Notepad++

The text editor for config files, logs and scripts when a full development environment is overkill. Notepad++ is free and GPL-licensed, built on the Scintilla editing component and written against the plain Win32 API, so it stays light and quick to open. Tabs, syntax highlighting and regex search cover nearly every quick edit. One thing to know before trusting it on a work machine: in 2025 attackers who compromised the project's hosting provider redirected some update requests to malicious downloads. The updater now verifies the signature and certificate of each installer it fetches, and the project told anyone on an older version to reinstall manually from the official site. Do that once, then let it update.