# Minimalist browser editor by medv.io

11 Hacker News commenters recommended Minimalist browser editor by medv.io and 8 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its simple, clever design that keeps the whole document in the URL. Common caveat: mobile browsers crash on large links.

## Why people recommend it

- Simple, clever, refreshing design (2 comments): "I love this. Great little html page to refresh on Javascript." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46383662)) "very refreshing, very simple and clever, very well done" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46379140))
- Fun, impressive hack (2 comments): "Amazing. The crime and punishment example crashed my iPhone’s Google Chrome" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46378759)) "This hack has completely disrupted my afternoon!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46380678))

## What people warn about

- Crashes mobile browsers (6 comments): "Crashes my mobile chromium browsers when I try to open crime and punishment." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46384140)) "Amazing. The crime and punishment example crashed my iPhone’s Google Chrome" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46378759)) "the mobile crashes highlight how hostile real-world URL handling still is" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46384622))

## 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, "Minimalist browser editor by medv.io", https://hackerapproved.com/p/minimalist-browser-based-editor/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).