)
Ctrl-O	open by path
Ctrl-Z / Ctrl-R	undo / redo
Ctrl-K / Ctrl-U	cut line / paste line

Arrows, Home, End, PageUp, PageDown, Enter (auto-indent), Tab, Backspace and Delete do what you expect.

In prompts, Enter confirms, Esc cancels, Up/Down select, and Y/N answer save/discard. The replace flow is: Ctrl-H, type the word, Enter, type the replacement, Enter.

FAQ

Does it support plugins, LSP, or multiple files?

No, and that's the point. One file at a time, no plugins, no LSP, no mouse. Grass stays small so it stays calm.

Will it handle my big files?

Normal files are fast. Highlighting only covers the visible area and updates after a short pause, so very large files stay usable, but can still feel slower than small ones.

Does it handle Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text?

Yes. Wide characters render, edit, and scroll at the correct terminal width.

What about very long lines?

Lines don't wrap yet. Scroll horizontally instead.

How do I install on Windows?

py -m pip install windows-curses grass-editor

Then run grass hello.py from the same Python environment. Using pipx? Run pipx inject grass-editor windows-curses after installing.

Hack on it

Grass is small enough to understand completely.

• grass/editor.py: text buffer, undo/redo, prompts, atomic saves
• grass/highlight.py: Pygments lexing and Meadow colors
• grass/screen.py: curses rendering, splash, finder, status bar
• grass/search.py: find matching and match tracking
• grass/tabs.py: tab widths and display columns

git clone https://github.com/mukundzha/grass.git
cd grass
pip install -e .
python tests/run_tests.py

CI runs on Python 3.9 through 3.13. New here? Look for good first issue.

Roadmap

• Line wrapping for long lines
• Faster highlighting for very large files
• Light theme

Ideas and bug reports are welcome: open an issue.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.

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Grass saved you a few keystrokes? Give it a ⭐ so other people can find it.