Lion

Lion 1.0, released by meew0/Lion Programming, is an open-source modification of the MIT Scratch visual-coding environment that targets novice programmers who want a lightweight, slightly customized alternative to the official editor. Classified under Development / IDE & Compilers, the software retains Scratch’s drag-and-drop block palette and stage-based runtime while introducing a handful of UI tweaks and experimental extensions that streamline sprite management and sound importation. Typical use cases include classroom workshops where instructors need a portable, offline Scratch-compatible tool, hobbyists who want to remix legacy Scratch 2.0 projects without migrating to the newer online ecosystem, and young coders experimenting with simple hardware such as micro:bit or Arduino through user-contributed helper blocks. Because the mod is distributed as a single self-contained executable, it can be carried on a USB stick and launched on Windows without administrative rights, making it attractive for library labs and after-school clubs with locked-down PCs. Version 1.0 represents the first and only public milestone so far, offering parity with Scratch 2.0’s block set yet omitting some cloud-sharing features; however, projects can still be exported to the standard .sb2 format for later upload to the Scratch website. Despite the author’s modest claim that Lion “is not the best, but good,” the build has gained a small community following that contributes bug reports and sprite packs via the project’s GitHub tracker. Lion is available for free on get.nero.com, with downloads provided via trusted Windows package sources such as winget, always delivering the latest version, and supporting batch installation of multiple applications.

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