Quick Writer (qw) — a short, fast, single-file terminal text editor written in Python using prompt_toolkit
.
Perfect for super quick edits in the terminal! ⚡
- 🐍 Single-file Python script, no extra config files
- 🖱 Mouse / trackpad scrolling supported
- 📊 Status bar always shows available shortcuts
- 💨 Super fast, minimal finger movement
Shortcut | Action |
---|---|
Ctrl+S |
💾 Save (prompts if Untitled) |
Ctrl+W |
💾 Save & Exit |
Ctrl+D |
❌ Exit without saving |
Esc |
❌ Exit without saving (fast bail-out) |
qw
Opens a new untitled file (e.g., Untitled1, Untitled2, …) 🆕 Open existing file
qw <filename>
If the file exists → opens it 📂
If the file doesn’t exist → prompts to create it ❓
Explicit open:
qw open
Same behavior as above ✅ Create a new file (explicit)
qw new <filename>
Prompts if the file already exists
`` Python 3.7+ 🐍
`` prompt_toolkit Python module ✨
`` Git (optional, for cloning repo) 🛠️
`` Install [Python 3] and [Git].
`` Open Git Bash.
`` Install prompt_toolkit:
python3 -m pip install --upgrade prompt_toolkit
Put qw somewhere in your PATH, for example:
mkdir -p /c/Users/<YourName>/bin
mv qw /c/Users/<YourName>/bin/qw
chmod +x /c/Users/<YourName>/bin/qw
Run:
qw
`` Install Python 3 (via Homebrew brew install python or python.org).
`` Install dependency:
python3 -m pip install --upgrade prompt_toolkit
Move qw into
~/.local/bin
```
(or another folder in PATH):
mv ~/Downloads/qw ~/.local/bin/qw
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/qw
Ensure
~/.local/bin is in PATH:
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
Run:
qw
`` Install Python 3 if missing:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y python3 python3-pip
Install dependency:
python3 -m pip install --upgrade prompt_toolkit
Move qw into
~/.local/bin:
#--
mv ~/Downloads/qw ~/.local/bin/qw
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/qw
Ensure
~/.local/bin
is in PATH:
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
Run:
qw
Prompts like This file does not exist. Create it? (y/N) happen before opening the editor. Cancel with Ctrl+C.
Inside the editor: Esc or Ctrl+D exits immediately without saving.
Ctrl+S saves (asks for filename if untitled).
Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows terminals.
Single-file and portable — ideal for quick edits.
PRs and issues welcome! If you want UX tweaks (in-editor prompts, unsaved * indicator, config options), open an issue or PR.