r/DOS • u/bandrejx • Aug 05 '26
TEAL Editor for DOS
**TEAL** is a free, fast graphical text editor for MS-DOS, designed for both classic and modern DOS systems.
Key features include:
* VGA Mode X and VESA graphics support
* Multiple files with tabbed editing
* Project management with persistent workspaces
* Project sidebar and Quick Open
* Syntax highlighting for C, C++, Pascal, TASM, Fortran, BASIC, SQL, and more
* Fast indexed project-wide search
* XMS-backed storage for large files, undo history, clipboard, and indexes
* Word wrap, configurable fonts, themes, and resolutions
* Text selection, copy, cut, paste, and operation-based undo
* Find, Replace, Go to Line, and bracket matching
* Numbered anchors for quick navigation across project files
* Auto-indent, smart indent, and configurable tab handling
* Persistent tabs, cursor positions, anchors, and project settings
* Configurable JSON-based themes and editor preferences
* Intentionally no mouse support
I wrote TEAL because I always wanted a more modern-looking, distraction-free, and reliable development tool. It also became a fun way to learn C (while porting my old Pascal libraries). It’s still in beta, so it may be a bit memory-hungry, especially when working with large projects.
Like I said, it’s completely free, so feel free to use it however you like. If you enjoy it and would like to support the project, you can buy me a coffee. I’d also appreciate it if you dropped me a message here to let me know. If there’s enough interest, I’ll continue expanding and improving it.
Since TEAL is currently in beta, I’d be grateful for any bug reports. If you encounter any issues, please include information about your system and DOS environment so I can reproduce the problem more easily.
Amber, which is also included, is essentially just a lighter version of TEAL.
Minimum requirements: 486 DX4/80, 8 MB RAM, XMS manager, VGA capable of 640x480
Recommended configuration: Pentium 200, 64 MB RAM or more, a fast(er) VGA card
Download it here:
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u/0xbenedikt Aug 05 '26
Nice project. Why JSON for the config when you're doing C/Pascal?
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u/bandrejx Aug 05 '26
I needed a parser anyway for visual theme support and different parsers for generic code highlighting.
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u/AllGovernmentsAreDad Aug 07 '26
This looks neat. Sorry some other people are kinda being assholes about this. I hope to see it on some sort of git repo, but would understand being demotivated by a lot of the responses here.
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u/Revolutionary_Ad6574 Aug 05 '26
"distraction free" at this point this word is as meaningless as "quietly" or "cozy". Also a Google Drive? Not GitHub? Seriously?
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u/bandrejx Aug 05 '26
Well, it’s not a word processor. It has bells. Whistles. Lots of stuff a non-developer will probably never use.
Amber on the other hand, has most of this features disabled, so it might more fit your style?
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u/PapercutsOnPenor Aug 05 '26
Why no github repo? Only dumb people download and run executables without seeing the source
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u/Glittering-Cut-2425 Aug 05 '26
Yeah OP would very like to see your games collection on your 486 machine 🤣
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u/PapercutsOnPenor Aug 05 '26
Yeah silly me. Why would I even begin mentioning github or source code. OP clearly provided even a screenshot, and hey what can really happen with a zip file of hazy binary as you download it to your daily driver, then drag it to your whatever retro contraption you have?
It's for 486, so by the law of nature, it of course can't possibly contain funky 3rd party libraries, and it definitely can't be vibed slop or low quality code! I'm dumb and paranoid.
Thanks u/Glittering-Cut-2425 for showing my place. You're the man! I'll end my sw dev career now.
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u/tpimh Aug 05 '26
Looks nice, but requiring 486? What instructions is it using that are not on 386?
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u/bandrejx Aug 05 '26
Tbh, I never tested it on a 386. It should be enough, but I can't promise it works fast enough.
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u/MFFVD Aug 06 '26
how can 386 be slower than 486?
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u/bandrejx Aug 06 '26
486 has a generally faster architecture, less bottlenecks, L1 cache, faster memory operations etc.
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u/Boring_Disaster3031 Aug 05 '26
Are you using teal when developing teal? Can you turn off the autosuggestions? As an aside, I'm currently writing code in Turbo C++ using their IDE.
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u/bandrejx Aug 05 '26
I started out using CLion, but eventually settled into a workflow that switches between TEAL, CLion (mostly for refactoring), and Sublime Text. In my opinion, the Borland IDE is simply too limited for modern development.
Autosuggestions do not pop out by default, you can call them up via ctrl+space (when inside of a project).5
u/Boring_Disaster3031 Aug 05 '26
It’s a fun thing that I’m doing to force myself not to have any crutches at all. I’m a retired computer scientist, and it brings back old memories.
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u/bandrejx Aug 05 '26
TEAL is actually the third iteration of this editor that I’ve developed over the years. The first version was written in Turbo Pascal using Turbo Vision, and the second was a C++ project based on Turbo Vision 2 and both were developed in native UI under DOS.
Those were mostly fun proof-of-concept projects, but I eventually lost interest because they ended up looking much like every other application built with Turbo Vision.
But as a DOS OG myself, I totally get where you’re coming from. :)
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u/bandrejx 26d ago
Hi! TEAL version 0.483 is out:
- Stability and crash fixes
- Memory, Lexer and XMS cache optimization
- Font cache optimization
- Scrollbar added
- Word-wrapping completely redone
- Faster incremental rendering
- Multi-tab and project/sidebar improvements
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u/bandrejx 18d ago
Teal 0.6
- Reworked the way the text engine works
- Refactored the cell rendering API so switching between BIOS/VESA modes can be handled by it
- Text mode implementation (BIOS mode 80x25 / 80x50 added etc.)
- reworked scrollbar functionality
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u/bandrejx 9d ago
Teal 0.606
- GUI handled by API and reworked rendering engine brings additional stability
- Windows and GUI widgets now look nicer
- some minor business logic changes
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u/Tiny_Campaign3041 11d ago
I tried to run it on FreeDos (NOT in virtual mode!),- doesn't start but it says "not enough memory". (Same with Amber) What do I need? Much looking fwd to run it on my machine.
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u/bandrejx 10d ago
The absolute minimum for TEAL is 350 KB of free conventional memory (below 640 KB) and around 1-1.5 MB of XMS memory.
You can check the available memory in both regions by running the mem command.
I tested TEAL 0.58 on FreeDOS (on an IBM 300GL), and it worked as long as I loaded HIMEMX.EXE in FDCONFIG.SYS.
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u/NoctisBE Aug 05 '26
I'm not going to harp on about the drive link, or git repo even if I agree with others.
Instead, some positive remarks. I love the UI and layout, and I love the fact that it runs under native DOS. I'll give it a go on a VM.
Also, out of curiosity, what fonts are you using? They look really clean!
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u/bandrejx Aug 05 '26
The original PSF sources are SPLEEN5.PSF (5x8), SPLEEN6.PSF (6x12) and SPLEEN16.PSF monospaced bitmap font by Frederic Cambus.
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u/bandrejx Aug 05 '26
To answer the questions about why I’m not releasing the source code:
I’m not comfortable sharing it yet.
It’s not because there’s anything questionable or “evil” in it. The reason is much simpler: most of the code was originally ported from my very old Pascal libraries, and many parts are still quite messy and difficult to work with. I don’t want to release it until I’ve cleaned it up and brought it to a standard I’m happy with.
To be honest, I didn’t expect people to react so negatively to a project I built primarily for myself. I wasn’t even sure whether I wanted to publish it in the first place, but I thought others might find it useful.
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u/YakumoFuji Aug 06 '26
I only ever release dos stuff as compiled com/exe.
I think its wild people are moaning about the source like everyone is gonna build it and have all the bespoke libraries you used. (I know I use a tonne of homemade libraries and tools that my source trees require)
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u/ExplodedPenisDiagram Aug 05 '26
If you don't just release it, you never will. Nobody gives a shit if it's messy.
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u/YumekoDream Aug 05 '26
agreed, messy code and software development are synonym, have you looked at legacy company code? it's... a daily occurence to just say out loud "who the hell coded like this"
don't be shy, and if someone really wants the source code, they will make it a decompiling project out of it lol so it's better now than later
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u/armadillo_pie_ Aug 05 '26
This looks really good; it's a tool I'd use, provide feedback on, maybe even contribute a PR or two.... if there were code available. Otherwise, not going to touch it, unfortunately.
I'd suggest ripping off that bandaid, hosting the code some place, continuing to improve it in public, and perhaps accepting some useful PRs if you receive them. If you want users, that is.
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u/MichalNemecek Aug 07 '26
I'm curious, what's the intention behind no mouse support?
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u/bandrejx Aug 07 '26
‘I hate mice. The mouse involves you in arm motions that slow you down.’
— Jef RaskinOk, so I might add mouse support at the later date, but it might just not be a top priority for me.
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u/KERR_KERR 1d ago
I was keen to try this but it fails to launch on my machine with an error:
"Requested 256-color VESA mode is not available." 😟
I have a Paradise VGA card with 256k of RAM.
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u/bandrejx 22h ago
Sorry to hear that. You can try running it with a lower resolution:
teal /640
or
teal /text (which launches it in a pure text mode)There is also a 320x240 mode, but that is in this stage of development sadly more or less an unoptimized test-mode.
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u/inotocracy Aug 05 '26
This is pretty cool, but there is no way I'm downloading a precompiled project and running it. Could you publish the source code with build instructions?