# lite-xl/lite-xl

A lightweight text editor written in Lua

Repository: https://github.com/lite-xl/lite-xl
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/lite-xl
Homepage: https://lite-xl.com
Language: Lua
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: editor, code, lua, c, sdl2, lite-xl, code-editor, text-editor
Last push: 2026-03-11T17:04:09+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 58/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 71, release rhythm 16, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2292, "days_push": 175, "days_rel": 451, "gap_med": 95.5, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 6340, forks 312 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:41.842745+00:00)

## What it is
Lite XL is a lightweight, fast text and code editor written in C and Lua, forked from rxi/lite. It is highly extensible via Lua plugins and themes, and runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, and more.

## Use cases
- lightweight code editor for low-spec or single-board computers
- hackable text editor scriptable in Lua
- minimal editor with plugin-based features
- fast editor with multiline editing and autocomplete
- portable editor under 5MB
- editor with custom color themes

## When to choose
- you want a tiny, fast editor that runs on weak hardware
- you want to customize or script your editor in Lua
- you prefer plugin-based minimalism over heavyweight IDEs

## When to avoid
- you need full IDE features like integrated debugging or refactoring
- you rely on a large ecosystem of prebuilt extensions like VS Code's
- you want an editor with extensive out-of-the-box language tooling

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: editor, plugin-system
- domain: text-editors, developer-tools, cross-platform
- platform: windows, cross-platform
- tags: lua, sdl2, lightweight, hackable, code-editor, syntax-highlighting, extensible, linux, macos, desktop

## Member repositories
- lite-xl/lite-xl (main) score 58

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:41.842745+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:46:08.712379+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/lite-xl/lite-xl (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:41.842745+00:00, sha e1e01fff0729)
  - homepage: https://lite-xl.com (fetched 2026-08-29T08:42:29.089526+00:00, sha 65ab03a9950c)
  - site_page: https://lite-xl.com/setup/getting-started (fetched 2026-08-29T08:42:29.098969+00:00, sha 823ee2f9e12f)
  - site_page: https://lite-xl.com/about/contributors (fetched 2026-08-29T08:42:29.101938+00:00, sha 6df53aaf6e04)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.