Exactly how jEdit is started depends on the operating system. For example, on Unix you can run “jedit” at the command line, or select jEdit from a menu; on Windows, you can double-click on the jEdit icon or select it from the Start menu.

If jEdit is started while another copy is already running, control is transferred to the running copy, and a second instance is not loaded. This saves time and memory if jEdit is started multiple times. Communication between instances of jEdit is implemented using TCP/IP sockets; the initial instance is known as the server, and subsequent invocations are clients.

If you find yourself launching and exiting jEdit a lot, the startup time can get a bit bothersome. If the -background command line switch is specified, jEdit will continue running and waiting for client requests even after all editor windows are closed. When run in background mode, you can open and close jEdit any number of times, only having to wait for it to start the first time. The downside of this is increased memory usage.

When running on MacOS X, the -background command-line switch is active by default, so that jEdit conforms to the platform convention that programs should stay open until the Quit command is explicitly invoked by the user, even if all windows are closed. To disable background mode on MacOS X, use the -nobackground switch.

For more information about command line switches that control the server feature, see the section called “Command Line Usage”.

jEdit remembers open buffers, views and split window configurations between editing sessions, so you can get back to work immediately after starting jEdit. This feature can be disabled in the General pane of the Utilities>Options dialog box see the section called “The General Pane”.