GNUEmacs is a version of Emacs, written by the author of the original (PDP-10) Emacs, Richard Stallman.
The user functionality of GNU Emacs encompasses everything other editors do, and it is easily extensible
since its editing commands are written in Lisp.
The primary documentation of GNU Emacs is in the GNU Emacs Manual, which you can read using Info, either
from Emacs or as a standalone program. Please look there for complete and up-to-date documentation.
This man page is updated only when someone volunteers to do so.
Emacs has an extensive interactive help facility, but the facility assumes that you know how to
manipulate Emacs windows and buffers. CTRL-h or F1 enters the Help facility. Help Tutorial (CTRL-h t)
starts an interactive tutorial to quickly teach beginners the fundamentals of Emacs. Help Apropos (CTRL-
h a) helps you find a command with a name matching a given pattern, Help Key (CTRL-h k) describes a given
key sequence, and Help Function (CTRL-h f) describes a given Lisp function.
GNUEmacs's many special packages handle mail reading (RMail) and sending (Mail), outline editing
(Outline), compiling (Compile), running subshells within Emacs windows (Shell), running a Lisp read-eval-
print loop (Lisp-Interaction-Mode), automated psychotherapy (Doctor), and much more.
EmacsOptions
The following options are of general interest:
file Edit file.
--file=file, --find-file=file, --visit=file
The same as specifying file directly as an argument.
+number Go to the line specified by number (do not insert a space between the "+" sign and the
number). This applies only to the next file specified.
+line:column
Go to the specified line and column.
--chdir=directory
Change to directory.
-q, --no-init-file
Do not load an init file.
-nl, --no-shared-memory
Do not use shared memory.
--no-site-file
Do not load the site-wide startup file.
-nsl, --no-site-lisp
Do not add site-lisp directories to load-path.
--no-desktop
Do not load a saved desktop.
-Q, --quick
Similar to "-q --no-site-file --no-splash". Also, avoid processing X resources.
--no-splash
Do not display a splash screen during start-up.
--debug-init
Enable Emacs Lisp debugger during the processing of the user init file ~/.emacs. This is
useful for debugging problems in the init file.
-uuser, --user=user
Load user's init file instead of your own.
--init-directory=directory
Start emacs with user-emacs-directory set to directory.
-tfile, --terminal=file
Use specified file as the terminal instead of using stdin/stdout. This must be the first
argument specified in the command line.
--daemon[=name], --bg-daemon[=name]
Start Emacs as a daemon, enabling the Emacs server and disconnecting from the terminal.
You can then use the emacsclient (see emacsclient(1)) command to connect to the server
(with optional name).
--fg-daemon[=name]
Like "--bg-daemon", but don't disconnect from the terminal.
--version
Display Emacs version information and exit.
--help Display help and exit.
The following options are Lisp-oriented (these options are processed in the order encountered):
-ffunction, --funcall=function
Execute the lisp function function.
-lfile, --load=file
Load the lisp code in the file file.
--eval=expr, --execute=expr
Evaluate the Lisp expression expr.
The following options are useful when running Emacs as a batch editor:
--batch Edit in batch mode. The editor will send messages to stderr. You must use -l and -f
options to specify files to execute and functions to call.
--scriptfile
Run file as an Emacs Lisp script.
--insert=file
Insert contents of file into the current buffer.
--kill Exit Emacs while in batch mode.
-Ldir, --directory=dir
Add dir to the list of directories Emacs searches for Lisp files.
UsingEmacswithXEmacs has been tailored to work well with the X Window System. If you run Emacs from under X windows, it
will create its own X window to display in. You will probably want to start the editor as a background
process so that you can continue using your original window.
Emacs can be started with the following X switches:
--name=name
Specify the name which should be assigned to the initial Emacs window. This controls
looking up X resources as well as the window title.
--no-x-resources
Do not load X resources.
-Tname, --title=name
Specify the title for the initial X window.
-r, -rv, --reverse-video
Display the Emacs window in reverse video.
-fnfont, --font=font
Set the Emacs window's font to that specified by font. You will find the various X fonts
in the /usr/lib/X11/fonts directory. Note that Emacs will only accept fixed width fonts.
Under the X11 Release 4 font-naming conventions, any font with the value "m" or "c" in the
eleventh field of the font name is a fixed width font. Furthermore, fonts whose name are
of the form widthxheight are generally fixed width, as is the font fixed. See xlsfonts(1)
for more information.
When you specify a font, be sure to put a space between the switch and the font name.
--xrm=resources
Set additional X resources.
--color, --color=mode
Override color mode for character terminals; mode defaults to "auto", and can also be
"never", "auto", "always", or a mode name like "ansi8".
-bwpixels, --border-width=pixels
Set the Emacs window's border width to the number of pixels specified by pixels. Defaults
to one pixel on each side of the window.
-ibpixels, --internal-border=pixels
Set the window's internal border width to the number of pixels specified by pixels.
Defaults to one pixel of padding on each side of the window.
-ggeometry, --geometry=geometry
Set the Emacs window's width, height, and position as specified. The geometry
specification is in the standard X format; see X(7) for more information. The width and
height are specified in characters; the default for GUI frames is a width of 80 and a
height between 35 and 40, depending on the OS and the window manager. See the Emacs
manual, section "Options for Window Size and Position", for information on how window
sizes interact with selecting or deselecting the tool bar, tab bar and menu bar.
-lsppixels, --line-spacing=pixels
Additional space to put between lines.
-vb, --vertical-scroll-bars
Enable vertical scrollbars.
-fh, --fullheight
Make the first frame as high as the screen.
-fs, --fullscreen
Make the first frame fullscreen.
-fw, --fullwidth
Make the first frame as wide as the screen.
-mm, --maximized
Maximize the first frame, like "-fw -fh".
-fgcolor, --foreground-color=color
On color displays, set the color of the text.
Use the command M-xlist-colors-display for a list of valid color names.
-bgcolor, --background-color=color
On color displays, set the color of the window's background.
-bdcolor, --border-color=color
On color displays, set the color of the window's border.
-crcolor, --cursor-color=color
On color displays, set the color of the window's text cursor.
-mscolor, --mouse-color=color
On color displays, set the color of the window's mouse cursor.
-ddisplayname, --display=displayname
Create the Emacs window on the display specified by displayname. Must be the first option
specified in the command line.
-nbi, --no-bitmap-icon
Do not use picture of gnu for Emacs icon.
--iconic
Start Emacs in iconified state.
-nbc, --no-blinking-cursor
Disable blinking cursor.
--parent-id=xid
Set parent window.
-nw, --no-window-system
Tell Emacs not to create a graphical frame. If you use this switch when invoking Emacs
from an xterm(1) window, display is done in that window.
-D, --basic-display
This option disables many display features; use it for debugging Emacs.
You can set X default values for your Emacs windows in your .Xresources file (see xrdb(1)). Use the
following format:
emacs.keyword:value
where value specifies the default value of keyword. Emacs lets you set default values for the following
keywords:
background (class Background)
For color displays, sets the window's background color.
bitmapIcon (class BitmapIcon)
If bitmapIcon's value is set to on, the window will iconify into the "kitchen sink."
borderColor (class BorderColor)
For color displays, sets the color of the window's border.
borderWidth (class BorderWidth)
Sets the window's border width in pixels.
cursorColor (class Foreground)
For color displays, sets the color of the window's text cursor.
cursorBlink (class CursorBlink)
Specifies whether to make the cursor blink. The default is on. Use off or false to turn
cursor blinking off.
font (class Font)
Sets the window's text font.
foreground (class Foreground)
For color displays, sets the window's text color.
fullscreen (class Fullscreen)
The desired fullscreen size. The value can be one of fullboth, maximized, fullwidth, or
fullheight, which correspond to the command-line options "-fs", "-mm", "-fw", and "-fh",
respectively. Note that this applies to the initial frame only.
geometry (class Geometry)
Sets the geometry of the Emacs window (as described above).
iconName (class Title)
Sets the icon name for the Emacs window icon.
internalBorder (class BorderWidth)
Sets the window's internal border width in pixels.
lineSpacing (class LineSpacing)
Additional space ("leading") between lines, in pixels.
menuBar (class MenuBar)
Gives frames menu bars if on; don't have menu bars if off. See the Emacs manual, sections
"Lucid Resources" and "Motif Resources", for how to control the appearance of the menu bar
if you have one.
minibuffer (class Minibuffer)
If none, don't make a minibuffer in this frame. It will use a separate minibuffer frame
instead.
paneFont (class Font)
Font name for menu pane titles, in non-toolkit versions of Emacs.
pointerColor (class Foreground)
For color displays, sets the color of the window's mouse cursor.
privateColormap (class PrivateColormap)
If on, use a private color map, in the case where the "default visual" of class
PseudoColor and Emacs is using it.
reverseVideo (class ReverseVideo)
If reverseVideo's value is set to on, the window will be displayed in reverse video.
screenGamma (class ScreenGamma)
Gamma correction for colors, equivalent to the frame parameter "screen-gamma".
scrollBarWidth (class ScrollBarWidth)
The scroll bar width in pixels, equivalent to the frame parameter "scroll-bar-width".
selectionFont (class SelectionFont)
Font name for pop-up menu items, in non-toolkit versions of Emacs. (For toolkit versions,
see the Emacs manual, sections "Lucid Resources" and "Motif Resources".)
selectionTimeout (class SelectionTimeout)
Number of milliseconds to wait for a selection reply. A value of 0 means wait as long as
necessary.
synchronous (class Synchronous)
Run Emacs in synchronous mode if on. Synchronous mode is useful for debugging X problems.
title (class Title)
Sets the title of the Emacs window.
toolBar (class ToolBar)
Number of lines to reserve for the tool bar.
tabBar (class TabBar)
Number of lines to reserve for the tab bar.
useXIM (class UseXIM)
Turns off use of X input methods (XIM) if false or off.
verticalScrollBars (class ScrollBars)
Gives frames scroll bars if on; suppresses scroll bars if off.
visualClass (class VisualClass)
Specify the "visual" that X should use. This tells X how to handle colors. The value
should start with one of TrueColor, PseudoColor, DirectColor, StaticColor, GrayScale, and
StaticGray, followed by -depth, where depth is the number of color planes.
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