sublime-text

Sublime Text 4

Sublime Text is a lightweight, ultra-responsive text editor known for its instant startup speed, multi-caret editing, and extensible Package Control ecosystem.

When to Use

• Instantaneous Large File Editing: Opening massive log files, JSON dumps, and SQL exports with zero lag.
• Multiple Selection & Column Editing: Refactoring repeated patterns rapidly using multi-cursor manipulation.
• Lightweight Polyglot Coding: Editing diverse scripts (Python, Bash, Rust, Go) without the overhead of heavy IDEs.
• Custom Build Systems & Macros: Automating compilation, syntax checking, and text transformation pipelines.

Quick Start

1. Minimal Custom Build System

// ~/.config/sublime-text/Packages/User/NodeRun.sublime-build
{
  "cmd": ["node", "$file"],
  "file_regex": "^[ ]*File \"(...*?)\", line ([0-9]*)",
  "selector": "source.js",
  "shell": true
}

2. Custom User Keybindings

// Preferences > Key Bindings
[
  { "keys": ["super+shift+r"], "command": "reindent" },
  { "keys": ["super+d"], "command": "find_under_expand" }
]

Core Concepts

Production Editor Configuration (Preferences.sublime-settings)

Configuring modern performance, typography, and whitespace rules:

{
  "font_face": "JetBrains Mono",
  "font_size": 13,
  "theme": "Default Dark.sublime-theme",
  "color_scheme": "Packages/Color Scheme - Default/Mariana.sublime-color-scheme",
  "draw_white_space": "selection",
  "ensure_newline_at_eof_on_save": true,
  "trim_trailing_white_space_on_save": true,
  "tab_size": 2,
  "translate_tabs_to_spaces": true,
  "word_wrap": false,
  "hardware_acceleration": "opengl",
  "index_files": true,
  "show_git_status": true
}

Custom Polyglot Build System (PythonTest.sublime-build)

Automating test running and error matching directly from the editor:

{
  "cmd": ["pytest", "-q", "$file"],
  "selector": "source.python",
  "file_regex": "^(..[^:]*):([0-9]+):?([0-9]+)?:? (.*)$",
  "working_dir": "$project_path",
  "env": {
    "PYTHONPATH": "$project_path"
  },
  "variants": [
    {
      "name": "Ruff Check",
      "cmd": ["ruff", "check", "$file"]
    }
  ]
}

High-Speed Multi-Cursor Workflows

• Select word: Ctrl+D (macOS: Cmd+D) to select next matching occurrence.
• Select all matching occurrences in file: Alt+F3 (macOS: Ctrl+Cmd+G).
• Split lines into selection: Select lines -> Ctrl+Shift+L (macOS: Cmd+Shift+L) -> edit every line simultaneously.
• Jump to file: Ctrl+P (macOS: Cmd+P).
• Jump to symbol: Ctrl+R (macOS: Cmd+R).

Common Patterns

Full LSP Integration (LSP + LSP-typescript)

Problem: Need modern TypeScript autocompletion, hover docs, and diagnostics inside Sublime Text.
Solution: Install LSP and LSP-typescript via Package Control.

// LSP.sublime-settings
{
  "clients": {
    "lsp-typescript": {
      "enabled": true,
      "settings": {
        "typescript.suggest.completeFunctionCalls": true
      }
    }
  }
}

Project Workspace Management

Problem: Save project-specific folder configurations, excluded paths, and build targets.
Solution: Create a .sublime-project file.

{
  "folders": [
    {
      "path": ".",
      "folder_exclude_patterns": ["node_modules", ".git", "dist"],
      "file_exclude_patterns": ["*.min.js", "*.map"]
    }
  ],
  "settings": {
    "tab_size": 2,
    "translate_tabs_to_spaces": true
  }
}

Best Practices

Do:

• Install Package Control and the LSP package (LSP, LSP-pyright, LSP-typescript) for IDE-grade completions.
• Enable hardware_acceleration: "opengl" for ultra-fluid 120Hz/144Hz scrolling on supported displays.
• Use Ctrl+Shift+L (Cmd+Shift+L) to convert multiple lines into independent cursor selections.
• Configure project files (.sublime-project) with explicit folder_exclude_patterns for node_modules and .git.

Don't:

• Leave file indexing enabled on massive multi-gigabyte build output directories.
• Install unmaintained legacy Sublime Text 2/3 plugins that block the UI thread.
• Store sensitive API keys in plaintext user snippets or build configurations.

Troubleshooting

Error	Cause	Solution
Package Control: There are no packages available for installation	SSL cert validation failure or network proxy interference	Check Preferences > Package Settings > Package Control > Settings and add custom http_proxy or refresh channel.
High CPU usage by plugin_host	Heavy file indexing on large dependency directories (node_modules)	Add node_modules to binary_file_patterns or folder_exclude_patterns in User Preferences.
LSP server fails to start	Target runtime (node, python, etc.) not in Sublime's $PATH	Add environment path in LSP.sublime-settings under "env": { "PATH": "/usr/local/bin:$PATH" }.

References

• Sublime Text Documentation