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Linux Emacs Guide

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Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025 · 2 revisions

Linux Emacs Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to Emacs text editor on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including installation, basic usage, and configuration.

Table of Contents

  1. Emacs Installation
  2. Emacs Basics
  3. Emacs Commands
  4. Emacs Configuration
  5. Troubleshooting

Emacs Installation

Install Emacs

Arch/CachyOS:

# Install Emacs
sudo pacman -S emacs

# Or GUI version
sudo pacman -S emacs-nox

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install emacs

Fedora:

sudo dnf install emacs

Launch Emacs

Start Emacs:

# Open file
emacs filename.txt

# Or GUI
emacs

# Terminal version
emacs -nw filename.txt

Emacs Basics

Interface

Emacs display:

  • Top: Menu bar
  • Middle: Text area
  • Bottom: Status line (mode line)

Basic Editing

Edit text:

  • Type: Start typing
  • Move cursor: Arrow keys or Ctrl+arrow
  • Delete: Backspace or Delete

⌨ Emacs Commands

File Operations

File commands:

  • Ctrl + X, Ctrl + S: Save
  • Ctrl + X, Ctrl + W: Save as
  • Ctrl + X, Ctrl + F: Open file
  • Ctrl + X, Ctrl + C: Exit

Navigation

Move around:

  • Ctrl + F: Forward character
  • Ctrl + B: Backward character
  • Ctrl + N: Next line
  • Ctrl + P: Previous line
  • Ctrl + A: Beginning of line
  • Ctrl + E: End of line

Editing

Edit commands:

  • Ctrl + D: Delete character
  • Ctrl + K: Kill line
  • Ctrl + Y: Yank (paste)
  • Ctrl + Space: Mark text

Emacs Configuration

Configuration File

Edit config:

# Edit init file
vim ~/.emacs

# Or
vim ~/.emacs.d/init.el

Common Settings

Configuration:

;; Enable line numbers
(global-linum-mode t)

;; Enable syntax highlighting
(global-font-lock-mode t)

;; Set tab size
(setq-default tab-width 4)

Troubleshooting

Emacs Not Starting

Check installation:

# Check Emacs
which emacs
emacs --version

# Install if missing
sudo pacman -S emacs

Summary

This guide covered Emacs installation, basic usage, and configuration for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions.

Next Steps

This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.

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