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Notepad++ on Windows 10

Notepad++ has supported Windows 10 since the operating system shipped, and the current 8.9.8 release still runs on it without a compatibility layer. Windows 10 itself left mainstream support in October 2025, but the editor is maintained separately from the operating system, so a Windows 10 desktop or laptop is still a perfectly normal place to edit code and configuration files. This page covers what is specific to Windows 10; the generic steps live in the installation guide.

What you need

  • Windows 10, any edition still receiving updates (Home, Pro, Enterprise, Education)
  • About 15 MB of free disk space for a standard installation
  • An administrator account if you install into C:\Program Files

64-bit or 32-bit?

Open Settings > System > About and look at System type. If it says 64-bit operating system, take the x64 installer. On the rare 32-bit Windows 10 machine, take the x86 build instead — the x64 package will not start there.

Download and install

  1. Go to the Notepad++ download page and open the current release.
  2. Download the installer that matches your system type.
  3. Double-click the .exe. If Microsoft Defender SmartScreen shows a warning because the file is new, choose More info and confirm the publisher before continuing.
  4. Accept the GPL license, keep the default folder, and finish the wizard.

The "Edit with Notepad++" context menu

The installer's Context Menu Entry component adds Edit with Notepad++ to the right-click menu in File Explorer. On Windows 10 the entry appears directly in the first-level menu, so any file can be opened in the editor in two clicks.

Prefer not to install?

Locked-down work laptops often block installers. The portable version of Notepad++ unpacks into a folder and runs from there, including from a USB drive.

Windows 10 questions

Windows 10 reached end of support in October 2025 — can I still use Notepad++ on it?

Yes. Notepad++ 8.9.8 is a Win32 application and keeps running on Windows 10 even though Microsoft no longer ships general security updates for the operating system. The editor is patched independently of Windows, but the PC underneath it is not, so treat an out-of-support Windows 10 machine with the usual care when opening files from the internet.

Which Notepad++ build should I use on Windows 10?

Use the x64 installer if your Windows 10 installation is 64-bit, which is the case for almost all PCs sold since 2015. Check Settings > System > About > System type if you are unsure.

Moving to a newer machine? See the Windows 11 guide.

Notepad++ is free software created by Don Ho and released under the GNU GPL v2. notepad-plus-plus.app is an independent information and download reference for Windows users and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Notepad++ project. Source code and releases are published at notepad-plus-plus.org.