Emacs

Written: 2026-08-23

Overview

GNU Emacs — the extensible, self-documenting editor. More than a text editor: an operating environment built on Emacs Lisp.

Aspect	Detail
Language	Emacs Lisp (Elisp)
Config	~/.emacs.d/init.el or ~/.emacs
Package managers	package.el (built-in), straight.el, use-package
GUI	Native GTK/NS or terminal (emacs -nw)
Philosophy	"An OS masquerading as an editor"

---

Essential Keybindings

Navigation

Key	Action
C-f / C-b	Forward / backward character
M-f / M-b	Forward / backward word
C-n / C-p	Next / previous line
C-a / C-e	Beginning / end of line
M-< / M->	Beginning / end of buffer
C-v / M-v	Page down / page up
C-l	Center current line in window
C-s / C-r	Incremental search forward / reverse

Editing

Key	Action
C-d	Delete character forward
M-d	Kill word forward
C-k	Kill to end of line
C-w	Kill region (cut)
M-w	Copy region
C-y	Yank (paste)
M-y	Cycle through kill ring
C-/ or C-x u	Undo
C-x C-s	Save buffer
C-x C-f	Find (open) file

Buffers & Windows

Key	Action
C-x b	Switch buffer
C-x k	Kill buffer
C-x 2	Split window horizontally
C-x 3	Split window vertically
C-x 1	Delete other windows
C-x o	Switch to other window
C-x C-b	List buffers

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Package Management

use-package (Recommended)

;; Bootstrap use-package
(require 'package)
(setq package-archives
      '(("melpa" . "https://melpa.org/packages/")
        ("gnu" . "https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/")))
(package-initialize)

(unless (package-installed-p 'use-package)
  (package-refresh-contents)
  (package-install 'use-package))

(require 'use-package)
(setq use-package-always-ensure t)

Essential Packages

Package	Purpose
magit	Git interface (best in class)
lsp-mode	Language Server Protocol
company	Auto-completion
projectile	Project management
ivy / vertico	Minibuffer completion
flycheck	Syntax checking
treemacs	File tree sidebar
org-mode	Notes, tasks, literate programming
which-key	Keybinding discovery
evil	Vim emulation

---

LSP Configuration

(use-package lsp-mode
  :commands lsp
  :hook ((python-mode . lsp)
         (rust-mode . lsp)
         (typescript-mode . lsp))
  :config
  (setq lsp-idle-delay 0.5
        lsp-log-io nil
        lsp-completion-provider :capf))

(use-package lsp-ui
  :after lsp-mode
  :config
  (setq lsp-ui-doc-enable t
        lsp-ui-sideline-enable t))

(use-package company
  :hook (after-init . global-company-mode)
  :config
  (setq company-idle-delay 0.2
        company-minimum-prefix-length 1))

---

Org-Mode Essentials

* TODO Project planning          :work:
  DEADLINE: <2026-09-01>
** DONE Research phase
   CLOSED: [2026-08-20]
** TODO Implementation
   - [ ] Design API
   - [ ] Write tests
   - [X] Set up repo

#+BEGIN_SRC python
def hello():
    return "Hello from org-mode!"
#+END_SRC

Key	Action
TAB	Cycle visibility
M-RET	New heading
C-c C-t	Toggle TODO state
C-c C-d	Set deadline
C-c C-s	Schedule
C-c '	Edit source block
C-c C-c	Execute source block
C-c C-e	Export (HTML, PDF, LaTeX)

---

Starter Config

;; ~/.emacs.d/init.el — Minimal modern config

;; UI cleanup
(menu-bar-mode -1)
(tool-bar-mode -1)
(scroll-bar-mode -1)
(setq inhibit-startup-message t)

;; Line numbers
(global-display-line-numbers-mode 1)
(setq display-line-numbers-type 'relative)

;; Theme
(use-package doom-themes
  :config (load-theme 'doom-one t))

;; Completion
(use-package vertico :init (vertico-mode))
(use-package orderless
  :config (setq completion-styles '(orderless basic)))
(use-package marginalia :init (marginalia-mode))

;; Git
(use-package magit :bind ("C-x g" . magit-status))

;; Keybinding help
(use-package which-key :init (which-key-mode))

;; Better defaults
(setq-default indent-tabs-mode nil
              tab-width 4
              fill-column 80)
(setq auto-save-default nil
      make-backup-files nil
      create-lockfiles nil)
(global-auto-revert-mode 1)
(electric-pair-mode 1)

---

Emacs vs Other Editors

Feature	Emacs	Vim	VS Code
Extensibility	Elisp (full language)	VimScript/Lua	TypeScript (extensions)
Learning curve	Very steep	Steep (modal)	Gentle
Performance	Moderate	Excellent	Heavy (Electron)
Modal editing	Optional (evil-mode)	Native	Optional (extension)
Git integration	Magit (exceptional)	fugitive (good)	Built-in (good)
Org-mode	Native	No	No
Terminal use	Full support	Full support	Limited
IDE features	Via LSP	Via LSP	Built-in