edminc, a native
code editor for minc

A code editor and IDE for the minc language, written in minc and compiled by minc. A file tree, split views, a command palette, color themes, and errors shown right in the code.

  • Zero work at idle
  • One-frame input latency
  • Scrolling at the display's full refresh rate
  • Files open instantly
  • Windows, macOS, Linux and the browser from one codebase
Install edminc
view install script

Release 0.1.0 now available. It handles everyday editing of minc projects and other text but still has some rough edges. Work in progress, expect bugs.


edminc on Windows: the command palette open over two files side by side

edminc on Windows. The same editor runs in the browser:

open live demo source code

Minimal IDE

Multiple buffers, splits and windows; fuzzy file open and a command palette; project-wide search; multiple cursors; selections, clipboard and undo; minc syntax highlighting, with a basic pass for a few other languages.


A language server client for diagnostics, go to definition, hover, references, completion, signature help, workspace symbols and semantic tokens. A git change gutter, tree decorations, and a changes view with a side-by-side diff against HEAD. Build and run from the editor, per-folder session restore, and color emoji.

edminc running a minc sample: the program's window over the editor, the build output in a terminal pane below

Terminal

The terminal pane runs your shell beside the code. It is a full terminal emulator on a pseudo-terminal, so full-screen programs work, and it picks up your own terminal's colors on Windows and macOS. Use it for git, minc test, or LLMs like claude.


Open as many as you like. The switcher lists them alongside your open files.

edminc with a PowerShell terminal pane beside a source file, running git status and minc build install

Color themes

24 built-in themes, light and dark, from Dark+ and Light+ to Dracula, Nord, Solarized and Tokyo Night. Pick one with Preferences: Color Theme in the command palette. The list previews each theme as you move through it, and Escape puts the old one back.


Any single color, including the syntax colors, can be changed in settings.json. Saving the file applies it at once, and the terminal follows the theme.

The color theme picker open over three files in the Tokyo Night theme

Easy to use

The installer puts the editor in ~/.edminc and adds it to your PATH. The command is edmc.


edmc_update updates the installed copy. Set EDMINC_INSTALL to install to another directory, and EDMINC_NO_PATH=1 to leave your shell profile untouched. The install script lists the other options. 

$ edmc                // an empty buffer
$ edmc <folder>       // open a folder as the project
$ edmc <file>         // open a file
$ edmc --version      // print the version and exit

$ edmc_update         // update the installed copy

Four platforms, one core

The same code runs on four platforms. On each, the editor uses only what the operating system itself provides. Everything else, from font rendering to the terminal, is minc source compiled into the editor, so it loads no third-party libraries.

  • Windows: Direct3D 11, Win32
  • macOS: Metal, AppKit
  • Linux: OpenGL, X11 (Wayland through XWayland)
  • Browser: WebGL2, WebAssembly
// Build from source with the minc toolchain:

$ minc run [file.mc]   // build and open the editor
$ minc build           // compile only
$ minc build install   // compile, then install it
$ minc test            // build and run the tests
$ minc wasm            // build and run the browser version
$ minc clean           // remove build output

How it is made

edminc is a test of minc on a full-size application: a program redrawn by the GPU every frame, with a language server client, a terminal and its own font renderer built in, compiled by the same compiler on every platform.

  • ✅ Human designed
  • ✨ LLM code
  • 🎉 Human review
  • 🫟 Automated testing with random input (fuzzing)
// A local build installs to the same place
// as a release: minc build install hands the
// new build to the release install script.

$ minc build install
$ edmc .