Discover portable programming tools and software utilities you can run from a USB flash drive. Ideal for developers on the go—code, compile, and debug without installation.
Resource Hacker is a powerful, portable freeware tool for editing Windows executables. It allows you to view, modify, extract, or delete resources from 32-bit and 64-bit .EXE and .RES files. Whether you're a developer, power user, or just curious, this utility makes tweaking applications straightforward.
HxD is a lightweight, free and portable hex editor utility for editing files, drives, and memory at the byte level. This versatile freeware tool is trusted by programmers, reverse engineers, and technical users for viewing and modifying raw data structures in a clean, easy to use IDE.
PTEDIT is a legacy free disk partitioning utility originally developed by PowerQuest and later maintained by Symantec. Though officially discontinued, this compact tool remains valuable for advanced users who need to directly modify partition table entries on Windows systems.
If you're a developer, writer, editor, or anyone who regularly works with text files, TextDiff is an invaluable tool for comparing file content and tracking changes over time. Whether you're updating documents, writing code, or collaborating with multiple contributors, this free, portable file comparison tool helps you efficiently spot differences between versions, ensuring accuracy and consistency in your work.
Portable Python is an Open Source portable development tool based on the Python 2.5 programming language. Designed to run directly from a portable device such as a USB flash drive, it allows users to carry a fully configured Python programming environment wherever they go. This capability enables developers to create Python applications on virtually any computer without the need to install Python locally.
Base64 Decoder is a Free and portable decoder tool. It can be used to convert base64 data back to its original source code. This software might also be used to decode attachments found in email files.
Table Text Compare is a free portable text Comparison tool. It can be used to quickly and easily compare two text files line by line. It might be used to compare, find, and list the differences between two text files. The differences are listed in the output window, and comparison reports can be exported and saved into a text file.
WinSpy is a free tool that can be used to find the advanced properties of a Window. It is a handy programmer's utility to have on a portable USB drive. It can be used to capture and display the following Windows information; Control handle, Window class and name, Window procedure address, Window styles, Window class information, Window properties, Child and sibling window relationships, and Scrollbar position.
Notepad3 is another Free Text Editor or Free Code Editor created by Derick of Rizonesoft. This portable notepad is a Scintilla based text and code editor with syntax highlighting. Much like the Notepad++ Free Code Editor, Notepad3 also offers many features not included with your standard text editing software. So, if you do any code editing or programming, this is a must have programming tool to add to your Portable Notepad collection.
Textadept is a Programmers Text Editor. It is a small and fast cross platform text editor for programmers. Similar to Notepad++, it provides you with the text editing ability to edit programming code for various programming languages, on the fly.
ExamDiff is a Portable and Free File Comparison Tool that can be used to compare files to see if they are identical. It is a freeware visual file comparing application that features browse and drag and drop file comparison, can automatically detect file changes, and provides plenty of customizable display options.
Decimal BASIC is a portable application that can be used as a full developmental programming environment for the BASIC programming language. The portable basic programming software comes with a built-in editor and debugger. It utilizes a majority of the core and graphics module of the international standard (ISO Full BASIC).
Akelpad is a simple to use portable text editor supporting both a single-window and tabbed multi-window interface, Unicode file support, multilayer undo, search and replace and more. It was built to be tiny yet fast, serving it's purpose quite well. Best of all, the free text and code editor can be run directly from a portable device such as a USB flash drive.
Hexplorer is a free portable Hex Editor that is very similar to HxD. As the name implies, this free hex reader and binary file editor can be used to explore and edit binary hexadecimal files.
Notepad++ is one of the Best text and code editor for programmers. If you do any sort of program language editing, this programmers code editor can be used in place of the limited Windows notepad, to serve as a complete standalone notepad replacement. Similar to this programmers text editor, it supports WYSIWYG and is completely Open Source, so anyone is free to view the source code to see how it works.
AutoIt is a portable programming language that is very similar to BASIC. This tiny basic like programming language was designed specifically for Windows GUI automation and scripting. Being so easy to learn and use, you'll often find it used to automate Windows tasks.
GUID Generator is a Software ID tool. It can be used to create Globally Unique Identifiers (GUID). Also known as Universally Unique Identifiers (UUID). These unique IDs are commonly used as database keys, and component identifiers. Often used by software developers whenever or wherever a unique identifier is required to uniquely identify something.
Frhed is Free Hex Editor or Binary File Editor for Windows. A Portable Hex Editor version of the Frhed is also available, making the tool ideal for USB flash drive usage. Although this hex editing software is tiny, it packs many advanced features. Setting it apart from the crowd of popular hex file editing tools such as HxD.
HEX-ED is a Free Portable Hex Editor that is both small and efficient. It was originally used by it's author to modify programs written in assembler. Hex-Ed began life decades ago, as a BASIC program compiled in BASCOM under CP/M. The author has since recompiled Hex-ED in Visual C for Windows, first 16 bits and now 32 bits.
Metapad is a Free Text and Code Editor created by by Alexander Davidson that can be used as a Portable Notepad replacement. Metapad will run from Windows 95/98/NT/XP/Vista/7. Key features include; no file size limit, unix text file support, search, hyperlink support, block indent, word wrap and much more.
Rapid Environment Editor (RapidEE) is a lightweight and user-friendly Windows environment variables editor. Offered as freeware, this powerful utility allows users to easily edit, manage, and organize environment variables through a graphical interface. Unlike the default system settings editor, RapidEE presents variables in a tree-like view for quick navigation and a clearer overview.
XN Resource Editor is a portable and free resource editor and PE module explorer. This Res Editor (similar to Resource Hacker) is an entirely portable application that can be used to view and edit .RES resource files and .EXE or .DLL PE modules. XN Resource Editor works seamlessly with Microsoft Windows, providing users with a simple yet effective way to inspect and modify resources embedded in executable files.
Portable Java on USB: An official portable version of Java has been released by PortableApps. By installing Java on a USB flash drive, you can run your .JAR files directly from the portable Java installation, eliminating the need to rely on a local JRE install.
EditPad Lite is a versatile, free portable text editor designed for efficient, compact text editing on the go. Perfect for everyday text and code editing tasks, it provides all essential features while remaining lightweight yet very user-friendly. With tabbed browsing, unlimited undo or redo, and support for multiple text and code formats, this standalone text editing software utility is an excellent choice for both casual and professional use. It’s a handy tool for those who need to edit text across different environments, especially since it works as a portable app that can run from a USB drive, meaning no installation is required on the host computer.
Editra is a free portable text editor. Much like notepad++, this is a great editing solution for anyone who does coding, HTML work, or even plain text editing. It includes an easy to use interface and features just about every tool you could ever imagine or want in a text editor.
Crimson Editor is an Advanced, Free Text Editor. It can be used to quickly and easily edit text files that contain code. programmers or those that dabble in program language editing might use Crimson as a complete notepad replacement. Crimson text editor offers customizable syntax highlighting, line numbers and many other text processing features. Additionally it's offered as a Portable Application.
Search Text in Files: Depeche View is a Free Portable Tool that enables you to search for text from all files within an entire directory tree. The Utility can search for specific text within thousands of files in just seconds. Depeche View is great asset for programmers and coders who need to find all instances of a phrase, string, code or other text occurrence within multiple files.
TED Notepad is a Free Portable Notepad. It can be used as a complete Windows Notepad replacement that does much more than allow viewing and editing of text/code. Key features include: Advanced searching, sorting with delimiter capabilities, text comparison, text or word completion, bi-directional editing, up to nine permanent clipboards, favorites and recent files lists, text reversal, and much more. Hotkeys are supported for most functions.
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Portable Notepad - TED Notepad
Authors Website: http://jsimlo.sk/notepad/
License: Freeware
Download: You can get TED Portable Notepad HERE
FreeFileSync is a portable file comparison or file and folder synchronization tool. It can be used to compare files or folders by file size and date or file content. It also supports file sizes in excess of 4GB and batch processing for automated synchronizing is possible.
Based upon Dev-C++, Orwell Dev C++ Portable is a Portable (IDE) Integrated Development Environment and Compiler for the C and C++ programming languages. It was created using a GNU GCC, Mingw or Cygwin compiler and library set. This Development Environment has been ported for use within a Windows Operating Environment.
Oiko Visual CSS editor is a Free Portable CSS editor. It is essentially a visual CSS editor that helps you edit or design your style sheet (CSS) code from a visual or graphical interface without the need to know code. Making up the principle design of many websites, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) make for a simple and easy to navigate structure for specifying style (colors, fonts, location, spacing etc) in HTML, XHTML, XML web based documents.
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The Oiko CSS editor utilizes icon type navigation and comes with a preview option that allows you to see how your stylesheet changes will look in the Internet Explorer or Firefox Browser.
Oiko Visual CSS editor - Portable CSS editor Screenshot
Authors Website: No longer supported or available by the author?
License: Freeware
WinMerge is an open source file comparison tool. This open source utility can help you visually determine differences or changes in files. It is commonly used to determine what has changed between project versions, and can then be used to merge any changes between those versions.