What is Lap used for?

Lap is an open source code editor written in Rust, featuring a native GUI, GPU acceleration, remote development, and built-in LSP support. It is a good fit for local code editing, remote development and Vim users.

Yes. Lap is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at lapce/lapce and is written mainly in Rust.

Yes. Lap is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Yes. Lap can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Lap an alternative to?

Lap is an open-source alternative to Nova, RustRover and RubyMine. Other open-source alternatives to Nova include Zed, Helix and VSCodium.

Is Lap actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Lap was on 9 October 2026, and the latest release is v0.4.6, published on 21 January 2026. The project has 39k stars on GitHub.

Lap: open-source alternative to Nova, RustRover, RubyMine

About Lap

Lapce is a modern open source code editor written in Rust. It uses a native GUI with GPU acceleration via Floem, aiming for fast launch and responsive keystrokes. The editor includes features like syntax highlighting with Tree-sitter, built-in LSP support, Vim-like modal editing, a WASI plugin system, and a built-in terminal.

It supports remote development, allowing users to connect to remote machines with a local experience. The editor is available for download in various formats and platforms, and it is part of the Lapdev ecosystem which includes a platform for managing Kubernetes development environments.

Key features

Native GUI with GPU acceleration
Remote development support
Syntax highlighting using Tree-sitter
Built-in LSP support for code intelligence
Vim-like modal editing
WASI plugin system
Built-in terminal

Good fit for

Local code editing
Remote development
Vim users

Built with: Rust tools
Tags: code-editor; rust; open-source; gpu-accelerated; remote-development; vim

Lap: questions and answers

What is Lap used for?: Lap is an open source code editor written in Rust, featuring a native GUI, GPU acceleration, remote development, and built-in LSP support. It is a good fit for local code editing, remote development and Vim users.
Is Lap open source?: Yes. Lap is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at lapce/lapce and is written mainly in Rust.
Is Lap free?: Yes. Lap is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Lap?: Yes. Lap can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Lap an alternative to?: Lap is an open-source alternative to Nova, RustRover and RubyMine. Other open-source alternatives to Nova include Zed, Helix and VSCodium.
Is Lap actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Lap was on 9 October 2026, and the latest release is v0.4.6, published on 21 January 2026. The project has 39k stars on GitHub.