IDE & Editors
Configuration guides for the editors and IDEs I use daily.
Comparison
|
Emacs |
Vim |
Neovim |
Spacemacs |
SpaceVim |
VS Code |
| Type |
Editor/OS |
Modal editor |
Modern Vim fork |
Emacs distro |
Vim/Neovim distro |
GUI IDE |
| Config language |
Elisp |
VimScript |
Lua |
Elisp |
TOML |
JSON |
| Startup |
1-3s |
<100ms |
<200ms |
2-5s |
<500ms |
1-3s |
| Memory |
50-200 MB |
5-20 MB |
20-80 MB |
200-400 MB |
30-100 MB |
300-800 MB |
| Learning curve |
Very steep |
Steep |
Steep |
Medium |
Medium |
Easy |
| Modal editing |
Optional (evil) |
Native |
Native |
evil-mode |
Native |
Extension |
| LSP |
lsp-mode/eglot |
Plugin |
Built-in |
Via layer |
Via layer |
Built-in |
| Best for |
Lisp/Org-mode power users |
Speed, SSH, universal |
Modern Vim + IDE |
Emacs without config pain |
Vim without config pain |
Everyone else |
Guides
- :material-gnu: Emacs — Keybindings, packages, Org-mode, LSP, starter config
- :material-vim: Vim — Modes, motions, text objects, registers, macros, .vimrc
- Neovim — Lua config, lazy.nvim, Telescope, Tree-sitter, LSP
- Spacemacs — Layers, SPC commands, evil-mode
- SpaceVim — TOML layers, key mappings, autocomplete
- VS Code — Extensions, settings.json, remote dev, debugging
Which One to Choose?
| If you want... |
Use |
| Maximum speed + minimal resources |
Vim |
| Modern Vim with IDE features |
Neovim (LazyVim) |
| Emacs power, no config work |
Spacemacs |
| Vim with mnemonic keys, no config |
SpaceVim |
| Full IDE, minimal setup |
VS Code |
| Org-mode + Lisp hacking |
Emacs |
| Work over SSH |
Vim or Neovim |
| Team standardization |
VS Code |