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Brackets

Brackets

Overview

What is Brackets?

Brackets is a free and open source text editor developed at Adobe under the MIT license, featuring inline editing, live preview, and a wide range of extensions.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Brackets, a popular code editor, has gained a loyal following among users who appreciate its reliability and versatility. It is often …
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Brackets Rules

10 out of 10
April 23, 2020
Incentivized
I currently use Brackets as a way to edit XML files. We have a client that submits XML files to our production team. Brackets is a simple …
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Brackets for the win

9 out of 10
February 25, 2019
Incentivized
Currently, we use Brackets as the tool of choice for editing CSS and HTML classes for our various web applications. It’s mainly used by …
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Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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What is Brackets?

Brackets is a free and open source text editor developed at Adobe under the MIT license, featuring inline editing, live preview, and a wide range of extensions.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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What is Sublime Text?

Sublime Text is a highly customizable text editing solution featuring advanced API, Goto functions, and other features, from Sublime HQ in Sydney.

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Product Details

What is Brackets?

Brackets Technical Details

Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Brackets is a free and open source text editor developed at Adobe under the MIT license, featuring inline editing, live preview, and a wide range of extensions.

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 9.5.

The most common users of Brackets are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(32)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Brackets, a popular code editor, has gained a loyal following among users who appreciate its reliability and versatility. It is often chosen as a reliable alternative to other code editors offered by the company. With its lightweight design and support for multiple programming languages, Brackets proves to be a valuable tool for software code writing. Users primarily utilize Brackets for editing HTML, CSS, JS, and PHP files. The live preview feature in Brackets allows developers to quickly view the results of their web application development, saving time and effort. Additionally, Brackets' extendable and customizable nature makes it an ideal choice for developers working with JavaScript, HTML, XML, and Java.

Web designers find Brackets particularly useful for creating new web pages or sites, simplifying the management of multiple pages. The image hover info and live updating browser view features are highly appreciated as they enhance productivity in web development tasks. Moreover, Brackets is a suitable option for managing codebases of company websites and developing browser extensions. Its ability to handle XML files with a simple and user-friendly interface makes it accessible even to non-coders. CSS and HTML classes in various web applications can also be efficiently edited using Brackets. Overall, users rely on Brackets for quick and easy code editing across a range of languages including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, PHP, and MySQL.

Live Preview Feature: Many users have found the Live Preview feature extremely helpful, as it has allowed them to make real-time adjustments to their CSS and instantly see the effects on the page they are coding. This feature has been praised for its convenience and efficiency in streamlining the coding process.

File Tree Tool: The recently added file tree feature has been widely praised as a time-saving tool by users. They appreciate being able to drag and drop files without needing to minimize the program, which enhances productivity and makes organizing files much easier.

Extensibility: Users have consistently mentioned that one of their favorite features of Brackets is its ability to update the core program with extensions. These extensions range from simple ones like themes to more advanced ones that offer assistance in coding tasks such as generating Lorem Ipsum text. The availability of these extensions has greatly enhanced users' experience with Brackets, making it a versatile tool for various coding needs.

Live Preview Issues: Some users have reported that Live Preview in Brackets occasionally fails to work when they need it the most, leading to frustration and inefficiency while working on projects.

Performance and Quality Problems with Plugins: Several reviewers have mentioned that some plugins in Brackets have performance or quality issues. While this is not directly the fault of Brackets itself, it can be a drawback for users who rely heavily on extensions to enhance their coding experience.

Slow Opening and Rendering of Larger Files: According to user feedback, Brackets can sometimes be slow to open and render larger files compared to similar applications. This can cause delays and hinder productivity for those working with complex projects or extensive code bases.

Users highly recommend Brackets for its simplicity and ease of use. They mention that it is a good text editor for web development projects, especially for beginners. Users suggest trying Brackets even if you already use another editor.

The interface of Brackets is clean and customizable, with an excellent dark theme. Users appreciate the live preview feature, which is beneficial for front-end web development using HTML/CSS. Additionally, users recommend checking out the free extensions available for Brackets.

However, some users note that Brackets may not be suitable for more advanced tasks or server-side work. Overall, users highly recommend Brackets for its simplicity, ease of use, and affordability.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-5 of 5)
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April 23, 2020

Brackets Rules

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I currently use Brackets as a way to edit XML files. We have a client that submits XML files to our production team. Brackets is a simple program that allows you to edit the code. I'm not a coder but this program is easy enough to use and to get the job done. Currently, I am the only one using the software.
  • Easy coding
  • Simple interface
  • Only need a basic understanding of code to use
  • Without being a coder and never having used other html software, I can't say I have any cons of Brackets. Brackets was recommended to me and that's all I've used. It works for my purposes.
Brackets is a simple to use code editor. I use it for basic HTML and XML document editing. I can't say that there's any scenario where Brackets is an inappropriate program. Maybe for coders that are coding all day long, but from what I can tell Brackets can handle any and all coding efforts.
  • Brackets has allowed me to quickly make small edits to XML content without having to go back to the client.
  • Having a simple interface to use allows quick edits to save time.
Unfortunately, I haven't used any other code editor and never did any research to find other solutions. I originally discovered the software when taking a class through Udemy and Brackets is what was suggested by the person teaching the course. Since then I've used it from the business side to edit clients XML content.
Brackets has a very extensive support site. Everything is organized nicely for easy navigation. If you can't find an answer you can easily file an issue with them and they will be quick to respond. What's cool is you can also message them on Slack, if you request an invite first. Slack is a very popular program right now so it's great having that integration.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Brackets have been used for many years for developing web applications based on HTML, CSS, and BootStrap. It is being preferred over the other IDE because of its feature of live preview, which allows seeing the result of the developing application live and as fast as possible. It is not only used for developing web-based applications but also used for writing software codes in various supported languages such as Java, C/C++, Python, Groovy, etc. This IDE supports all the modern languages, and It is very light in weight. Moreover, it is available to use freely.
  • Live preview is best feature of the Brackets.
  • Intellisense for the many languages is available.
  • Takes more time on startup.
  • Sometime Live preview automatically shut down.
Brackets is an excellent Development IDE for Web applications. It is straightforward to use and can be used by both experts as well as novice programmers. The Brackets IDE supports many languages, and plug-ins are available for different languages for additional features. It is free to use and openly accessible over the Internet for downloading.
  • Many rich and effective Web applications are deployed using Brackets.
  • Coding is very easy in Brackets because of a good color scheme.
Brackets is an open-source IDE and free to use. It is specifically used for developing web applications that provide brackets an edge over the other available IDE in industry. There are more features available in Brackets as compared to other IDE. Being, Open-source, It is updated very frequently, improving the overall quality of the software.
Frequent updates are available for the Brackets. The automated bug report system makes it easier to report the problems to the organizations very quickly. Plugins and other features are improved in each update, and customer support of the Brackets is excellent, and they try to help their customers from the core of their heart, meaning they help resolve the issues.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use Brackets for basic code editing in HTML, CSS, JavaScript (and jQuery), and PHP & MySQL. It is not the most advanced editor but is my go-to because it is quick and easy to use.
  • Highlighting code
  • Code indenting with a hotkey (if you enable the feature).
  • Fast and easy setup.
  • Managing projects, such as opening files from a repo. It can be done, but it is pretty much file by file instead of accessing a project or folder.
  • Working with repos (see the previous answer).
I'd recommend Brackets for basic editing or if someone wanted to make quick code changes in a good tool.
  • Makes code editing quick and easy so I can move on to other tasks.
  • Notepad++
I have used Notepad++ before. I prefer Brackets, the core functionality is similar, but I like the feel and usability more. I think Brackets has some added features and customization abilities as well.
Neutral. I have not used/needed Brackets' support. Their help docs are good. Note that I use the free version.
Jeff Hanson | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
This product is used by developers to develop applications using a wide variety of programming languages and syntax. The program is used by a limited number of developers and is not used outside of the technology department (to my knowledge). It addresses the needs of developers by providing an extendable, customizable, and rich editor for use with Javascript, HTML, XML, and Java.
  • Javascript auto minification
  • Code auto-completion
  • Extensibility (custom add-ons) is easy to configure. Many are available for code beautification, formatting, syntax checking.
  • Can be a little slow to open and render larger files at times relative to a similar application running on the same computer.
  • Some plugins have performance or quality issues (not the fault of Brackets per se, but with the ecosystem of extensions).
  • Color schemes, styling ease of use could be improved. For example, provide out-of-the-box schemes like "high-contrast, night-time, bold."
Well Suited: Javascript, CSS, and HTML development. Brackets works better with scripting languages as in the situation where you are augmenting an IDE like Eclipse, where web page development is lacking. Less approprate: developing in environments when controlling the servers is required, or where a compilation of code is needed. It would not be useful in environments like .Net where a superior editor exists.
  • Since this is an open-source tool, the ROI is very high. Anything it produces has a huge return on such a small investment of time learning to use the tool.
  • I was able to use this to augment the lackluster web development editor used by Eclipse. I use Brackets for the view, Eclipse for the server logic and server plugin.
  • The amount of convenient open-source plugins have improved productivity (minification, formatting, beautification).
Microsoft Visual Studio Code is superior to Brackets. Brackets are superior to Eclipse. I chose Brackets before Visual Studio code was available and have not decided to change for my web view development.
Brackets is community-supported and has a simple help page, but does not have a rich help guide. I would use Brackets as long as it serves my needs, but because it is open-source, I cannot expect high levels of support. I would stop using it if the quality of the product deteriorated significantly in any way.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Brackets is the workhorse for developing HTML and CSS projects. There is a lot of overlap in the world of text editors, and we actually use several, as they are useful for different things. The niche Brackets fills, it fills nicely, with a few specific conveniences. The specific features that make it such a time-saver are the image hover info and the live updating browser view.
  • Image hover info. If you hover your mouse over an image link in the code, you get specific file information that is useful for the HTML, image size and dimensions, etc. ...as well as a preview.
  • Live browser preview. You can open your working files in a browser and all saved changes are automatically updated. It doesn't seem like a big deal to go over to the browser and refresh, but once you get used to it, it is a pain when missing in other browsers.
  • Brackets is still fairly small in the text editor arena, but there is already a rich ecosystem of plugins and customizations.
  • It is actually fairly easy to create your own custom themes.
  • Multiple cursors!! It is amazing to be able to insert multiple cursors and type the same thing in multiple places.
  • As it is a javascript based program it can have some performance issues, especially with larger files (too large and it can't even open them).
  • Themes are limited to the editor area, but it would be nice to be able to customize the file-tree and gutter areas.
  • And the smallest quibble of all, make the open files area resizable. It's a little annoying to have to scroll up and down when you have plenty of screen space to see all the open files.
Brackets can handle most text editing problems, at least if you have a file small enough that it opens. But with so many free and open-source editors out there, it is easy to have multiple tools that fit specific niches. If you are editing HTML and CSS, get Brackets.
  • As it is free and open source, it has been nothing but a benefit.
  • It is a small and niche tool, but I use it daily and would miss it greatly if I didn't have it anymore.
  • As the program is very simple it takes little to no explanation to get a new user up to speed.
As far as usability, text editors are about as simple as you can get in the GUI world. The little features that make Brackets unique are intuitive enough that you don't really need a manual to find them and come to rely on them. If anybody knows enough about coding and markup enough to be looking for different editors, they will be up to speed before the download finishes.
This is an open source project and as such it has a support structure similar to many other products in this arena. The documentation is actually very well done and you can find information on most of the features or issues you come across. All the bug reporting and tracking happens through github. It can be slow to get solutions to bugs sometimes. I had one that took a while to get fixed. But it is refreshing to be able to keep track of not only the bugs you report but all the bugs under investigation for the entire project.
Atom is very similar to Brackets as it is a javascript based editor. I haven't used it as much, I tried it briefly when I was having an annoying bug in Brackets. It has a very rich ecosystem of plugins. Some of my learned behaviors and tools from Brackets were missing. I'm sure there were third-party plugins to match it, but I never got the chance to dig into it.

Sublime Text is actually my other daily work horse and it compliments Brackets well. It is a compiled, native application. As such I can open the massive csv files (millions of rows) that Brackets just can't. They won't replace each other and they work well together.
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