# xi-editor

A modern editor with a backend written in Rust.

Repository: https://github.com/xi-editor/xi-editor
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/xi-editor
Homepage: https://xi-editor.io
Language: Rust
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2024-03-19T00:11:37+00:00
Link (homepage): https://xi-editor.io
Link (site_page): https://xi-editor.io/building-docs.html
Link (site_page): https://xi-editor.io/docs/tracing.html
Link (site_page): https://xi-editor.io/docs.html
Link (site_page): https://xi-editor.io/docs/frontend-notes.html

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 32/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3781, "days_push": 898, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 19821, forks 706 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:29.293237+00:00)

## What it is
Xi-editor is a high-performance text editor core written in Rust, using a CRDT and persistent rope for fast, reliable editing, with a JSON-RPC protocol connecting it to separate frontends. The project is officially discontinued, with the official macOS frontend (xi-mac) and several third-party frontends available.

## Use cases
- fast text editor that never lags while typing
- build a custom editor frontend on a Rust backend
- study CRDT-based text editing engine design
- write editor plugins in any language via RPC
- explore modern editor architecture and rope science

## When to choose
- you want to study or fork a well-documented CRDT/rope-based editor core
- you're building an experimental editor frontend and need a backend
- you need a case study in high-performance editor design

## When to avoid
- you need a maintained, production-ready editor with active development
- you want new features or plugin ecosystem growth
- you want a daily-driver editor today - consider Lapce, its spiritual successor

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: abandoned
- function: editor, plugin-system, rpc
- domain: text-editors, developer-tools, cross-platform
- platform: windows, rust, cross-platform
- tags: crdt, rope, text-editor-core, json-rpc, discontinued, macos, linux

## Member repositories
- xi-editor/xi-editor (main) score 32
- xi-editor/xi-mac (frontend) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:29.293237+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 2026-08-29T16:59:25.768896+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/xi-editor/xi-editor (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:29.293237+00:00, sha 7041725f2330)
  - homepage: https://xi-editor.io (fetched 2026-08-29T07:58:11.195594+00:00, sha 0fc412267c9b)
  - site_page: https://xi-editor.io/building-docs.html (fetched 2026-08-29T07:58:11.204902+00:00, sha ed30f659451b)
  - site_page: https://xi-editor.io/docs/tracing.html (fetched 2026-08-29T07:58:11.206738+00:00, sha 0b43104a2a38)
  - site_page: https://xi-editor.io/docs.html (fetched 2026-08-29T07:58:11.208624+00:00, sha 430f74034566)
  - site_page: https://xi-editor.io/docs/frontend-notes.html (fetched 2026-08-29T07:58:11.210122+00:00, sha 2eb001b97d79)
  - site_page: https://xi-editor.io/docs/frontend-protocol.html (fetched 2026-08-29T07:58:11.212080+00:00, sha deb75d33b43f)
  - site_page: https://xi-editor.io/docs/plugin.html (fetched 2026-08-29T07:58:11.216782+00:00, sha 75cac57389c2)
  - site_page: https://xi-editor.io/docs/config.html (fetched 2026-08-29T07:58:11.219471+00:00, sha 45183cfc68b9)
  - site_page: https://xi-editor.io/docs/crdt.html (fetched 2026-08-29T07:58:11.221553+00:00, sha 843d780e7f4d)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.