kwrite

Open a text file

$ kwrite [path/to/file]

$ kwrite [file1 file2 ...]

$ kwrite --encoding [UTF-8] [path/to/file]

$ kwrite --line [line_number] --column [column_number] [path/to/file]

kwrite [options] [files...]
kwrite [KDE General Options] [Qt General Options] [KWrite Specific Options] [URL]

URL
    Specifies the path to the file(s) to open. Multiple files can be opened by listing them.

--help
    Displays basic help message and exits.

--version
    Shows version information and exits.

--author
    Shows information about the author of KWrite.

--license
    Shows license information.

--print
    Prints the specified document(s) to the default printer without opening the GUI.

--encoding <encoding>
    Sets the character encoding to use when opening the file, e.g., UTF-8.

--line <line>
    Opens the file at the specified line number.

--column <column>
    Opens the file at the specified column number, typically used with --line.

--config <file>
    Uses an alternative configuration file instead of the default.

--nofork
    Prevents KWrite from detaching from the terminal, useful for debugging.

KWrite is a light-weight text editor developed for the KDE desktop environment. It's designed to be simple and user-friendly for general text editing tasks, while also providing features beneficial for developers. Unlike its more feature-rich sibling, Kate, KWrite offers a streamlined interface, focusing on quick and efficient text manipulation.

It supports various functionalities including syntax highlighting for numerous programming languages, tabbed document interface for multiple open files, powerful search and replace capabilities, and basic spell checking. KWrite is built upon the KParts technology, allowing it to embed other components, such as a terminal or a file browser, though its default configuration keeps it minimalistic. It's an excellent choice for users seeking a fast and reliable graphical text editor within a KDE or compatible desktop environment.

KWrite is a graphical user interface (GUI) application, meaning it requires an active X server or Wayland session to run. It is tightly integrated with the KDE desktop environment, and while it can run on other desktop environments, it might pull in many KDE dependencies. It's not designed for non-interactive scripting or command-line stream editing, for which tools like sed or awk are more appropriate.

KWrite is deeply integrated into the KDE ecosystem, utilizing KDE frameworks like KParts (which allows embedding editor components) and KIO (for transparent access to remote files via protocols like FTP or SSH). This integration provides a consistent user experience and leverages existing KDE configurations.

KWrite has been a part of the KDE project since its early versions, evolving alongside the desktop environment itself. Initially, it served as KDE's basic text editor, providing essential functionality for plain text viewing and editing. Over time, it gained features such as syntax highlighting and tabbed interfaces, often sharing underlying code components with its more advanced counterpart, Kate. Its development has consistently focused on maintaining a balance between simplicity and practical functionality, making it a stable and widely used tool for general text editing within the KDE ecosystem.

kate(1), gedit(1), vi(1), emacs(1)