winget install --id=coccor.FastPad -e FastPad is a native Win32 text editor built on Scintilla, with no UI framework, browser runtime, background service, or network access. The window accepts typing before settings, file loading, and highlighting finish.
The text editor that's ready before you are.
Click it, type. No splash screen, no spinner, no "loading extensions". A native Windows editor for the notes, logs, configs, JSON and Markdown you open fifty times a day.
Download · Install · Features · Shortcuts
Most editors make you wait for everything before you can do anything. FastPad turns that around: the window takes your keystrokes first, and settings, file loading, syntax highlighting and crash recovery catch up behind you.
Written in Rust directly on Win32, with the battle-tested Scintilla editing engine underneath.
winget install coccor.FastPad
Other ways to install: Scoop, installer, portable ZIP
| Method | How | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| winget | winget install coccor.FastPad | Per-user install; winget upgrade keeps it current |
| Scoop | scoop bucket add fastpad https://github.com/coccor/FastPad``scoop install fastpad/fastpad | Portable install, Start menu shortcut, fastpad command |
| Installer | FastPad--windows-x64-setup.exe | Per-user install, no administrator prompt |
| Portable | FastPad--windows-x64.zip | Extract anywhere, run FastPad.exe; nothing written to the registry |
Every release publishes SHA256SUMS.txt so you can verify what you downloaded.
The installer puts FastPad in %LocalAppData%\Programs\FastPad and only touches your own user
registry: an uninstall entry, a Start menu shortcut, fastpad for Win+R, and FastPad in the
"Open with" list for .txt, .md, .markdown, .json, .log and .ini. Your default apps are
never changed. Optional extras: a desktop shortcut and "Edit with FastPad" on every file's right-click
menu. Uninstall from Settings > Apps. Unattended install:
FastPad--windows-x64-setup.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /TASKS="contextmenu"
/ALLUSERS installs for every user into Program Files instead (requires elevation).
The portable ZIP holds FastPad.exe, Scintilla.dll and Lexilla.dll (keep them together),
plus README.md, LICENSE, LICENSES.md and licenses\.
Settings and recovery snapshots live in %LocalAppData%\FastPad whichever way you install, so you
can switch methods without losing them, and uninstalling keeps them.
> "Windows protected your PC"? Current releases aren't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn
> on first run. Choose More info > Run anyway, or check the file against SHA256SUMS.txt first.
Write on the left, see it rendered on the right. FastPad draws GitHub-flavored Markdown natively (tables, task lists, strikethrough, code blocks and local images) and updates moments after you stop typing. Both panes scroll together.
#headings jump inside the preview, and links to
local files open in a new FastPad tab.Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, Ctrl+` and Ctrl+K make the selection
bold, italic, code or a link. Enter continues a list (Enter on an empty item ends it), Tab and
Shift+Tab nest list items and move between table cells, and a table lines up when you leave it.
Each is a single undo step.
Open any folder and it becomes your notebook: a tree in the sidebar, folders as they are on disk, pinned notes first. Notes are plain files, so nothing is locked in.
Pins travel with the notebook in .fastpad\library.ini, and nothing is written into a folder until
you pin something. Turn notes off with notes_mode=false in fastpad.ini.
Syntax highlighting as soon as you open a .json file. Validate JSON points to the exact line
and column of a mistake; Format JSON pretty-prints the whole document in one step you can undo. Neither will
touch a file that doesn't parse.
FastPad picks the language from the file name and colours it in every theme: JSON, Markdown, XML
(including SVG, .csproj and .xaml), HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, YAML, TOML, INI,
.properties, .env, PowerShell, Bash, Batch, Python, C, C++, C#, Rust and SQL. Switch it by hand
from View → Language or the command palette. The notebook lists all of these files too
(.env, .bashrc and Cargo.lock included), each with its own icon in every icon set.
Open as many files as you like in one window. Every tab keeps its caret and scroll position, across switches and restarts. Open a file from Explorer or the command line and it lands as a tab in the FastPad window you already have open, not in a new window.
Put files side by side in any grid of rows and columns. Drag a tab onto another group to move it, or onto an editor's edge to split it. Each group has its own tabs, and the layout comes back with your session.
PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP and more open in an image tab you can zoom and pan. SVGs open as text, with their rendered preview beside the source. The notebook lists images next to your notes.
Open it and start typing. Switch theme, toggle word wrap or line numbers, change font size
or tab width, all without leaving the keyboard. Every change is saved instantly. Prefer to
see everything at once? Settings (Ctrl+,, File > Settings... or the gear at the
bottom of the sidebar) lists every setting, and changes apply as you make them.
Light, dark, or System to follow Windows as it switches. Plus all four
Catppuccin flavors (Latte, Frappé, Macchiato, Mocha), or plain
catppuccin to pick Latte by day and Mocha by night. For long reading and writing sessions there are
Paper (warm off-white) and Lamp (warm charcoal), or paper-lamp to pick Paper by day and Lamp by
night. Windows high contrast is always respected.
FastPad quietly snapshots unsaved documents every 30 seconds while you edit. If your PC crashes, loses power or reboots for an update, the next launch brings your work back as unsaved tabs. Saving or discarding a recovered tab cleans up after itself.
Close FastPad and the next launch reopens every tab, including unsaved edits and untitled notes,
with the tab you were on active. Closing never nags about unsaved changes while this is on. Turn
it off with File > Restore session on startup or restore_session=false, and FastPad asks
before closing again.
| Action | Shortcut | Action | Shortcut | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New tab | Ctrl+N or Ctrl+T | Command palette | Ctrl+Shift+P | |
| Open | Ctrl+O | Markdown preview modes | Ctrl+Shift+V | |
| Save | Ctrl+S | Format JSON | Shift+Alt+F | |
| Save as | Ctrl+Shift+S | Word wrap | Alt+Z | |
| Find | Ctrl+F | Zoom in / out / reset | Ctrl++ / Ctrl+- / Ctrl+0 | |
| Replace | Ctrl+H | Next / previous tab | Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab | |
| Undo / redo | Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y | Go to tab 1–9 | Alt+1 … Alt+9 | |
| Open notebook | Ctrl+Shift+O | Toggle sidebar | Ctrl+B (Bold in Markdown files) | |
| Show notebook | Ctrl+Shift+E | Search notes | Ctrl+Shift+F | |
| Move note to notebook | Ctrl+Shift+M | Sidebar / editor groups focus | F6 / Shift+F6 | |
| Find next / previous | F3 / Shift+F3 | Match case / whole word / regex | Alt+C / Alt+W / Alt+R | |
| Replace in notes | Ctrl+Shift+H | Replace all (in Search) | Ctrl+Alt+Enter | |
| Replace in the selected result | Ctrl+Shift+1 | Go to note | Ctrl+P | |
| Close tab | Ctrl+W or middle-click | Split editor right / down | Ctrl+\ / Ctrl+Shift+\ | |
| Focus editor group 1–8 / last | Ctrl+1 … Ctrl+8 / Ctrl+9 | Move tab to next / previous group | Ctrl+Alt+Right / Ctrl+Alt+Left | |
| Settings | Ctrl+, | Select line | Ctrl+L | |
| Move line up / down | Alt+Up / Alt+Down | Copy line up / down | Shift+Alt+Up / Shift+Alt+Down | |
| Delete line | Ctrl+Shift+K | Insert line below / above | Ctrl+Enter / Ctrl+Shift+Enter | |
| Indent / outdent line | Ctrl+] / Ctrl+[ | Toggle line / block comment | Ctrl+/ / Shift+Alt+A | |
| Add next occurrence | Ctrl+D | Select all occurrences | Ctrl+Shift+L | |
| Add cursor above / below | Ctrl+Alt+Up / Ctrl+Alt+Down | Add cursor | Alt+Click | |
| Bold / italic (Markdown files) | Ctrl+B / Ctrl+I | Code / link (Markdown files) | Ctrl+` / Ctrl+K |
Everything in the command palette or Settings is saved to %LocalAppData%\FastPad\fastpad.ini. You can also
edit it by hand: one key=value per line. A typo never blocks startup; FastPad points out the bad
line in a notification and applies the rest.
| Key | Values | Default |
|---|---|---|
font_face | Any installed font name | Consolas |
preview_font | Any installed font name, for Markdown preview text (code in the preview uses font_face) | Segoe UI |
preview_font_size | Markdown preview text size in pixels (positive integer) | 14 |
preview_line_height | Markdown preview line height, a multiple of the text size from 1.0 to 3.0 | 1.6 |
font_size | Points (positive integer) | 11 |
tab_width | 1–255 | 4 |
word_wrap | true/false, 1/0, yes/no, on/off | false |
line_numbers | true/false, 1/0, yes/no, on/off | true |
insert_spaces | true/false, 1/0, yes/no, on/off | false |
show_whitespace | true/false, 1/0, yes/no, on/off | false |
highlight_current_line | true/false, 1/0, yes/no, on/off | true |
code_folding | true/false, 1/0, yes/no, on/off | true |
always_on_top | true/false, 1/0, yes/no, on/off | false |
theme | system, light, dark, catppuccin, catppuccin-latte, catppuccin-frappe, catppuccin-macchiato, catppuccin-mocha, paper-lamp, paper, lamp | system |
recovery_interval_seconds | Seconds between recovery snapshots | 30 |
restore_session | true/false, 1/0, yes/no, on/off | true |
sidebar_view | notebook, search, favorites, none | notebook |
sidebar_width | 180–480 (pixels at 100% scaling) | 260 |
settings_size | x (pixels at 100% scaling), saved when you resize Settings | none: its natural size |
window_placement | ,,x, then ,maximized if it was; saved when the main window closes | none: opens at the default spot |
file_icons | material, minimal or solid | material |
Hand edits keep your comments and other lines; the palette and Settings rewrite only the lines they change.
FastPad.exe [--new-window] [path]
FastPad.exe notes.md opens the file in your running FastPad window, or starts FastPad if none is
open.--new-window always starts a separate, independent window.--diagnostic is for the startup benchmark harness; you don't need it.Is it really free? Yes. FastPad is open source under the MIT License, with no paid tier, no ads and no data collection.
Does it replace Notepad? It sits alongside it. The installer adds FastPad to "Open with" for common text formats without taking over your defaults, and you can make it the default for any file type from Windows Settings.
Why the SmartScreen warning? New, unsigned apps have no reputation with Microsoft yet. Code signing is on the way; until then, every release publishes SHA-256 checksums you can verify.
Can I use it on Windows on ARM or 32-bit Windows? Not yet. Current builds are Windows 10 and 11 x64.
The preview renders GitHub-flavored Markdown natively (tables, task lists, strikethrough, code
blocks, images) and the HTML GitHub allows in READMEs: centred <div> and <p> blocks, sized
<img /> tags, <picture> images that follow the light or dark theme, collapsible
sections, and inline tags such as, , and . Local PNG, JPEG, GIF,
and SVG images are shown; remote images show a placeholder with their alt text, because nothing is
loaded from the network. It updates shortly after you stop typing, and scrolling either pane scrolls
the other. Links open when clicked: web and mail links in your default browser, #anchors inside
the preview (opening any collapsed section around them), and local files in a FastPad tab.
Files larger than 10 MB pause live updates; click the bar at the top of the preview to refresh it.
If FastPad saves you a few seconds a day, star it on GitHub. It's the single best way to help others find it. Found a bug or missing something? Open an issue.
Requirements: Rust stable (see rust-toolchain.toml), Visual Studio 2022 with the C++ x64 build
tools, and PowerShell 7.
pwsh -File tools/fetch-native.ps1 # download and SHA-256-verify Scintilla and Lexilla
pwsh -File tools/build-native.ps1 # build the DLLs into native\out\x64
cargo build --release
cargo test -- --test-threads=1 # Windows integration tests must run serially
pwsh -File tools/audit-dependencies.ps1 # allow only the windows-sys/serde_json closure
pwsh -File tools/package.ps1 # dist\FastPad--windows-x64.zip
pwsh -File tools/verify-package.ps1 # add -RequireSignature for signed release builds
pwsh -File tools/package-installer.ps1 # dist\FastPad--windows-x64-setup.exe (Inno Setup 6)
pwsh -File tools/verify-installer.ps1 # silent install, registration checks, uninstall
The version comes from Cargo.toml. Releasing, code signing, and the Scoop and winget manifests are
covered in docs/distribution.md; startup benchmarking in
benchmarks/README.md.
FastPad is released under the MIT License. Scintilla, Lexilla and the Rust crates it
links are listed with their licenses in LICENSES.md.