GNU nano is a text editor for Unix-like computing systems or operating environments using a command line interface.

GNU nano implements several features that Pico lacks, including syntax highlighting, line numbers, regular expression search and replace, line-by-line scrolling, multiple buffers, indenting groups of lines, rebindable key support,[7] and the undoing and redoing of edit changes.

[8] On 11 August 2003, Chris Allegretta officially handed the source code maintenance of nano to David Lawrence Ramsey.

[12] On version 2.6.0 in June 2016, the current principal developer and the other active members of the nano project decided in consensus to leave the GNU Project, because of their objections over the Free Software Foundation's copyright assignment policy, and their belief that decentralized copyright ownership does not impede the ability to enforce the GNU General Public License.

GNU nano puts a two-line "shortcut bar" at the bottom of the screen, listing many of the commands available in the current context.