kakoune

kak [-s session] [-c session] [-f commands] [+line] [file...]

Kakoune (invoked as kak) is a modal text editor inspired by Vim but designed around multiple selections as its central editing primitive. Instead of operating on a single cursor, most operations in Kakoune work on one or more selections simultaneously, enabling powerful text manipulation with fewer keystrokes.
Kakoune follows the selection → action model (as opposed to Vim's action → motion), meaning you first select text (using regex, text objects, or other methods), see what's selected, and then apply an operation. The editor supports client-server architecture for collaborative editing, built-in syntax highlighting, and extensive extensibility through its scripting language.

-s SESSION

Start a named session

Connect to an existing session

Run commands on stdin (filter mode)

Execute commands after startup

Don't load kakrc configuration

List existing sessions

Run as daemon (no UI)

The selection-first paradigm differs from Vim's muscle memory and requires adjustment. Plugin ecosystem is smaller than Vim's. Configuration uses its own scripting language rather than a mainstream language.

Kakoune was created by Maxime Coste (mawww) and is written in C++. Development began around 2011 as an experiment to improve upon Vim's editing model. The multiple-selections approach inspired later editors including Helix.

vim(1), helix(1), neovim(1)