Need GUI alternative to nano via ssh to edit css and php web files

Question

In my job I am forced to using nano via ssh to edit css and php web files but I would rather use a modern GUI editor with code hints, color coding and easy cut and paste. I am really a designer but need to work on CSS files for drupal sites.

Is there any way to hook up a modern text editor through remote connection to server files via ssh?

Answer 1

Absolutely. If the server you're connecting to has an x server installed, you can use X forwarding to use a GUI text editor on the server itself. If you use linux on your client computer, try ssh -X <hostname and then start a GUI program (use an & after the command if you want the text editor to run in the background so you can keep using the console). If you're on Windows, find how to turn on X Forwarding in your SSH client (in PuTTY, it's under SSH -> X11), and then install Xming, an X server for Windows. Then you can use X forwarding the same as if you were on Linux.

If the server doesn't have an X server installed (virtually all server distros do, even though you don't normally use a GUI on them!), you can use a text editor with built-in SFTP (secure file transfer protocol) support like Komodo Edit. SFTP is functionality built in to SSH, so the server doesn't need any extra software.