PaperWasp is an independent macOS source code editor based on the Notepad++ codebase. It ports the Windows-native C++ editor through a macOS compatibility layer, preserving the Scintilla editor component, Lexilla lexers, tabbed editing, plugins, and related editing workflows where practical.
PaperWasp is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the creators of Notepad++.
PaperWasp is based on Notepad++ by Don Ho and the Notepad++ contributors. The upstream project is available at https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus and https://notepad-plus-plus.org/.
PaperWasp also uses Scintilla and Lexilla. See the project licenses and vendored dependency notices for details.
The macOS port uses CMake:
cd macos/build
cmake ..
cmake --build . --target PaperWasp # dev binary at macos/build/PaperWasp
cmake --build . --target PaperWasp_package # .app bundle at macos/dist/PaperWasp.app
cmake --build . --target PaperWasp_dmg # unsigned DMG at macos/dist/PaperWasp-unsigned.dmgThe Xcode generator (cmake -G Xcode ..) also works; it places the dev binary at
macos/build/{Debug,Release}/PaperWasp instead (pass --config when building).
For legacy upstream Windows build information, see BUILD.md.