Sublime Text

What is Sublime Text?

Sublime Text is a cross-platform code editor that's been around since 2008. It's known for being fast — it opens large files without complaint and doesn't slow down with heavy workloads. The editor is closed-source and sold as a one-time purchase rather than a subscription, which has kept a loyal user base even as VS Code took over the mainstream.

Multiple cursors and selections

Sublime Text popularised multiple cursor editing, and it's still one of the best implementations. You can place cursors on multiple lines simultaneously, select every instance of a word with a keyboard shortcut, and edit them all at once. For tasks like renaming variables or reformatting repetitive blocks, it's faster than anything else.

The command palette

Ctrl+Shift+P opens the command palette, which gives you fuzzy search across every available action, setting, and installed package. It's a quick way to do things without memorising key bindings or digging through menus. Goto Anything (Ctrl+P) lets you jump to any file, line, or symbol in the project just as quickly.

Package ecosystem

Package Control is the community-built package manager for Sublime Text. It has thousands of packages covering linting, formatting, language support, Git integration, and more. The ecosystem isn't as large as VS Code's, but it covers most common needs and the packages tend to be lightweight.

Pricing

Sublime Text can be evaluated for free indefinitely — it prompts you to buy occasionally but doesn't nag too hard. A licence is a one-time purchase per user and covers all platforms. There's no subscription and updates are included for the current major version.