“Notepad++ for Mac” release is disavowed by the creator of the original

“Notepad++ for Mac” 发布遭原作者否认

As its name implies, the venerable Notepad++ text editor began as a more capable version of the classic Windows Notepad, with features such as line numbering and syntax highlighting. It was created in 2003 by Don Ho, who continues to be its primary author and maintainer, and it has been a Windows-exclusive app throughout its existence (older Notepad++ versions support OSes as old as Windows 95; the current version officially supports everything going back to Windows 7). 正如其名，老牌文本编辑器 Notepad++ 最初是作为经典 Windows 记事本的增强版出现的，具备行号显示和语法高亮等功能。它由 Don Ho 于 2003 年创建，他至今仍是该项目的主要作者和维护者。自诞生以来，它一直是一款 Windows 独占应用（旧版本的 Notepad++ 支持低至 Windows 95 的操作系统；当前版本官方支持 Windows 7 及以后的所有系统）。

I’m not a devoted user of the app, but I was aware of its history, which is why I was surprised to see news of a “Notepad++ for Mac” port making the rounds last week, as though it were a port of the original available from the Notepad++ website. Apparently, this news surprised Ho as well, who claims that the Mac version and its author, Andrey Letov, are “using the Notepad++ trademark (the name) without permission.” 我虽然不是该应用的忠实用户，但了解其历史，因此上周看到关于“Notepad++ for Mac”移植版的消息在网上流传时感到非常惊讶，因为这看起来像是 Notepad++ 官网提供的官方移植版。显然，Don Ho 对此也感到意外，他声称该 Mac 版本及其作者 Andrey Letov “未经许可使用了 Notepad++ 商标（名称）”。

“This is misleading, inappropriate, and frankly disrespectful to both the project and its users,” Ho wrote. “It has already fooled people—including tech media—into believing this is an official release. To be crystal clear: Notepad++ has never released a macOS version. Anyone claiming otherwise is simply riding on the Notepad++ name.” “这具有误导性、不恰当，坦率地说，这对项目及其用户都是不尊重的，”Ho 写道。“它已经欺骗了人们——包括科技媒体——让他们相信这是一个官方版本。我必须明确一点：Notepad++ 从未发布过 macOS 版本。任何声称有此版本的人都只是在蹭 Notepad++ 的名气。”

An escalating back-and-forth

争论升级

Further communication between Ho and Letov can be found in a Notepad++ GitHub thread, where Ho said he had been contacted by Letov before the Notepad++ for Mac app had launched, but that he hadn’t had time to reply. “The problem is that using the official name Notepad++ and its logo gives the impression that your project is an official macOS version maintained or endorsed by the Notepad++ team, which is not the case,” wrote Ho in an email to Letov that he reposted to GitHub. “This create [sic] confusion for users and exposes both you and the project to trademark issues.” Ho 和 Letov 之间的进一步沟通可以在 Notepad++ 的 GitHub 讨论区中找到。Ho 表示，在 Notepad++ for Mac 应用发布前，Letov 曾联系过他，但他当时没时间回复。“问题在于，使用官方名称 Notepad++ 及其徽标会让人误以为你的项目是由 Notepad++ 团队维护或认可的官方 macOS 版本，但事实并非如此，”Ho 在发给 Letov 并随后转发到 GitHub 的邮件中写道。“这会给用户造成困惑，并使你和该项目面临商标侵权问题。”

Letov responded two days later, saying he hadn’t meant to insinuate that Ho was involved with the Notepad++ for Mac project. But he did insist that his port “actually expands notepad++ brand to mac” and expressed hope that Ho would allow him to continue to use the name. Ho responded, again asking Letov to stop using the Notepad++ name and logo and to change the project’s URL so that users would not mistake the project for an official Notepad++ port and contact Ho looking for support. Letov 两天后回复称，他无意暗示 Ho 参与了 Notepad++ for Mac 项目。但他坚持认为他的移植版“实际上将 Notepad++ 品牌扩展到了 Mac 平台”，并表示希望 Ho 能允许他继续使用该名称。Ho 回复并再次要求 Letov 停止使用 Notepad++ 的名称和徽标，并更改项目网址，以免用户将该项目误认为是官方移植版并联系 Ho 寻求支持。

“I will prep for the site and some naming changes,” wrote Letov. “Give me a couple of weeks. My intention was to expand your brand. I really hope that at some point in the future you change your mind and see this as a positive growth for your brand.” “我会准备网站和一些名称更改，”Letov 写道。“给我几周时间。我的初衷是扩展你的品牌。我真心希望在未来的某个时候你能改变主意，并将此视为对你品牌的一种积极增长。”

At this point, Ho seemed to lose patience with Letov’s responses, particularly with being asked to allow Letov to continue using the Notepad++ name for “a couple of weeks.” Ho reported the use of the Notepad++ trademark to Cloudflare, the CDN of the Notepad++ for Mac site, and asked Letov to take it down. “Every day that website remains active, you are in further violation of the law,” Ho wrote earlier today. “I cannot authorize a ‘week or two’ of continued trademark infringement.” 此时，Ho 似乎对 Letov 的回复失去了耐心，尤其是对于被要求允许 Letov 继续使用 Notepad++ 名称“几周”感到不满。Ho 向 Notepad++ for Mac 网站的 CDN 服务商 Cloudflare 举报了该商标侵权行为，并要求 Letov 将其下架。“该网站每多运行一天，你就进一步违反了法律，”Ho 今天早些时候写道。“我无法授权‘一两周’的持续商标侵权行为。”

Letov began changing the website two days ago, though at first he claimed to be making these changes “in coordination with Don Ho.” This drew further accusations from other GitHub users that he was trying to misrepresent the port’s relationship to the original project. Those changes continue and have ramped up over the last few hours; the app will now be called “NextPad++,” an homage to NeXT Computer, and uses a frog icon rather than the Notepad++ lizard. Letov 两天前开始更改网站，尽管起初他声称这些更改是“与 Don Ho 协调进行的”。这引来了其他 GitHub 用户的进一步指责，称他试图歪曲该移植版与原项目之间的关系。这些更改仍在继续，并在过去几个小时内加速进行；该应用现在将更名为“NextPad++”（向 NeXT Computer 致敬），并使用青蛙图标，而不是 Notepad++ 的蜥蜴图标。

A seemingly thoughtful but low-effort port

一个看似用心实则低成本的移植版

I had considered writing about Notepad++ for Mac last week, but lost a bit of interest after discovering it was “an independent community port” rather than an official release—independent ports and forks are all well and good, but an official release implies ongoing updates and support, where an “independent community port” might fade away or vanish entirely as soon as its creator gets bored and/or moves on. 我上周曾考虑撰写关于 Notepad++ for Mac 的文章，但在发现它只是“一个独立的社区移植版”而非官方发布后，兴趣减弱了——独立的移植版和分支固然不错，但官方发布意味着持续的更新和支持，而“独立社区移植版”一旦创建者感到厌倦或转向其他项目，就可能逐渐淡出甚至完全消失。

But I continued to dig because, at a glance, it seemed like an exceptionally thoughtful community port. It supported macOS versions dating back to 11.0 Big Sur on both Intel and Apple Silicon processors. It was a native macOS app with a Cocoa user interface that replaces the original Win32 interface rather than translating it or using a wrapper. The app seemed to be lightweight and clean, as promised. And it was properly notarized so that users could download and launch it relatively easily—not a given, for many independent and/or open source Mac software projects. 但我继续深入挖掘，因为乍一看，它似乎是一个非常用心的社区移植版。它支持从 11.0 Big Sur 开始的 macOS 版本，且同时支持 Intel 和 Apple Silicon 处理器。它是一款原生的 macOS 应用，拥有 Cocoa 用户界面，取代了原有的 Win32 界面，而不是进行简单的翻译或使用封装器。该应用看起来确实如承诺的那样轻量且简洁。此外，它还经过了正确的公证，用户可以相对容易地下载和启动——对于许多独立的开源 Mac 软件项目来说，这并非易事。

But I paused when I hit Letov’s About page, which mentioned being “deep in multi-agent AI” and showed a flurry of GitHub commits that happened exclusively in March and April 2026. The Notepad++ for Mac page made no mention of the project being AI-coded, but when contacted for comment, Letov confirmed that both the Notepad++ for Mac app and the website were created at least partially using Anthropic’s Claude CLI. 但当我看到 Letov 的“关于”页面时，我停了下来。页面提到他“深耕多智能体 AI”，并且 GitHub 提交记录显示这些代码几乎全部是在 2026 年 3 月和 4 月完成的。Notepad++ for Mac 的页面并未提及该项目是由 AI 编写的，但在联系置评时，Letov 证实 Notepad++ for Mac 应用和网站至少部分是使用 Anthropic 的 Claude CLI 创建的。