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Best Productivity ResourcesBy Shushant LakhyaniVerified creator

Desktop App

Phoenix Code

A free, open-source visual code editor for websites: the official successor to Brackets.

Visit Phoenix Code4.4

  • Rating

    4.4 / 5

  • Pricing

    Freemium

  • Difficulty

    Beginner

  • Works on

    Web, Windows, macOS

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What is Phoenix Code?

Phoenix Code is a free, open-source visual editor for websites, web apps and Markdown, and the official successor to Adobe's Brackets editor. The Community Edition updates a live preview of your site as you type HTML, CSS and JavaScript. It runs in the browser or as a desktop app for Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS; Phoenix Pro is an optional paid upgrade.

Pros: what Phoenix Code does well

  • Live preview as you type, like Dreamweaver's split view
  • Free and open-source Community Edition
  • Runs in the browser or on the desktop

Cons: where it falls short

  • Some features are in the paid Pro edition
  • Smaller extension ecosystem than VS Code

Who Phoenix Code is for

Beginners and designers who want to see their site update as they code.

Who can skip it

Developers already set up in a full IDE.

Phoenix Code alternatives

Not sold on Phoenix Code? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.

All Workflows resources

Helix

Focus: terminal, modal editing and github. Shares code editor and open source with Phoenix Code. Free (Phoenix Code: Freemium). Adds Offline. Rated 4.6 (Phoenix Code: 4.4).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit

VSCodium

Focus: vs code, privacy and github. Shares code editor and open source with Phoenix Code. Free (Phoenix Code: Freemium). Adds Offline. Rated 4.6 (Phoenix Code: 4.4).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit

Lapce

Focus: rust, plugins and terminal. Shares code editor and open source with Phoenix Code. Free (Phoenix Code: Freemium). Same 4.4 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.4Visit

Silex

Focus: website builder, no-code and static sites. Shares open source and dreamweaver alternative with Phoenix Code. A web app, not a desktop app. Free (Phoenix Code: Freemium). Rated 4.2 (Phoenix Code: 4.4).

Web AppFreeWeb
4.2Visit

Ghostty

Focus: terminal, emulator and gpu. Shares open source with Phoenix Code. Free (Phoenix Code: Freemium). Rated 4.9 (Phoenix Code: 4.4).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.9Visit

fzf

Focus: fuzzy finder, command line and shell. Shares open source with Phoenix Code. Free (Phoenix Code: Freemium). Adds Offline. Rated 4.8 (Phoenix Code: 4.4).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit

Free alternatives to Phoenix Code

Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.

lazygit

Focus: git client, terminal ui and developer tool. Shares open source with Phoenix Code. Free (Phoenix Code: Freemium). Adds Offline. Rated 4.8 (Phoenix Code: 4.4).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit

navi

Focus: terminal, cli and cheatsheet. Shares open source with Phoenix Code. Free (Phoenix Code: Freemium). Rated 4.8 (Phoenix Code: 4.4).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit

Upscayl

Focus: image upscaling, ai and electron. Shares open source with Phoenix Code. Free (Phoenix Code: Freemium). Rated 4.8 (Phoenix Code: 4.4).

Desktop AppFreeLinux, macOS
4.8Visit

Atuin

Focus: shell history, terminal and command line. Shares open source with Phoenix Code. Free (Phoenix Code: Freemium). Rated 4.7 (Phoenix Code: 4.4).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit

AutoHotkey

Focus: hotkeys, macros and scripting. Shares open source with Phoenix Code. Free (Phoenix Code: Freemium). Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (Phoenix Code: 4.4).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, Offline
4.7Visit

bat

Focus: file viewer, command line and developer tool. Shares open source with Phoenix Code. Free (Phoenix Code: Freemium). Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (Phoenix Code: 4.4).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
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