BytePad v2 brings a file browser, inspector panel, diff checker, and workspace management alongside 18+ language highlighting, live Markdown preview, and an integrated terminal — all built purely with Apple frameworks.
A completely redesigned experience with powerful new tools for navigating, inspecting, and comparing your files.
Navigate your project with a full sidebar file tree. Browse workspaces, expand directories, and open files directly — all without leaving the editor.
A right-side panel showing file metadata at a glance — mode, language, encoding, line endings, character and word counts, plus quick controls.
Compare files side-by-side with a built-in diff viewer. Spot changes instantly with clear highlighting of additions, deletions, and modifications.
Export any document as a beautifully formatted PDF — plain text with syntax colors preserved, or rendered Markdown preview with full styling.
A carefully crafted set of tools that cover every editing workflow — from quick notes to complex codebases.
Syntax highlighting with regex-based token matching for keywords, strings, comments, numbers, functions, types, operators, and booleans. Auto-detection from file extensions, shebangs, and content analysis.
A full sidebar with workspace management, directory tree, file search, and bookmarks. Navigate your entire project without leaving the editor.
See file metadata, character and word counts, encoding, language, and quick controls like Export to PDF — all in a collapsible right panel.
Unlimited tabs with session persistence. Dirty indicators, context menus, drag-and-drop — your workspace restores exactly as you left it.
Compare files side-by-side with a built-in diff viewer. Instantly see additions, deletions, and modifications highlighted in context.
Native support for Plain Text, Markdown, JSON (with pretty-print), CSV, PDF viewing, and image preview — all in one editor.
Built entirely with Apple frameworks — Cocoa, WebKit, and Foundation. No Electron, no web views for editing, no bloat. Pure native macOS performance that launches instantly and respects your system resources.
Eight distinct token types — keywords, strings, comments, numbers, functions, types, operators, and booleans — each precisely colored by your chosen theme. Language detection works automatically from file extensions, shebang lines, and inline hints.
from http.server import HTTPServer
from handlers import Router
def create_app(port=8080):
# Initialize the server
server = HTTPServer(
("localhost", port),
Router
)
print(f"Running on :{port}")
return server
create_app().serve_forever()A full Markdown editing experience with a 16-action formatting toolbar, live HTML preview via WebKit, and three layout modes — split view, editor only, or preview only.
# Getting Started
Welcome to **BytePad**, a native
macOS text editor built with
*zero dependencies*.
## Features
- Syntax highlighting
- Integrated terminal
- Live preview
- CSV table editing
> Built entirely with
> Apple frameworks.Welcome to BytePad, a native macOS text editor built with zero dependencies.
Built entirely with Apple frameworks.
View and edit CSV files in a native table view with proper quote handling, editable cells, auto-sizing columns, and real-time sync between the text editor and table. Three layout modes let you work the way you prefer.
| Name | Role | Location | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alice Chen | Engineer | San Francisco | Active |
| Bob Smith | Designer | New York | Active |
| Carol Wu | Manager | London | On Leave |
| Dan Park | DevOps | Toronto | Active |
| Eve Larsson | Analyst | Stockholm | Active |
| Frank Diaz | Engineer | Austin | Remote |
A full POSIX PTY terminal embedded in every tab. 256-color support, async I/O, shell keybindings, scrollback history, and bracketed paste — without ever leaving your editor.
forkpty — not emulateddaniel@mac~/projects$ls -la total 48 drwxr-xr-x 6 daniel staff 192 Feb 14 09:30.drwxr-x---+ 18 daniel staff 576 Feb 14 09:15..-rw-r--r-- 1 daniel staff 1247 Feb 14 09:30 main.swift -rw-r--r-- 1 daniel staff 3842 Feb 14 09:28 README.md -rw-r--r-- 1 daniel staff 8192 Feb 14 09:25 data.csvdaniel@mac~/projects$swift build Compiling BytePad (12 sources)...Build complete!(1.84s)daniel@mac~/projects$_
Choose from six hand-crafted color palettes, each with light and dark variants. BytePad follows your macOS appearance setting automatically, or lets you override it.
Same core editor. Pick the version that fits how you buy software.
| Feature | BytePad | BytePad Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Editor | ||
| Syntax highlighting (18+ languages) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tabbed editing with session restore | ✓ | ✓ |
| Find & replace with match counting | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bookmarks & comment toggling | ✓ | ✓ |
| Word wrap & zoom (50%–300%) | ✓ | ✓ |
| 4 monospace fonts | ✓ | ✓ |
| 8 text encodings & 3 line endings | ✓ | ✓ |
| Navigation & Tools | ||
| File browser & workspace management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Inspector panel with file metadata | ✓ | ✓ |
| Diff checker (side-by-side) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Keyboard shortcuts reference | ✓ | ✓ |
| File Formats | ||
| Markdown live preview (3 layout modes) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Markdown formatting toolbar (16 actions) | ✓ | ✓ |
| CSV table editor with inline editing | ✓ | ✓ |
| JSON pretty-print formatter | ✓ | ✓ |
| PDF viewer | ✓ | ✓ |
| Image viewer | ✓ | ✓ |
| Export to PDF (with syntax colors) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Appearance & Intelligence | ||
| 6 color themes (light & dark variants) | ✓ | ✓ |
| System appearance auto-follow | ✓ | ✓ |
| Apple Intelligence & Writing Tools | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pro Exclusive | ||
| Integrated terminal (POSIX PTY) | — | ✓ |
| 256-color xterm ANSI support | — | ✓ |
| Per-tab terminal sessions | — | ✓ |
| 10,000-line scrollback buffer | — | ✓ |
| Distribution | ||
| Purchase | Mac App Store | Direct from website |
| Updates | Free via App Store | 1 year included |
| Devices | Any Mac (Apple ID) | Up to 2 Macs |
| Free trial | ✓ | 14 days |
BytePad integrates natively with Apple Intelligence features available on macOS — giving you powerful writing assistance without leaving the editor.
Rewrite sentences with different tones — professional, casual, concise, or friendly — using the system-level rewriting tools built into macOS.
Speak and watch your words appear in the editor. macOS dictation works seamlessly with BytePad's native text system.
Proofread, summarize, and create key points with Apple's system-wide Writing Tools — available anywhere you can select text in BytePad.
Write and navigate code with syntax highlighting for 18+ languages, a file browser, diff checker, an integrated terminal (Pro), and keyboard shortcuts you already know.
Author Markdown documents with live preview, a formatting toolbar, and instant visual feedback — all in a split-pane view with export to PDF.
Open CSV files and instantly see them as formatted tables. Edit cells inline, copy rows, and toggle between raw text and table views.
Take notes, edit configs, review PDFs, compare files with diff checker, and run commands — all from a single lightweight app with zero setup required.
Get BytePad from the App Store, or try BytePad Pro free for 14 days. macOS 13.0 or later required.