ad

ad [options] [files...]

ad is a modal text editor written in Rust that combines vim-style modal editing with the extensibility philosophy of Plan 9's Acme editor. It features vim/kakoune-style text navigation and selection, emacs-inspired mini-buffer minor modes, sam/acme-style editing commands, and extension through external client programs via a built-in 9P file server.
The editor supports tree-sitter based syntax highlighting, LSP completions, mouse-based navigation and UI resizing, multiple columns and buffers, scratch buffers, and customizable keybindings. Configuration is done through a TOML file.

-e, --expression script

Execute an edit script inline

Load and execute an edit script from a file

Use a custom configuration file

Override user config and use defaults

Display open editor sessions

Clean up unresponsive socket files

Display usage information

Show version details

Still in active development with breaking changes between versions. Limited documentation beyond the built-in :help command. Requires familiarity with modal editing concepts.

ad was created by Innes Anderson-Morrison (sminez) as an experimental editor combining ideas from vim, kakoune, emacs, and Plan 9's acme. Written in Rust and released under the MIT license, it reached version 0.4.0 in December 2025.

vim(1), kakoune(1), emacs(1)