Notepad++ Download: Get the Official Editor Safely

The official website is notepad-plus-plus.org, and its Downloads page lists every release with the newest at the top. At the time of writing the current version is Notepad++ 8.9.8.1, released on 24 September 2026. Its release notes list several vulnerability fixes, which is a good reason to stay on the latest version.

The homepage describes Notepad++ as free both "as in free speech" and "as in free beer", and says its use is governed by the GNU General Public License. That means there is no paid edition, no licence key, and you can use it at home or at work. The project is led by its original author, Don Ho.

One detail on the official release page is worth noticing: it carries a note asking users to report malicious ads. The site shows advertising, and ads can contain their own "Download" buttons. Use only the download links that are part of the release page itself.

Each release page offers builds for three processor types: x64 (64-bit), 32-bit x86 and ARM64. For each one you can choose:

• Installer (exe): the normal choice for most people. On a typical Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC, pick the x64 installer.
• Portable (zip or 7z): runs without installation, for example from a USB stick. A 7z file needs an archiver such as 7-Zip.
• Mini-portable (7z): a stripped-down portable version.
• MSI: mainly for IT departments that deploy software across many PCs.

Choose ARM64 only for Windows on ARM laptops, and 32-bit only for old 32-bit Windows installations. Our 32-bit vs 64-bit guide shows how to check. Every package has a matching GPG signature, and SHA-256 digests are published on the project's GitHub page, linked from the release page.

No. Notepad++ runs on Windows. In May 2026 the project published a notice about a website that presented itself as an official macOS version, stating that Notepad++ has never released a macOS version and that the site was not authorised or affiliated with the project. The notice was later updated to say the issue had been resolved, but the lesson stands: anything sold or offered as "Notepad++ for Mac" is not from the Notepad++ project.

On a Mac or Linux PC, choose a native editor instead. Our text editor guide lists cross-platform options such as Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text and Geany, all of which are available from their own official sites.

In February 2026 the Notepad++ project published a detailed notice about an attack on its update system. According to the notice, the shared hosting provider that previously hosted the website was compromised at the infrastructure level. This allowed attackers to intercept and redirect update traffic from certain targeted users to malicious update files. Based on the security experts' and the provider's findings, the project estimated that the compromise lasted from June 2025 until 2 December 2025, when all attacker access was ended. Independent researchers assessed the attacker as likely a state-sponsored group, which explains why only selected targets were affected.

A follow-up clarification made three points clear. Notepad++ itself was not hacked; the weakness was in how older versions of its updater (called WinGup) checked updates. The attack was highly selective, and the vast majority of users were never affected. And for most users, simply updating to the latest version is sufficient.

Based on the project's own statements, yes, provided you run a current version installed from the official site. The website moved to a new hosting provider. Version 8.8.9 made the updater verify both the certificate and the signature of the downloaded installer, the update information returned by the server is now signed, and version 8.9.2 (titled "Double-Lock Update Security") enforced those checks. The current release is well past that point.

Practical steps:

• If you have an older version, download the latest installer directly from notepad-plus-plus.org and run it, rather than relying on an old updater.
• During installation you can choose not to install the auto-updater if you prefer to update by hand.
• IT administrators can deploy the MSI package without the updater; the clarification notice gives the exact msiexec option, and points enterprises to the indicators of compromise published by the former host and by security firms Rapid7 and Kaspersky.
• Check downloads against the published SHA-256 digests or GPG signatures. Our guides to checksums and verifying files explain how.

Much of Notepad++'s flexibility comes from plug-ins, for example for comparing files, formatting JSON or XML, or spell checking. Install them through the built-in Plugins Admin, found in the Plugins menu, rather than downloading plug-in files from random websites. Plugins Admin lists community plug-ins and installs them into the right folder for you. A plug-in runs with the same rights as Notepad++ itself, so add only those you need and remove ones you no longer use.

A few settings are worth a look after installation. Under Settings, Preferences you can turn on session restore so your open files come back after a restart, choose a dark mode, and set how tabs and spaces behave. Under Settings, Style Configurator you can change the colour theme and font. If you use the portable package, settings are stored in the program folder instead of your user profile, which makes it easy to carry your setup on a USB stick. Our portable vs installer guide explains when that is useful.

1. Type notepad-plus-plus.org into your browser, open Download, and click the current release.
2. Under "Download Notepad++ x64", click Installer (exe). Ignore any advert that shows its own download button.
3. Run the installer, choose your language and components, and decide whether to include the auto-updater.
4. If SmartScreen appears, confirm the file came from the official site; our SmartScreen guide explains the prompt.
5. Open a file and choose a language from the Language menu if syntax highlighting does not switch on automatically.

Notepad++ vs VS Code comes down to weight. Notepad++ starts almost instantly and is ideal for quick edits, log files and configuration files. Visual Studio Code is a fuller development environment with an integrated terminal, debugging and a huge extension library, at the cost of more memory. Many developers keep both installed; our code editor guide compares the options in more detail.