A new major release of open source text editor GNU nano is here. GNU nano 3.0 reads files 70% faster and brings several other features.

GNU nano is one of the most popular terminal based text editors. Those who keep forgetting how to exit Vim, seek refuge with GNU nano. It’s a godsend for beginners who have to deal with editing in the command line while the experienced nano fans just swear by it.

GNU nano 3.0 has just been released. Let’s see what new features it brings.

New features in GNU nano 3.0

Some of the main new features in GNU nano 3.0 are:

Reads files 70% faster

Speed of handling ASCII text has been almost doubled

of handling ASCII text has been almost doubled New shortcuts: Ctrl+Delete erases the next word and Ctrl+Shift+Delete erases the preceding word

Many other keybinding changes

Shows the correct number of lines on the status bar when opening multiple files

Ignores any presses of before a valid command keystroke

Recognizes more escape sequences

Avoids a possible hang during a Full-Justify

You can read the release note for GNU nano 3.0 here.

Getting GNU nano 3.0

Nano is the default text editor on Ubuntu. It comes preinstalled with many other distributions. You can find it in the main repository of almost all Linux distributions.

But when it comes to installing nano 3.0, you should wait for your distribution to provide this update. It will take some time before you’ll see this in your system updates. Arch users should be getting it before everyone else, as always.

If you are one of the few who likes installing software from its source code, you can get it from its download page.

Excited about GNU nano 3.0?

If you are new to it, I highly recommend reading our beginner’s guide to Nano editor.

Are you one of the Nano fans? Are you excited for this new release? Why do you use Nano over the likes of Vim? Share your views with us in the comment section below.