I was using Sublime for many years and purchased a license in 2019. It never became a decent IDE. Sublime on Mac Package Control module does not work for several years and multiple release updates did not fix this. Recently I switched to VS Code, which is developing at a very fast pace, has everything that Sublime can offer and more. Now Sublime says that the next upgrade requires purchasing a new license. And I am thinking - should I say good by to Sublime? Is there any reason to keep this editor?
Should I invest into Sublime anymore?
deathaxe
#2
It never became a decent IDE.
Subilme Text is not an IDE per design and doesn’t want to be.
Sublime on Mac Package Control module does not work for several years and multiple release updates did not fix this.
Package Control 3 no longer works on recent MacOS/Linux builds due to openssl ABI changes, which cause required modules to fail loading.
Package Control 4 uses python’s urllib to perform network requests by default on MacOS/Linux which no issues have been reported recently. Even if they would, alternative curl and wget downloaders can be used.
The only current issue is Packagage Control 4.0 not having been signed and uploaded to packagecontrol.io due to lack of access by community. Thus ST’s built-in “Package Control Installer” still downloads v3.4.1, which doesn’t work.
That being said, if there were real issues with latest PC 4.x release, someone with a MacOS would be required to help debugging. I don’t have one and don’t plan to start with that platform in forseeable future. Thus can only give limited support for it.
Is there any reason to keep this editor?
This depends on your needs, skills and taste. Is it the right tool for you?
It is rather hard to start with ST, but now I miss its feeling and features in every other editor/IDE.
VS Code and others are supported by such a large community and companies, it is hard to keep up with for a small company.
I don’t care, because they don’t have anything to offer for my primary domain.
Do you want to get tracked by MS - maybe even get my work leaked for aI training? => use VS Code!
Me not! Better pay with some bugs to get clean and trustworthy tools.
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kingkeith
#3
It really depends on your coding style and preferences really. I can share why I stick to Sublime in case it helps.
- Sublime is very easy to customize and very intuitive. So much nicer to work with Python and YAML and JSON than JS/TS. If I need to achieve something for “meta coding”
, it is a lot easier to do it in ST. - Sublime is fast. VSCode’s ugly uncolored text when a file loads is very jarring.
- Sublime stays out the way and is consistent. VSCode tries to do too much, and then it’s very hard to understand what it is doing and why - let alone how to control it.
- Sublime is maintained by a small team of experts, easy to contact, easy to see they care about their users
Meta coding could be any kind of task from:
- select all strings in the current file and search through them
- improve syntax highlighting for a specific token
- write a plugin to show a “breadcrumb” of where the caret is in the current file
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patwie
#4
I wanted to share my experience transitioning from Sublime Text and Sublime Merge, which I had been using (and paying for) for years upon years. These tools served me incredibly well, from my studies to my master’s thesis, and even throughout my PhD. They were reliable companions during some of the most critical stages of my academic and professional journey.
However, when Sublime auto-updated to a version that required a new license, I decided it was time to explore other options instead of simply renewing. After some research, I found myself diving into the world of Neovim (as a text editor) and Lazygit (for Git workflows).
The transition wasn’t easy. The first two months were slow, and it felt like learning to walk again. But eventually, I discovered the power of Neovim’s Turing-complete configurations via Lua (setting config paths and plugins parameters via Lua function depending on environment instead of hard-coded strings") and got hooked on the vibrant community that’s constantly innovating with plugins and tools. It opened up a level of customization and flexibility I didn’t know I was missing.
To be clear, I’m not here to suggest ditching Sublime Text or Sublime Merge—they’re excellent tools that supported me for years. But I do encourage everyone to consider exploring something new, even if it initially “looks” outdated or daunting. Sometimes, stepping out of your comfort zone can lead to discoveries that transform your workflow in ways you never imagined which sparks a new sense of creativity and efficiency.
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