MousepadLinux
vs
Windows NotepadWindows
Mousepad as a Linux alternative to Windows Notepad
Updated
Our verdict
Mousepad is a solid Linux alternative for anyone who uses Notepad for quick, plain‑text edits. It starts instantly, handles UTF‑8 and other common encodings, and offers a clean GTK interface that feels familiar on Xfce and other desktops. Power users will appreciate line numbers, word‑wrap toggles and basic syntax highlighting, while casual users still get the minimal UI they expect from Notepad. It isn’t a full‑blown IDE, but for the core task of opening, editing, and saving simple text files it works very well.
- License
- GPL-2.0+
- Price
- Free
- Latest version
- 0.7.0 (March 2, 2026)
- Rating
- —
What works the same
- Plain‑text editing with UTF‑8 support
- Very fast launch and low memory usage
- Simple menu layout (File, Edit, View)
- Clipboard integration works out of the box
What is different
- Mousepad adds line numbering and optional syntax highlighting, which Notepad lacks
- It supports drag‑and‑drop file opening and configurable fonts, features Notepad doesn’t have
- Mousepad includes a search‑replace dialog with regex support, beyond Notepad’s basic find
- No built‑in Windows‑style .lnk shortcut handling; it’s a pure Linux app
Opening your Windows Notepad files
Mousepad reads and writes the same plain‑text files that Notepad produces. It respects common encodings (UTF‑8, ANSI, ISO‑8859‑1) and will preserve line endings, so files created in Windows Notepad can be opened, edited, and saved without conversion issues. There is no special export format needed.
Switching from Windows Notepad to Mousepad, step by step
- Install Mousepad via your distro package manager (e.g., sudo apt install mousepad).
- Set Mousepad as the default application for .txt files in your desktop environment.
- Copy any custom Notepad shortcuts (if you use them) to launch Mousepad instead.
- Test opening a few existing .txt files to confirm encoding and line‑ending handling.
- Adjust font and word‑wrap preferences in Mousepad’s settings to match your workflow.
Key features of Mousepad
- GTK‑based UI that matches Xfce aesthetics
- Instant startup and low memory footprint
- Basic syntax highlighting for common languages
- Line numbering and word wrap options
- Search and replace with regular expressions
- Configurable font and tab width
- Drag‑and‑drop file opening
How to install Mousepad on Linux
flatpak install flathub org.xfce.mousepadsudo apt install mousepadsudo apt install mousepadsudo dnf install mousepadsudo pacman -S mousepadsudo zypper install mousepadFrequently asked questions
Can Mousepad open files with Windows line endings (CRLF)?
Yes, Mousepad detects CRLF and LF line endings and preserves them when saving.
Is there a way to make Mousepad the default editor for all text files?
Use your desktop’s default applications settings or run xdg-mime default mousepad.desktop text/plain.
Does Mousepad support plugins or extensions like Notepad++?
No, Mousepad is intentionally lightweight and does not have a plugin system.
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