Opportunities › Fast, lightweight code editor for professionals › Proposed app
Stillkey
A fast, steady code editor with no surprise features and optional AI
- Score
- 60
- confidence 62
- Evidence
- 7
- items on the page
- Rivals
- 4
- named in sources
- First version
- 45 d
- estimate
- Type
- Desktop app
- PWA: runs in the browser, installs on Mac and Windows
- Market since
- 2001
- Mature market · AI estimate
ScreensConcept
Desktop app: Developers use this code editor for long, focused work sessions at a desk with keyboard input, opening local projects and configuring settings. Sample screens on a computer, in the proposed brand. Their numbers are sample data.
Projects
Local folder, nothing uploaded0.4 s
About this appAI proposal
Stillkey is a fast code editor that runs in the browser as an installable app. It opens your local folders, starts quickly and keeps typing responsive. It is built for professional developers who are tired of slow, crowded editors.
Features do not switch themselves on. Every release ships with a plain change list, and new capabilities stay off until you turn them on. AI help is optional, uses your own provider key, and can be disabled per project.
You pay for a steady tool, not a stream of experiments: a feature set frozen by default, a short settings file you can read, and no forced sign-ins or re-activations after an update.
- Tagline
- The editor that stays the way you left it.
- Voice
- CalmDirectPrecise
- Why this name
- Stillkey says the keyboard-first editor holds still: no surprise features, no forced changes between releases. Two plain words, easy to say.
In the first version
Members say which features they would use. It tells PWAS what people want; it changes no score.
Fast start, responsive typing
Opens a project folder in seconds and keeps keystrokes smooth, with large files loaded in pieces.
No member yet
Frozen by default
Updates never turn on new features. Each release lists what changed and what is available, all off until you choose.
No member yet
Opt-in AI, your key
Connect a provider key for completions or chat. Switch it off per project or per file type, and nothing is sent when off.
No member yet
Readable settings file
All preferences live in one short text file you can version, copy to another machine or share with a team.
No member yet
Brand identityAI proposal
Check the name against trademark registers before using it.
Palette
#1F2421Ink · text and icon background#F4F1EAPaper · surface#2F5D50Pine · primary#D98E04Amber · accent#3A6EA5Slate blue · data
Typography
Aa
Stillkey
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
The editor that stays the way you left it.
PricingAI proposal
Verified: Zed lists paid plans at $10 a month plus a free plan; Cursor lists $20 to $40 a month. Tiers sit at or below Zed. One commenter cited about $25 a year for IntelliJ. Starting point to test.
Free
Free
- Full editor, local folders
- Frozen feature set and release pinning
- Bring your own AI key
Pro
$8 a month
- Settings sync across devices
- Multiple pinned versions
- Priority support
- Everything in Free
Team
$12 a month
- Per user, shared settings file
- Org-wide AI off switch
- Admin release pinning
- Everything in Pro
What it could be worthEstimate
What a software business making this much sells for today, from real deals. Pick a monthly revenue.
If it makes
Worth about
$194,000
Sale range $132,000 to $263,000
$120,000 a year in revenue
From 87 software businesses listed and sold on Empire Flippers in the last year, revenue vetted by the broker: they sell for about 19× their monthly revenue, most between 13× and 26×.
Measured on profit, the middle deal is 32× monthly net profit: about 2.7 years of profit.
An estimate, not an offer or financial advice. A real price depends on profit, growth, churn, how much of the work is the owner's, and the buyer.
How it would growAI proposal
How the product would reach new customers through its own use, and how the first ones would be found. A plan to test, not a result.
- Built-in loop
- No loop in the product. Reaches customers through developer communities, content and word of mouth. Teams can share a settings file, but the product does not depend on it.
- Do they become customers?
- Everyone reached is a developer who could pay. To test: whether people who say they would pay for a fast editor will move to a browser-based app.
- First customers
- Solo and small-team professional developers working in one or two languages, who have left or are considering leaving VS Code or Cursor over speed or forced changes.
- Where to reach them
- Hacker News and developer forums: Post a short demo and a plain list of what the editor will never change on its own, then invite feedback.
- Open-source maintainer circles: Offer free Pro to maintainers of a few popular projects in exchange for feedback.
- First milestone
- Fifty developers use it weekly for a month, and ten of them pay for Pro.
Why people already pay for this
- VerifiedCursor's pricing page lists 2 paid plans, from $20 to $40 a month, plus a free plan and prices on request for larger customers
- Public claimCursor states on its own website: Trusted by teams that build world-class software
- VerifiedZed's pricing page lists 2 paid plans, at $10 a month, plus a free plan
- Public claimDeveloper would pay for editor software as they previously paid for IntelliJ
- AI inference
Tech stack
Every proposal builds on the same PWA base, installable from the browser on any phone or computer. Dashed boxes are what this app adds.
- AppNext.js and TypeScript
- PWAManifest and service worker
- UITailwind CSS
- Data and authSupabase Postgres
- PaymentsStripe
- EmailResend
- HostingVercel
- This app · Editor engineOpen-source browser code editor componentGives fast text editing, syntax highlighting and large-file handling without writing an editor core.
- This app · Local file accessFile System Access API with fallbackLets the app edit folders on disk without uploading code.
RisksAI inference
- TechnicalA browser app may not match the speed of native editors on huge repos, and language tooling in WebAssembly is hard to make complete.
- PlatformFile System Access API is not supported equally across browsers, so folder editing may fall back to weaker modes in Safari and Firefox.
- CommercialDevelopers who want a fast editor may prefer native apps, and free editors are strong. Willingness to pay for a PWA is untested.
- DataUsers editing private code expect clear guarantees on what leaves the device. Any sync or AI routing must be explicit and easy to audit.
- AIWithout bundled AI, users who switched for AI features may find a bring-your-own-key setup less convenient than Cursor.
Everything marked AI proposal or AI inference was written by a model from the evidence on the opportunity page. The proposed name must be checked against trademark registers before it is used.