Nanopad is a lightweight Notepad replacement written in pure Win32 C++.
Features include dark/light mode with system theme following, font selection,
Find & Replace, printing, encoding detection (UTF-8, UTF-16, ANSI),
per-monitor DPI scaling, and portable settings via INI file.
Single EXE, no installer, no runtime dependencies.
Publisher’s description
What is Nanopad?
Nanopad by Ganksoft LLC is open-source Windows software in the text editors category. It is written in C++.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides Portable installers for 64-bit and ARM64 Windows. It runs without installation (portable).
Updates and version history
The current version is 1.3.2, released on October 16, 2026. The version history goes back to April 6, 2026: 12 releases, all linked to the official files. The last update is less than a month old.
Popularity and file types
The source code on GitHub (ganksoft/nanopad) has 3 stars. Similar programs include Notepad++, Atom and Neovim.
Project description on GitHub: “A simple, portable Win32 text editor in the spirit of classic Windows Notepad.”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Native ARM64 build for Windows on Arm
- Portable: runs without installation
- Updated in the last two months
In short: Nanopad is an open-source text editor tool for 64-bit and ARM64 PCs.
Is Nanopad 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:
20D73A279B3D287A8867097BB8C73157C8EFE1EAA38C147784AE7668E29CF657· 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
Recent versions
All 12 versions ›| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.3.2Latest | October 16, 2026 | — | ARM64 ZIP64-bit ZIP |
| 1.3.1 | October 14, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIPARM64 ZIP |
| 1.3.0 | August 19, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIPARM64 ZIP |
| 1.2.2 | July 24, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIPARM64 ZIP |
| 1.2.1 | July 7, 2026 | — | ARM64 ZIP64-bit ZIP |
| 1.2.0 | June 25, 2026 | — | ARM64 ZIP64-bit ZIP |
| 1.1.0 | June 22, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 1.0.9 | April 17, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id Ganksoft.Nanopad -eRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- Ganksoft LLC
- Category
- Text editors
- Licence
- MIT
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/ganksoft/nanopad
- Written in
- C++
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit, ARM64
- Installer
- Portable
- Version
- 1.3.2
- Released
- October 16, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- April 6, 2026
- Versions listed
- 12
- GitHub stars
- 3
- GitHub forks
- 1
- Website
- github.com
- winget ID
- Ganksoft.Nanopad
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to Nanopad
See all ›-
Open source22M ↓ -
Open source1.3M ↓ -
Open source744.4K ↓ -
Geany2.1.0A powerful, stable and lightweight programmer's text editor that provides tons of useful features without bogging down your workflow.Open source36.4K ↓ -
Open source11.2K ↓ -
FontForge20251009FontForge is a free and open source font editor brought to you by a community of fellow type lovers.Open source19.3K ↓ -
Brackets1.14.17770With focused visual tools and preprocessor support, Brackets is a modern text editor that makes it easy to design in the browser. It's crafted from the ground up for web designers and front-end developers.Open source180.6K ↓ -
Open source78.3K ↓
Frequently asked questions
Is Nanopad free?
Yes. Nanopad is open-source software under the MIT licence.
Is Nanopad 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 Nanopad 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.
Does Nanopad run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
Yes, there is a native ARM64 installer.
Where can I download an older version of Nanopad?
The versions page lists all 12 versions with links to their official installer files, back to April 6, 2026.
Can I use Nanopad without administrator rights?
Yes, it is portable: unpack and run it.
What are alternatives to Nanopad?
Notepad++, Atom, Neovim, Geany and WordPress.com. The alternatives page compares them.
