# micro text editor

19 Hacker News commenters recommended micro text editor and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Lightweight terminal editor with familiar GUI-style keybindings that is easy to install and runs almost anywhere, including phones through Termux.

## Why people recommend it

- Familiar GUI-style keybindings and defaults (5 comments): "For most people though, I think micro is a better fit than nano if you want a terminal CUA-style editor." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50294509)) "these editors feel more like using GUI editor like sublime text for example. And that's nice." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49667045)) "comes with really lovely defaults and keybindings that are a bit more familiar" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45810873))
- Light, fast, easy to install (3 comments): "Micro is included in most repos, so if you rent a new VPS you can immidiately dnf install it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46143990)) "lighter, faster to install, do not require updates, and often as capable as native apps" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47533688)) "no separate frontend, single Go binary" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49695308))
- Works without a GUI, over SSH or Termux (4 comments): "Micro is included in most repos, so if you rent a new VPS you can immidiately dnf install it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46143990)) "When I don't have a GUI available, I use micro, nano, joe." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48139163)) "I use this through Termux when coding on my phone." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49470296))
- Polished user experience (5 comments): "micro is really just such a great thing overall, it fit so perfectly" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45805197)) "Micro editor is a great choice as well imo" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47178351)) "micro has hit the nail on quality UX" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46978904))

## What people warn about

- Users outgrow it and want more (3 comments): "There is micro which is already good, but I wanted something more" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46138392)) "Flow is a much nicer product than those 3" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46299212)) "Im looking to migrate off of Micro" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48582145))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Zed](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zed.md): 700 recommend
- [GNU Emacs](https://hackerapproved.com/p/emacs.md): 648 recommend
- [Vim](https://hackerapproved.com/p/vim.md): 513 recommend
- [Visual Studio Code](https://hackerapproved.com/p/visual-studio-code.md): 485 recommend
- [Neovim](https://hackerapproved.com/p/neovim.md): 295 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "micro text editor", https://hackerapproved.com/p/micro/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).