Light Table
A code editor for Clojure and other languages, built on Chromium; the project is archived.
- Stars
- 11.7k
- Forks
- 909
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- Clojure
- Last update
- 4.4 years ago
- Type
- App
This repository is archived and no longer maintained.
What it is
Light Table is a code editor that aims to give instant feedback as you write code. According to its README, it is highly customizable and can display anything a Chromium browser can. It is written mainly in ClojureScript and extended through a plugin system with over 100 community plugins.
- Write and evaluate code in an editor with instant feedback, according to the README's description
- Install community plugins that add eval support for new languages or domain-specific IDE features
- Study or adapt a plugin-based editor written in ClojureScript, using the plugin docs and the LightTable-Declassifier example
Great for
- Developers who want an editor they can heavily customize with plugins
- ClojureScript and Clojure programmers interested in the project's original focus
- Developers curious about editors built on a browser engine
Not ideal for
- Anyone needing an actively maintained editor, since the repository is archived and the last push was in June 2022
- People wanting a stable daily driver, since the README says the branch is a development branch that can have many breakages
- Users who want a signed macOS app, since the README describes a workaround for unidentified-developer prompts
How to get it
- 1
Download the app
Clone the repository (README does not give a binary install command)
git clone https://github.com/LightTable/LightTable - 2
Run it
- Download the prebuilt binary for your operating system from lighttable.com, or see doc/developer-install.md to build it
- On macOS, Ctrl-click LightTable.app and choose Open, then confirm the prompt
- Open the documentation at docs.lighttable.com for a first workflow walkthrough
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Read doc/workflow.md for a typical Light Table workflow
- Browse the plugin metadata list to find eval support or domain-specific extensions
- Use the For Vim Users or For Emacs Users wiki guides if you are switching from those editors
- Read the API docs if you plan to write your own plugin
Downloads
Strengths
- Highly extensible through a plugin system with many community plugins listed
- Open source under the MIT license
- Prebuilt binaries are listed for Linux, Windows, and macOS
Trade-offs
- The repository is archived and the README describes the branch as a development branch that can have breakages
- The README says the macOS app is unsigned, so macOS users must follow workaround steps to open it
- Documentation links point to external sites that may no longer be current
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LightTable (this) | 11.7k | App | intermediate | 4.4 years ago | Developers who want an editor they can heavily customize with plugins |
| atom | 60.7k | App | beginner | 3.8 years ago | Developers who want a desktop code editor they can customize with packages |
| Vim | 15.2k | App | beginner | 6 days ago | Developers who already know Vim and want its keybindings in VS Code |
| oni | 11.2k | App | intermediate | 6.6 years ago | Vim users who want a graphical editor with extra IDE features built in |
| vscodium | 33.9k | App | beginner | 6 days ago | Developers who want the VS Code interface without Microsoft's telemetry or license terms |
| CodeEdit | 23.1k | App | beginner | 19 days ago | Developers on a Mac who work on non-Apple projects and want a native macOS editor |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.