Editor’s take: Back in the DOS days, real PC users wrote their textual tomes in the official MS-DOS Editor – I certainly did. These days, developers offer a confusing array of text editors, so Microsoft built its own to simplify command-line editing. Although it’s slightly different than the OG version, I find it refreshing!
Microsoft is reviving the classic MS-DOS Edit utility with a new open-source text editor built for Windows 11. Microsoft developers designed it to provide a native command-line interface (CLI) option. While 32-bit versions of Windows included the legacy 16-bit MS-DOS version, 64-bit editions lacked any built-in CLI tool.
Edit is a compact, modeless editor with a text-based user interface. Its minimal footprint of less than 250kB makes it easy for Microsoft to include in Windows 11 ISO images. Although still in early development, Edit offers several modern features to create a more comfortable editing experience, including mouse support, key binding, simultaneous multiple file editing, find-and-replace (with match case and regular expression options), and word wrap – something MS-DOS users could only dream of back in the 90s.
The open-source version of Edit is already available on GitHub. The project’s official page states its primary goal is to offer an accessible text editor that even users unfamiliar with the command line can use easily. That said, when compared side-by-side, Edit’s interface feels nothing like the original MS-DOS Editor. We checked.
Also see: A Compilation of Command Prompt Tips, Tricks & Cool Things You Can Do
Microsoft plans to roll out the new CLI text editor to unpaid Windows Insider beta testers soon. Microsoft expects the tool to mature enough to launch alongside a stable Windows 11 build.
The new editor could appeal to PC users tired of relentless AI fluff, Copilot ads, and unwanted features flooding their systems. Microsoft continues to use every trick in the book to make Windows an AI-first-user-last experience – to the point that even the “classic” Notepad can’t survive without some unwanted AI gimmick that nobody requested.
Image credit: Windows Latest
