Bare Bones Software has announced it is no longer developing new versions of its TextWrangler free text/code editor app for the Mac. The software will continue to work, Bare Bones simply won’t release a new version for future versions of macOS.
What you may not know is that last July, we released BBEdit 11.6. You can use this version unlicensed, forever, for free. Without a license, BBEdit now includes all of the features that TextWrangler offers, plus quite a few others. That’s right. You no longer have to pick between them.
If this sounds like TextWrangler will eventually be sunsetted, you’re right; it will. While the next version of macOS hasn’t even been announced yet, when it ships, TextWrangler won’t be updated for it—but BBEdit will. You could keep using TextWrangler, but why?
BareBones Software reassures customers that BBEdit will continue to be fully supported on the next macOS update, even though TextWrangler has been retired. TextWrangler was introduced in 2003 as the cheaper alternative to BBEdit. It then replace BBEdit Lite as the free alternative in 2005.
Bare Bones warned customers last summer that the free version of BBEdit would eventually replace TextWrangler. This week’s announcement confirms that now is the time for it to happen.
BBEdit is available free for a one month trial, and will run you $49.99 for a single-user license. You can download a demo of the app here. BBEdit is no longer sold through the Mac App Store. Users who previously purchases BBEdit via the Mac Store can upgrade for $29.99.
(Via 9to5Mac)
