# Textern

> Edit text in your favourite external editor!

Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/textern](https://chrome-stats.com/d/textern)

## Overview

- **ID:** `textern`
- **Platform:** Firefox
- **Type:** Firefox add-on
- **Status:** Available
- **Publisher:** Jonathan Lebon
- **Category:** web-development,social-communication,other
- **Daily users:** 183
- **Weekly downloads:** 1
- **Rating:** 4.97 / 5 (34 ratings)
- **Version:** 0.8
- **Last updated:** 2023-06-09
- **First published:** 2017-06-19
- **Size:** 16 KB
- **Data as of:** 2026-09-10
- **Store listing:** [Firefox Add-ons Store](https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/textern/)
- **Website:** [https://github.com/jlebon/textern](https://github.com/jlebon/textern)

## Description

Textern is a Chrome extension designed for Linux users that allows effortless editing of any textbox with your preferred external editor such as vim, emacs, or sublime. By pressing Ctrl+Shift+D after selecting a textbox, Textern launches your chosen editor, letting you compose with full editor functionality. Changes are synchronized back to the textbox as you save.

This extension requires installing a native app alongside the add-on due to browser API limitations. The default editor is gedit, but users can configure their favorite editor in the preferences. Textern offers an improved and multiprocessing-compatible alternative to older extensions like "It's All Text!", ensuring smooth integration beyond Firefox 57.

## Rankings

- #8,577 — Overall
- #85 — speech to text
- #96 — summarize text
- #114 — context menu
- #192 — editor

## Permissions and access

### Permissions

- `notifications`
- `nativeMessaging`
- `storage`

### Content script matches

- `<all_urls>`

## Safety

- **Risk impact:** High risk impact
- **Risk likelihood:** Low risk likelihood

### Analysis details

- Allows access to all websites, posing a significant security risk as it can monitor and modify data from any visited site.
- This extension has low user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.

> Some risk analysis details are omitted from this free response. [Upgrade to view the full analysis](https://chrome-stats.com/pricing).

## Similar extensions and apps

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- [Text Content Editor](https://chrome-stats.com/d/text-content-editor) — 7 users, 4.00 / 5
- [GhostText](https://chrome-stats.com/d/ghosttext) — 670 users, 4.79 / 5
- [Edit with Emacs](https://chrome-stats.com/d/edit-with-emacs1) — 155 users, 4.89 / 5
- [TextSwap Custom Page Editor](https://chrome-stats.com/d/textswap-custom-page-editor) — 13 users
- [Edit with VIM text editor](https://chrome-stats.com/d/edit-with-vim-text-editor) — 23 users, 3.17 / 5
- [Word Editor](https://chrome-stats.com/d/word-editor-addon) — 182 users, 2.17 / 5
- [Titan Text Expander™](https://chrome-stats.com/d/titan-text-expander) — 2 users
- [Textern updated](https://chrome-stats.com/d/textern-updated)
- [Text Twister](https://chrome-stats.com/d/text-twister) — 5.00 / 5
- [Edit](https://chrome-stats.com/d/edit) — 176 users, 4.64 / 5

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Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/textern)