Geany (ʒiːni/ JEE-NEE) is a free and open-source lightweight GUI text editor using Scintilla and GTK, including basic IDE features. It is designed to have short load times, with limited dependency on separate packages or external libraries on Linux. It has been ported to a wide range of operating systems, such as BSD, Linux, macOS, Solaris and Windows. The Windows port lacks an embedded terminal window.
On Linux it does not have proper Wayland support as of August 2026 with basic features like the clipboard not working. It does not run as native Wayland app and instead uses XWayland.
However there is discussion about porting the software to GTK4 eventually.
Geany resembles Notepad++ somewhat, which also uses Scintilla.
It is free software licensed under the terms of the GNU GPL version 2 or later.
In 2012, the version number was increased to 1.22 from 0.21 to reflect the maturity of the product, as requested by many users. Geany version 1.29 is based on GTK+ 3.22. Version 1.36 is based on GTK+ 3.24.14. Version 1.37.1 is the last version with GTK+ 2.24 support.
What is Geany?
Geany by The Geany developer team (developed by Frank Lanitz) is open-source Windows software in the text editors category. It ranks 8th by popularity among text editors in this catalogue. The first release dates back to 2005. It is written in C and C++. Besides Windows, it is available for Linux, macOS and Unix-like operating system.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (NSIS) installers for 64-bit Windows. Installation asks for administrator rights. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches.
Updates and version history
The current version is 2.1.0, released on July 6, 2025. The version history goes back to March 30, 2021: 4 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 0.9 releases a year. The last update is more than a year old.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 36,357 times. The source code on GitHub (geany/geany) has 3,739 stars. Wikipedia has an article about it in 26 of our languages. Similar programs include Notepad++, Atom and Neovim.
Project description on GitHub: “A fast and lightweight IDE”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Documented silent install
- Also runs on Linux, macOS and Unix-like operating system
- Mature project (since 2005)
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
- Installation needs administrator rights
- No update for more than a year
In short: Geany is an open-source text editor tool for 64-bit PCs. Updates have slowed down. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Key features
- Syntax highlighting
- Code completion
- Auto completion of often used constructs like if, for and while
- Auto completion of XML and HTML tags
- Call tips
- Code folding
- Many supported filetypes like C, Java, PHP, HTML, Python, Perl, Pascal
- Symbol lists
- Embedded terminal emulation
- Extensibility through plugins
AppStream · Flathub
Screenshots
Is Geany safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
50C7835B31BC736D0B5E5F894AA8EC08A95185873FB64D29A95727D2859107D8· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the geany/geany repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- No dangerous workflows10
- No binaries in the repository10
- Licence declared10
- Signed releases8
- Static code analysis7
- Actively maintained6
- Code review5
- Restricted token permissions0
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Pinned dependencies0
- Security policy0
- Fuzzing0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 4 versions ›4 versions over 4 years · about 0.9 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1.0Latest | July 6, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 2.0.0 | October 19, 2023 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 1.38 | December 17, 2021 | — | 32-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 1.37.1 | March 30, 2021 | 16.6 MB | 32-bit EXE (NSIS) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id Geany.Geany -echoco install geany -yscoop install extras/geanygeany-2.1_setup.exe /SRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install --cask geanyflatpak install flathub org.geany.GeanyInformation
- Publisher
- The Geany developer team
- Developer
- Frank Lanitz and Enrico Tröger
- Category
- Text editors
- Licence
- GPL-2.0-or-later
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/geany/geany
- Written in
- C and C++
- Content rating
- All ages
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- EXE (NSIS)
- Other platforms
- Linux, macOS, Unix-like operating system
- Version
- 2.1.0
- Released
- July 6, 2025
- First release
- 2005
- Added to the catalogue
- March 30, 2021
- Versions listed
- 4
- Updates / year
- 0.9
- Chocolatey downloads
- 36,357
- GitHub stars
- 3,739
- GitHub forks
- 671
- Website
- geany.org
- winget ID
- Geany.Geany
- Chocolatey package
- geany
- Scoop package
- extras/geany
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Geany free?
Yes. Geany is open-source software under the GPL-2.0-or-later licence.
Is Geany safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Geany with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can Geany be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does Geany run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of Geany?
The versions page lists all 4 versions with links to their official installer files, back to March 30, 2021.
What are alternatives to Geany?
Notepad++, Atom, Neovim, WordPress.com and Brackets. The alternatives page compares them.
