Notepad++ v8.8.9 (released December 9, 2025) continues to set the standard for lightweight code editors, offering a secure and highly customizable alternative to the default Windows text editor. This open-source solution delivers exceptional performance for developers and system administrators who need speed without the bloat of a full Integrated Development Environment (IDE). With its latest update, the software has hardened its security infrastructure, ensuring that the Plugin Admin and updater mechanisms are protected against modern vulnerabilities while maintaining compatibility with Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11.
Key Features
- Syntax Highlighting & Code Folding: Automatically colors source code for over 80 programming languages, allowing users to collapse complex code blocks for better readability and focus.
- Secure Plugin Admin: Provides access to a vast library of community-created extensions to expand functionality, now updated in 2025 with enhanced GPG signature verification to prevent updater hijacking.
- Document Map: Displays a visual overview of the entire file in a sidebar, enabling users to navigate through thousands of lines of code or log data instantly.
- Multi-Editing & Column Mode: Allows users to place cursors in multiple locations simultaneously or select rectangular blocks of text, making batch edits and data formatting tasks significantly faster.
- Auto-Completion: Speeds up coding by predicting functions, word completions, and function parameters based on the active programming language or open file content.
Use Cases
Software engineers and web developers rely on this tool for writing frontend code (HTML, CSS, jаvascript) and backend scripts, utilizing the distraction-free mode for focused programming. System administrators frequently use it to open and analyze massive log files that would crash standard text editors, while technical writers use the multi-tab interface to manage documentation projects efficiently.
Notepad++ remains the unrivaled choice for Windows users seeking a fast, secure, and resource-efficient text editor that handles everything from quick notes to complex development projects.
Version 8.8.9 — December 2025
- Enhanced security by implementing certificate and signature verification for downloaded update installers to prevent malicious redirects
- Resolved corrupted file loading issues on Windows systems using full UTF-8 code pages
- Fixed application crashes when processing SHA-256 hashes for large files
- Restored functionality of the "Select & Find Next" command that had stopped working
- Improved MSI installer with NOUPDATER option and suppressed automatic reboot requirements
- Eliminated freezing issues caused by Perl Function List during tab switching
- Fixed truncated context menu problems when changing localization settings
- Added automatic updating capability for user configuration files (langs.xml and stylers.xml) from template models
- Updated core components to Scintilla 5.5.8 and Lexilla 5.4.6 for improved text editing performance
- Introduced new feature to sort document lines by character length
- Enhanced undo and redo operations to maintain vertical scroll position for better user experience
