<cat>Dev</cat> As noted in the <page text="welcome tutorial">Beginner_Tutorial_Intro</page> Lua is plain text, so you can edit it in notepad, but you'll probably find you want something a bit better. The editor you use is a personal preference - so it's up to you to choose one for yourself. The editors below are listed because they're the most popular editors in the Garry's Mod community. ⤶ # Notepad++ ⤶ ⤶ [Notepad++](https://notepad-plus-plus.org/) is a text editor with a number of features. It has syntax highlighting, a minimap and a number of hotkeys, along with a Garry's Mod specific Syntax Highlighter which can be found [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20190406231524/https://forum.facepunch.com/gmoddev/oarh/Notepad-GLua-Highlighter/1/).⤶ ⤶ <image src="Notepadplusplus.png" alt="center"/>⤶ The editor you use is a personal preference - so it's up to you to choose one for yourself. The editors below are listed because they are the most popular editors in the Garry's Mod community. # Sublime Text [Sublime](https://sublimetext.com/) is a very good text editor in terms of looks and effectiveness, it's highly customizable and easy to use. HLike Notepad++, it has a number of features to aid in development, such as syntax highlighting, a minimap and a number of hotkeys. It also has a great [package manager](https://packagecontrol.io/) for installing plugins. The following are a few recommended packages to install: * [GMod Lua Syntax Highlighting](https://packagecontrol.io/packages/GMod%20Lua) ([Facepunch thread](https://web.archive.org/web/20160907203732/https://facepunch.com/threads/1038951a)) * [GMod Lua Linter](https://packagecontrol.io/packages/SublimeLinter-contrib-glua) [Sublime](https://sublimetext.com/) is a very good text editor as it is appealing and effective, it's also highly customizable and easy to use. It offers a number of features that will aid you in development, such as syntax highlighting, a minimap and a number of hotkeys. It also has a great [package manager](https://packagecontrol.io/) for installing plugins. The following are a few recommended packages to install: * [GLua Highlighting](https://packagecontrol.io/packages/GMod%20Lua) ([Facepunch thread](https://web.archive.org/web/20160907203732/https://facepunch.com/threads/1038951a)) * [Linting](https://packagecontrol.io/packages/SublimeLinter-contrib-glua) <image src="sublime_text.png" alt="700px"/> ⤶ ⤶ # Visual Studio⤶ ⤶ If you use [Visual Studio](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/) then it might be more comfortable using it to edit Lua too. The free versions of Visual Studio are called 'Express'. There's a good page about Lua plugins on the [World Of Warcraft Wiki](http://www.wowwiki.com/Lua_editors/Visual_Studio). ⤶ ⤶ <image src="VisualStudioLua.png" alt="700px"/>⤶ # Visual Studio Code [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) is a lightweight counterpart to Visual Studio, similar to Sublime. It's customizable with plugins and is fairly easy to use. It has built in git support, and a [large set of plugins](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/VSCode), including support for [GLua Highlighting](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=aStonedPenguin.glua) and [Linting](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=goz3rr.vscode-glualint).⤶ [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) is a lightweight counterpart to Visual Studio, similar to Sublime. It's customizable with extensions and is fairly easy to use. It has built in git support, and a large set of extensions [in the marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/VSCode). Here are some extensions that you should install:⤶ * [GLua Highlighting](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=aStonedPenguin.glua) ⤶ * [Linting](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=goz3rr.vscode-glualint).⤶ <upload src="46d91/8d7a4ce97a292d9.png" size="123071" name="vscode-demo.png" /> # IntelliJ IDEA ⤶ If you're a Java developer, then you've probably heard of [Intellij](http://www.jetbrains.com/idea/). IntelliJ is an opensource(ish) IDE for Java and many other languages including Lua. You can get the community edition for [free](http://www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/index.html) or [purchase](http://www.jetbrains.com/idea/buy/index.jsp) the ultimate edition for as low as $99. <image src="intellij.png" alt="700px"/> # Eclipse⤶ ⤶ [Eclipse](http://http://www.eclipse.org/) is an IDE primarily focused on Java. If you've ever messed around with Android or Java in general, then you're probably familiar with it. Eclipse has additional support for many languages including Lua via optional plugins such as [LDT](http://www.eclipse.org/koneki/ldt/). ⤶ <image src="EclipseIDE.png" alt="700px"/>⤶ ⤶ # Visual Studio⤶ If you use [Visual Studio](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/) then it might be more comfortable and convenient using it to edit Lua too (rather than learning a new editor). The free versions of Visual Studio are called 'Express'. There's a good page about Lua plugins on the [World Of Warcraft Wiki](http://www.wowwiki.com/Lua_editors/Visual_Studio). <image src="VisualStudioLua.png" alt="700px"/> # Notepad++ ⤶ ⤶ [Notepad++](https://notepad-plus-plus.org/) is a text editor with a number of features. It has syntax highlighting, a minimap and a number of hotkeys, along with a Garry's Mod specific Syntax Highlighter which can be found [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20190406231524/https://forum.facepunch.com/gmoddev/oarh/Notepad-GLua-Highlighter/1/). ⤶ <warning>Notepad++ is the weakest editor here; it severely lacks plugins that the other editors such as Sublime Text and Visual Studio Code have such as up-to-date code snippets and linting. However, it is completely fine for editing a few GLua files.</warning>⤶ ⤶ <image src="Notepadplusplus.png" alt="center"/>