HN

Comments (146)

• throwaway2037
  The latest issue comment from Don Ho is lookin' fiery! I love me some open source drama...https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/issue... > Every day that website remains active, you are in further violation of the law. I cannot authorize a "week or two" of continued trademark infringement. > Please take down the domain immediately so you can focus on your rebranding efforts without legal interference. If the site is not removed, I will have no choice but to escalate the takedown request.
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  FinnKuhn
  Using the trademark is one thing. The authors brazen reaction another: https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/issue...
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  x187463
  Just needs to update the site to make it clear it's an independent port of the project. Then, modify the name to MacPad++ or something. Good to go.
• netruk44
  With all this discussion about Notepad++ finally being ported to Mac, I thought I’d drop a link to a previous attempt at a “port” that I’d heard of.Notepad Next: https://github.com/dail8859/NotepadNextIt’s a (still work in progress) cross platform re-implementation of Notepad++.It also predates agentic coding, if that’s something that concerns you.
• HelloUsername
  Related discussions:"Notepad++ for Mac – Independent community port" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47916964 27-apr-2026 85 comments"Notepad++ Code Editor Comes to Mac After 20-Year Wait" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47947740 29-apr-2026 36 comments
• KORraN
  Original announcement and discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47916964
• RIMR
  Notepad++ is GPL, and this fork has followed the rules of that license.Other GPL projects have unofficial forks that didn't change the name or logo for the software in the process, and it mostly seems fine. FreeBSD ports are probably a good example of these in the wild.Listing the original author as an author of the port is a requirement of the GPL, and the language used on this website makes it clear that Dan is the original author of the Windows release, and not the developer of the Mac release.The only thing I see as an issue here is how the author of the port, Andrey, has failed to directly indicate that this is an unofficial port anywhere on the website, and is promoting this as if it were official. He does seem to be some engaging in some shameless self-promotion, and I understand how the open source community would not appreciate someone vibe-porting a popular GPL tool, and then acting like they own part of the official project now.In that respect, I do see a trademark violation.
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  yokoprime
  I would not trust this "Notepad++ for Mac" at all. The author of the "port", aka Vibe Coded slop, Andrey Letov has absolutely zero commits anywhere before he suddenly vibes up this mac release. He brands it as an official Notepad++ version, is slimy in the way he interacts with the Notepad++ team etc. I would not be surprised if theres some sort of back door or malware attack vector embedded in this software. Stay away! Remember the XZ Utils backdoor!
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  f3408fh
  FFS. I installed it after seeing it here on HN and on MacRumors. Terrible failure on my part but MacRumors should offer an apology for endorsing this fake release.
• redbell
  Visiting the referenced website (https://notepad-plus-plus-mac.org/), the first thing I see is a big, green Announcement that says: In coordination with Don Ho, the creator of the original Notepad++, I'll be evolving the branding of the macOS version so it stands on its own while respecting its lineage. These updates, such as a new logo, a refined name, and likely a new domain will ship with version 1.0.6 in the coming days. Continuity for existing users is a priority, and I'll make the transition as seamless as I can. Thank you for your patience. Did Don Ho really coordinated with this author?! If no then why he lies and he knows he is lying? Where this path leads to?! Really weird times to be alive!!
• Bender
  A similar thing happened for OTR recently. [1] Is the AI naming the vibe coded projects? Many of these are getting submitted to /newest[1] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47997919
• krzyzanowskim
  becase there is only one Notepad.exe https://notepadexe.com on the mac
• Fokamul
  Anyone from Moody's, BNY, AxiomSL, Amex. Who knew "Andrey Letov" and can contact him on his personal email/phone to verify?Author of Mac notepad github repo claims he worked there, https://aletik.me/ (1 month old personal website), he also has new Github and new Linkedin. https://github.com/aletikIf someone has reverse image search platform, use his github profile picture. There is another Linkedin profile, with same guy, but slightly different picture.
• i_think_so
  Plenty of very thoughtful comments so far about copyright, community, developers who might not speak English as a first language, .... Very few people mentioning the obvious:MALICIOUS BINARY!Did we learn nothing from the xz malware fiasco? One update quietly pushed out at night while nobody's paying attention and boom.
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  omblivion
  It is astonishing how blatant people can be. How do they imagine they won't be immediately called out?Hopefully the domain and the app on the app store gets taken down soon.
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  RedShift1
  Is notepad++ a registered trademark?
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  karel-3d
  The app seems to be entirely vibe-coded. ("multi-agent AI development workflows are what make a one-person project at this scale practical")However the author says he will "move from the branding".
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  albertzeyer
  Why not just getting the changes/extensions upstream, welcome the Mac dev on the team, and make it an official port?
• ares623
  (posting my comment from the other thread) Hilarious. How long does it take to vibecode the requests to change the logo and name. Vibecoding a port from scratch is super fast as long as you don't need permission huh. Then when the adults ask you to not infringe on copyright, it's all "please be patient guys. I am boy. Give me one week pls."
• anon
  undefined
• andai
  Not to be confused withhttps://notepadexe.com/
• yahyabahhaoui
  whats the point on doing that? is it a malware or some kind of trojan?
• gverrilla
  It's the Trump pattern: break all rules to benefit yourself until someone or something stops you. USA has not yet reached this clarity.
• temporallobe
  I wasn’t even aware a native port was available for Mac. I tried it with Wine and it was awful. These days my colleagues and I are using Zed as the de facto high-performance text editor.
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  garganzol
  This is the same kind of situation as if Linus Torvalds accused Arch Linux in Linux trademark violation.Otherwise, it looks a dishonest game: Notepad++ author gladly receives contributions from community, but he is not ok when the focus is shifted away from his persona, his project, and most importantly, his website.At the end, it boils down to money: there are tons of ads on Notepad++ website, so having a competitive offering like "Notepad++ for Mac" threatens that business strategy.So, while Notepad++ is GPL 2.0 de jure, de facto it's something else and has strings attached.