Phoenix Code Stable Release v4.0.3

2025 January release(4.0) of Phoenix Code is now available for download at phcode.io.

This is the largest release we had in a while, and we are happy to announce the next phase of Phoenix Code with
a major version bump to 4.0.

The legacy of Brackets - Continued

A decade-long journey of pushing web development forward: The Brackets story continues with Phoenix Code.
Read more about the story of Brackets and the journey to build Phoenix Code and the Brackets community.

This release's core theme is Git, Color previews, UX imporovements and stability.

Git for Desktop

Git is finally here. Integrated Git source control with a clean, intuitive interface. Stage changes, commit, and sync with a single click while keeping your focus on the code. Now available in the Windows, Mac and Linux desktop apps of Phoenix code. Read More...

Our Git integration is built upon the incredible work of the developers behind Brackets-Git, whose contributions made this possible. Thank you!

Color Previews

Preview the color(s) used in the file in the gutter area. Hovering over a color box highlights the corresponding color text in the editor to quickly jump to editing that color. Read More...

Open in Terminal and File Explorer

New "Open In" feature lets you instantly open directories and files in the system Terminal or File Explorer across Windows, macOS, and Linux desktop apps!

Better Translations

We've moved to an LLM-assisted translation framework, delivering higher-quality translations for non-English locales.

Notable changes and fixes

• We've removed some inconsistent and rarely used keyboard shortcuts to free up more key combinations for customization.
  Easily configure your own keyboard shortcuts through the UI.
• Fixed Option-[shift]-left and option-[shift]-right keyboard shortcuts not working in mac to select/move words.
• Survey popups are now less intrusive, appearing as notifications without disrupting your workflow.
• Moved back line:ch status to left of statusbar. Go to line will accept :ln:col format along with :ln,col.
• Remove specific files from Recent Files
• Fixes holding ctrl key in windows should not ui overlay mode.
• fix: cmd-click in mac app and safari didn't open context menu.
• Switching between Ctrl+F and Ctrl+Shift+F now correctly updates the search box with the latest selection.
• fix: clicking on prevent defaulted A tags in desktop live preview opens browser tab.

Performance & Stability Tweaks

• Faster boot times with extension compression and load changes
  consistency and performance, especially on Safari and macOS.
• File recovery should only be shown on crash, and fix some file recovery issues.

All changes

Please see this link for a full list of changes in GitHub.

A Request from the Phoenix Team:

• Share your feedback: https://github.com/orgs/phcode-dev/discussions
• Spread the word about Phoenix to friends and colleagues.
• Consider supporting us on GitHub Sponsors. Every contribution helps us to keep improving Phoenix Code.

With gratitude,

The Phoenix Team

Phoenix Code Stable Release v3.10.0

November release(3.10) of Phoenix Code is now available.

This month's core theme is Editor UI improvements. We have fine-tuned the editing experience for better
performance and visual feedback.
We've also made substantial improvements to docs.phcode.dev to better support extension
developers.

Indent Guide Lines

Phoenix Code now supports indent guidelines to help you better visualize code structure. This feature can
be toggled via View > Indent Guide Lines. Read more...

Customizable Editor Line Height

Theme Settings (View > Themes...) now has a new Line Height slider. Adjust the editor line height between 1x and 3x to find your
perfect balance of readability and screen real estate. Read more...

Also added a Get More... button to the Themes dialog, linking directly to the themes section in Extension Manager.

Line:Col Indicator Relocation

Moved to the right of the status bar, accommodating future status bar extensions. Click on the line:col section in the
statusbar to jump to specific lines.

Performance Tweaks

• Major improvements to editor rendering with better editor scroll
  consistency and performance, especially on Safari and macOS.
• Faster startup of extension manager.

Stability Improvements

• File recovery now does integrity checks for more reliable crash recovery.
• Fixed Markdown image link handling within href tags.
• Improved extension registry management to prevent quota issues on Mac/Linux.

Documentation Updates

Our documentation site - docs.phcode.dev has received a major overhaul:

• Updated user guide: docs.phcode.dev/docs/intro
• New API documentation for extension developers: docs.phcode.dev/api/getting-started

All changes

Please see this link for a full list of changes
in GitHub.

A Request from the Phoenix Team:

• Share your feedback: https://github.com/orgs/phcode-dev/discussions
• Spread the word about Phoenix to friends and colleagues.
• Consider supporting us on GitHub Sponsors. Every contribution helps us
  to keep improving Phoenix Code.

Phoenix Code Experimental build v3.10.0

Phoenix Code Release Notes

Experimental build for testing purposes -- do not use.

Phoenix Code Stable Release v3.9.4

September release(3.9) of Phoenix Code is now available.

This month's core theme is App robustness and stability improvements.
We have also added several HTML and Text Editing workflow improvements.

Now Available on ChromeOS

All new native ChromeOS app is now available on the Google Play Store.
The ChromeOS app is a highly requested feature and is specially made for education and student use.

Auto rename start and end of HTML/XML/SVG tags

Automatically rename paired HTML/XML/SVG tags as you type at the start or end of the tag. Read more...

Auto Tab and Spacing detection

Phoenix Code can now automatically detect and apply the indentation style (tabs or spaces) based on the existing code in the file.
Read more...

UX Improvements

• Reopen closed files option added to File menu. Shortcut: Ctrl-Shift-T, or (Cmd-Shift-T on Mac).
• Go to Next Problem and Go to Previous Problem option added to Navigate menu.
• Tab key press to insert code hints
• window.alert, window.confirm and window.prompt APIs will work in live preview
• Clicking on live preview no longer automatically switches from your current unrelated file to the main HTML file.
• Live preview usability and navigation improvements - (1, 2)
• Increase/Decrease font size will change the Editor Font size Only.
• Fixed issue where code folding markers disappear when hovering over gutter in dark theme.
• .cjs and .mjs files support as javascript files.
• Support for shtml custom server live preview.

Stability Improvements

• Fixes node crashes after wakeup from sleep in Windows/Mac.
• Kaspersky AV trojan horse false positive mitigation.
• Corrupt preferences auto reset.
• Boot time crash recovery.
• Phoenix Code won't start in some Fedora/other Linux distros.

Update on Release Schedule

In the past, we've released Phoenix Code updates on a monthly basis. However, last month we encountered an issue with our release that led to stability problems for our users.

To address this, we've taken a step back to reevaluate our release process and make improvements to ensure greater robustness and reliability going forward.

As a result, we've decided to slow down the desktop release schedule to once every two months. This will allow us to thoroughly test each update and deliver a more stable experience.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the previous release and appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to improve the quality of Phoenix Code.

We look forward to bringing you new features and improvements in a more controlled and reliable manner.

A Request from the Phoenix Team:

• Share your feedback: https://github.com/orgs/phcode-dev/discussions
• Spread the word about Phoenix to friends and colleagues.
• Consider supporting us on GitHub Sponsors.
  Every contribution helps us to keep improving Phoenix Code.

Phoenix Code Experimental build v3.9.1

prerelase for testing only!

Phoenix Code Stable Release v3.8.8

June release(3.8) of Phoenix Code is now available.

This month's release is all about Drag and Drop, HTML assistance and ESLint. We've also addressed numerous feature requests and bug reports, along with improving app UX and stability.

Drag and Drop Files and Folders in Desktop Apps - Experimental

Drag files from Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) and drop them into Phoenix Code to open individual files. Drop a folder to open it as a project.

Note: This feature is currently disabled on Linux due to UI issues in some Linux distributions. To enable it, select menu
Debug -> Experimental Features -> Drag And Drop Files.

This feature is not available in the browser version @ phcode.dev

HTML Validation

We have added HTML Validator to help you find errors like duplicate IDs, unrecognized tags, and more. Read more here.

ESLint Support

All new and simplified ESLint experience that displays all ESLint errors in a file. Fix one or all errors with a single click. To enable, open a project that uses ESLint in Phoenix Code. Read more here.

Notable Changes

• Non-Intrusive Automatic Updates: Updates are now installed in the background with no more distracting dialogs when an update is available.
• Case-Sensitive File Renaming: Renaming files to a different case, such as a.txt to A.TXT, is now supported.
• File > New Project is now renamed to Start Project.
• Increased stability and app startup experience.

A Request from the Phoenix Team:

• Share your feedback: https://github.com/orgs/phcode-dev/discussions
• Spread the word about Phoenix to friends and colleagues.
• Consider supporting us on GitHub Sponsors.
  Every contribution helps us to keep improving Phoenix Code.

Phoenix Code Experimental build v3.8.4

Experimental build. not to be used.

Phoenix Code Experimental build v3.8.2

Test release with eslint support

Phoenix Code Stable Release v3.7.3

May release(3.7) of Phoenix Code is now available.

This month's release is all about Live previews and the little things that make your work just a bit easier. We've also addressed numerous feature requests and UX bug reports, along with improving app UX and stability.

Live CSS Class and Style Code Hints

Interactively edit CSS styles and classes using the up/down arrow keys in code hints. This provides an instant boost to your HTML and CSS workflows.

CSS/HTML Code Hints improvements

Improved relevance of suggestions in CSS and HTML code hints. For E.g., typing b in a CSS file will prioritize background-color. Typing between will bring up relevant CSS property-value combinations like align-content: space-between; (see image below), so you don't have to remember which value is under which CSS property.

Move to trash/bin when deleting files

Deleting files from the files panel in desktop apps will move the file/folder to trash/recycle bin instead of permanently deleting it.

UX Improvements

• Deleting the Phoenix Code folder in user Documents directory is now supported in desktop apps.
• Increased stability and app startup experience.
• Copy Error Message button is now available in the problems panel.

A Request from the Phoenix Team:

• Share your feedback: https://github.com/orgs/phcode-dev/discussions
• Spread the word about Phoenix to friends and colleagues.
• Consider supporting us on GitHub Sponsors.
  Every contribution helps us to keep improving Phoenix Code.

Phoenix Code Experimental build v3.7.2

Adds support for node extensions