Arc Editor

Simple. Modern. Efficient.

A modern terminal-based text editor with Tree-sitter powered syntax highlighting.

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Arc combines the accessibility of nano with powerful features and a clean interface.

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⚠️ Development Status

Arc is currently under active development and is not production-ready. Expect bugs, breaking changes, and incomplete features.

Known Issues

• Windows: Cursor bouncing and rendering artifacts
• Color Rendering: Theme color mismatches across platforms
• Project Structure: Code organization is being refactored
• Stability: Crashes and unexpected behavior may occur

We recommend:

• Using Arc for experimental purposes only
• Testing in non-critical environments
• Reporting bugs to help improve stability
• Checking back regularly for updates

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✨ Features

• Intuitive Interface: Minimal, focused on your content with smart viewport management
• Advanced Syntax Highlighting: Tree-sitter powered, accurate AST-based coloring
• Modern Editing: Gap buffer for efficient text ops, unlimited undo/redo
• Smart Selection: Visual selection with copy, cut, paste
• Live Configuration: Hot-reload themes and settings
• Cross-Platform: Windows (PDCurses), Linux, macOS (NCurses)
• Lightweight: Fast startup, minimal resource usage
• Customizable: Multiple color themes, configurable behavior

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🖥️ Demo

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🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• All Platforms: CMake 3.16+, C++20 compiler, Git (for submodules)
• Linux: build-essential cmake libncurses5-dev libyaml-cpp-dev
• macOS: cmake ncurses yaml-cpp (via Homebrew)
• Windows: Visual Studio 2019+ with vcpkg

Installation

Linux/Ubuntu

sudo apt install build-essential cmake libncurses5-dev libyaml-cpp-dev
git clone --recursive https://github.com/moisnx/arc.git
cd arc
mkdir build && cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
make -j$(nproc)
./arc

macOS

brew install cmake ncurses yaml-cpp
git clone --recursive https://github.com/moisnx/arc.git
cd arc
mkdir build && cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
make -j$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu)
./arc

Windows

git clone https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg.git C:\tools\vcpkg
cd C:\tools\vcpkg
.\bootstrap-vcpkg.bat
.\vcpkg integrate install
.\vcpkg install pdcurses:x64-windows-static yaml-cpp:x64-windows-static

git clone --recursive https://github.com/moisnx/arc.git
cd arc
mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=C:/tools/vcpkg/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake `
         -DVCPKG_TARGET_TRIPLET=x64-windows-static
cmake --build . --config Release
.\Release\arc.exe

Note: Forgot --recursive? Run git submodule update --init --recursive

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📂 Supported Languages

• C/C++
• Python
• Rust
• JavaScript/TypeScript (incl. JSX/TSX)
• Markdown (with inline code)
• Go
• Zig

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🎮 Usage

# Open a file
arc filename.txt

# Start with empty buffer
arc

# View help
arc --help

Key Bindings

Show Key Bindings

File Operations

Key	Action
Ctrl+S	Save file
Ctrl+Q	Quit (with unsaved changes prompt)

Editing

Key	Action
Ctrl+Z	Undo
Ctrl+Y	Redo
Backspace	Delete char before cursor
Delete	Delete char at cursor
Enter	Insert new line
Tab	Insert 4 spaces

Navigation

Key	Action
Arrow Keys	Move cursor
Home/End	Line start/end
PgUp/PgDn	Scroll viewport

Selection

Key	Action
Shift+Arrows	Extend selection
Ctrl+A	Select all
Ctrl+C	Copy selection
Ctrl+X	Cut selection
Ctrl+V	Paste from clipboard
Esc	Clear selection

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⚙️ Configuration

Arc auto-creates config files on first run:

• Linux/macOS: ~/.config/arceditor/
• Windows: %APPDATA%\arceditor\

Example: config.yaml

appearance:
  theme: default

editor:
  tab_size: 4
  line_numbers: true
  cursor_style: auto

syntax:
  highlighting: viewport

Themes

• 14 built-in themes.
• Add custom themes in .config/arceditor/themes/.
• Supports hex, 256-color, and named colors.
• Hot-reload: Changes are auto-reloaded.

# mytheme.theme
name: "My Theme"
background: "#1e1e2e"
foreground: "#cdd6f4"
keyword: "#cba6f7"
string_literal: "#a6e3a1"
comment: "#6c7086"
# ... see existing themes for all options

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🛠️ Development

Project Structure

arc/
├── src/
│   ├── core/
│   ├── features/
│   ├── ui/
│   └── main.cpp
├── deps/                  # Git submodules: tree-sitter, efsw, etc.
├── treesitter/
│   ├── languages.yaml
│   └── queries/
├── .config/arceditor/
└── CMakeLists.txt

Note: Project structure is currently being refactored and may change significantly.

See build.md for advanced setup and troubleshooting.

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📈 Roadmap

• Multiple file tabs/buffers
• Advanced search/replace (regex)
• Git integration (diff, blame)
• LSP support
• Plugin system
• Mouse support enhancements
• Split panes
• Configurable keybindings

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👥 Community & Contributing

💡 Contributions welcome!

Since Arc is in early development, contributions that help stabilize core functionality are especially appreciated.

1. Fork & create a feature branch
2. Follow .gitmessage for commits
3. Run tests before submitting
4. Open a PR

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• Docs: build.md | quickstart.md

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📝 License

MIT License – see LICENSE for details.

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🙏 Acknowledgments

• Tree-sitter
• NCurses
• PDCurses
• EFSW
• yaml-cpp
• Inspired by nano, micro, and helix editors

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Arc Editor – Simple. Modern. Efficient.