6 ms·

I just want to take this opportunity to once again proselytize the wonderful SPACEMACS, the thing that made me fall in love with Emacs all over again. http://s

I just want to take this opportunity to once again proselytize the wonderful SPACEMACS, the thing that made me fall in love with Emacs all over again. http://spacemacs.org/ http://spacemacs.org/ For those that haven't used it, it's a carefully designed and polished Emacs kit based around Evil mode (the vi emulation layer).

joebergeron 10y ago
As someone who is a loyal Emacs user, would you recommend Spacemacs over regular old Emacs? Also is the migration process very difficult? I've got to say, it actually looks very nice and well polished.
- grabcocque 10y ago
  If you use evil mode it's a no brainer. If you're an adherent of the holy church thinking of turning evil, then it will obviously take some relearning, but it's incredibly discoverable, making exensive use of hierarchical mnemonics and helm after each keypress to know what commands are available to you. e.g. space-f-s is file->save, space-f-f is file->find, space-f-r is file->recent etc.
  - na85 10y ago
    Yuck, is it modal? How do you type a space character?
    - s_kilk 10y ago
      You go into insert-mode (by pressing 'i') and type whatever you need, then press ESC to get back to normal-mode. It takes some getting used to, but I could never go back :)
    - DigitalJack 10y ago
      It's only modal if that is how you want it. On first run it asks if you want to run in a vim-mode or normal emacs mode.
    - wodenokoto 10y ago
      Are you implying that you expected a non-modal VIM mode?
- mrsheen 10y ago
  It's suitable for vim users who want better vim experience. For all other I'd suggest vanilla emacs or Prelude.
  - grabcocque 10y ago
    Prelude is good too. I mean, you can use Spacemacs in Holy mode, but it's not really the point. Prelude and Emacs Live are much better holy mode kits. Spacemacs is, as the tagline says, FOCUSED ON EVIL.
  - groovy2shoes 10y ago
    As a vim user, I emphatically disagree. It seems to support most vim commands, but the ones it doesn't support of course become the most frustrating. As an example, I cannot use <space> for movement/direction because it consistently pops up some stupid menu, even in the middle if entering a command. As a vim user, I'm also used to my editor starting up instantly. Spacemacs takes so long to load that it's laughable. And since GNU emacs is single-threaded, the whole UI is completely locked while it processes the massive amount of configuration needed to make spacemacs what it is. The only thing "better" about that is that it gives you an opportunity to take a coffee break. I'm reminded of the "code's compiling" XKCD: boss says, "hey! quit horsing around!", worker says "spacemacs is loading!" And this is with 8GB of RAM, 8 processor cores clocked at 3.2 GHz, and filesystem on an SSD drive. And then you run into problems with many packages from MELPA. If some third-party package introduces its own keybindings, then you still wind up with odd emacs-style keybindings here and there, rather than Vim-style ones. Furthermore, Vim's leader key is backslash, not space, regardless of how you like to configure it. So, what's "better" about it? The fact that it's got a "pretty" powerline statusline by default? The fact that it uses some dark colorscheme by default? That's not enough for me to abandon vim.
    - kiiski 10y ago
      > Spacemacs takes so long to load that it's laughable. Emacs is typically started once, and then you open files in the same instance. With vanilla emacs you can use `emacs --daemon` to start it as a server, and then use `emacsclient` to open files. That way it should open pretty much instantly. I'm not sure what Spacemacs calls those.
- DigitalJack 10y ago
  While I haven't run spacemacs in non-vim mode, it is there. Give it a try. It's all built into .emacs.d, so it's easy to try and drop if you want to. Just backup your .emacs.d first.
- tangue 10y ago
  The modal mode is not mandatory. You can change a variable and have the classic Emacs keybindings + the advantages of spacemacs (sane configuration, beautiful look)
- gnuvince 10y ago
  Spacemacs looks nice and is well polished, but I'd say if you have a comfortable setup that you are used to, it's probably not worth the hassle.
DigitalJack 10y ago
I love spacemacs. Best of VIM and EMACS. It does support a non-evil mode, and asks which way you want the first time you run it.
- asciihacker 10y ago
  > Best of VIM and EMACS. Since there is no good in VIM (besides being pre-installed on every *nix platform), you know what that equation leads to... just emacs.
chj 10y ago
When I am doing copy and paste, I choose emacs; when I want sane tab behaviour, I choose vim. Will spacemacs be good for me?
- tambourine_man 10y ago
  Are you aware of paste mode and clipboard/register sharing in Vim?
  - chj 10y ago
    Do you mean `:set paste` every time you want to copy something from clipboard?
    - SevereOverfl0w 10y ago
      `:set clipboard=unnamedplus` let's you use the Xwindow clipboard for `p` to paste. I also believe Neovim (and possibly normal vim, I'm not sure), automatically does `:set paste` and `:set nopaste` when you use the terminal paste.
      - groovy2shoes 10y ago
        Just to add, I highly recommend people to look at `:help 'clipboard`. There are several options available, and one or another might be better depending on what you're expecting, and on which platform you're on (e.g., there are notes about using the clipboard on X vs. Windows).
- xemoka 10y ago
  There is a hybrid mode that enables emacs commands (C-E, C-A, C-Y etc.) while in insert mode. Quite enjoyable, particularly when you're used to using emacs movement commands while editing text fields (thanks macOS).
suvelx 10y ago
Finally got into using spacemacs as my go-to editor... Mostly because I couldn't reliably get python completion to work in Vim. But one thing that's annoying the hell out of me is window/buffer management. It really confuses me when plugins 'eat' a buffer to display something.
- kcbanner 10y ago
  Check out dedicated-mode, it sets the "dedicated" flag on a buffer so that things don't use it for their temporary output.
cmiles74 10y ago
It's more than just Evil mode (vi emulation). They have a pretty thoughtful way to organize libraries (layers) and a decent solution to the "how to I manage my Emacs config" problem.
- tangue 10y ago
  This +1000. Flymake or Flycheck, Autocomplete or Company ? I was in the classic .emacs bankruptcy situation and even started using atom before cloning the Spacemacs repo in my .emacs.d
  - dschiptsov 10y ago
    For those who do not want to understand the details (which in case of Emacs is silly - one miss so many aha moments) bbatsov's prelude is a piece of true craftsmanship.
- k33n 10y ago
  Emacs solved that nicely on its own already. Using melpa packages, this is my config: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mkeen/config-emacs/master/.emacs https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mkeen/config-emacs/master/... Pretty simple and doesn't rely on heresy such as evil mode.
  - hashkb 10y ago
    Calling evil mode heresy is the same as saying "I wish fewer people used Emacs." Why continue the holy war? You've won many vimmers over... why marginalize us?
    - k33n 10y ago
      I think the creators of evil mode are well aware that it is heresy. They even named it evil mode.
    - jordigh 10y ago
      I think the whole holiness of Emacs and the evilness of vim is more tongue-in-cheek than anything.
tangue 10y ago
Even if you don't like Vi they added tho option to use the the default Emacs keybindings later as an option. I didn't catch with prelude or oh-my-emacs but Spacemacs is imho how Emacs should be shipped. edit typo
Keepo 10y ago
Anybody using it for react development without complications?
- ak1394 10y ago
  Yes. I recommend running it off master branch instead of release, for better es6 support.
mightypirate 10y ago
I love using Spacemacs in hybrid mode. If you're using one of the supported layer you're in a ton of lack as the only configuration job you have to is minor tweaking of stuff you don't like.
ak1394 10y ago
Spacemacs is great! What like the most, is that it's very easy on your hands. No more emacs pinky!
Rainymood 10y ago
The installation does not work for me. I follow all the steps and then run '$ emacs' in the console and the old GNU emacs just pops up. Anyone got a clue what I'm doing wrong? Edit: fixed it. It turns out that was an ~/.emacs file present which prevents Spacemacs from starting. If you did the cloning and $ emacs results in your standard GNU emacs, look for the file ~/.emacs and remove it.
looki 10y ago
I just wanted to say thanks - I could never get into vanilla Emacs but after about an hour of playing around with Spacemacs I have to say it's amazing. It's incredible what a few convenience features (and of course, familiar keybindings) can do.

joebergeron 10y ago

As someone who is a loyal Emacs user, would you recommend Spacemacs over regular old Emacs? Also is the migration process very difficult? I've got to say, it actually looks very nice and well polished.

grabcocque 10y ago
If you use evil mode it's a no brainer. If you're an adherent of the holy church thinking of turning evil, then it will obviously take some relearning, but it's incredibly discoverable, making exensive use of hierarchical mnemonics and helm after each keypress to know what commands are available to you. e.g. space-f-s is file->save, space-f-f is file->find, space-f-r is file->recent etc.
- na85 10y ago
  Yuck, is it modal? How do you type a space character?
  - s_kilk 10y ago
    You go into insert-mode (by pressing 'i') and type whatever you need, then press ESC to get back to normal-mode. It takes some getting used to, but I could never go back :)
  - DigitalJack 10y ago
    It's only modal if that is how you want it. On first run it asks if you want to run in a vim-mode or normal emacs mode.
  - wodenokoto 10y ago
    Are you implying that you expected a non-modal VIM mode?
mrsheen 10y ago
It's suitable for vim users who want better vim experience. For all other I'd suggest vanilla emacs or Prelude.
- grabcocque 10y ago
  Prelude is good too. I mean, you can use Spacemacs in Holy mode, but it's not really the point. Prelude and Emacs Live are much better holy mode kits. Spacemacs is, as the tagline says, FOCUSED ON EVIL.
- groovy2shoes 10y ago
  As a vim user, I emphatically disagree. It seems to support most vim commands, but the ones it doesn't support of course become the most frustrating. As an example, I cannot use <space> for movement/direction because it consistently pops up some stupid menu, even in the middle if entering a command. As a vim user, I'm also used to my editor starting up instantly. Spacemacs takes so long to load that it's laughable. And since GNU emacs is single-threaded, the whole UI is completely locked while it processes the massive amount of configuration needed to make spacemacs what it is. The only thing "better" about that is that it gives you an opportunity to take a coffee break. I'm reminded of the "code's compiling" XKCD: boss says, "hey! quit horsing around!", worker says "spacemacs is loading!" And this is with 8GB of RAM, 8 processor cores clocked at 3.2 GHz, and filesystem on an SSD drive. And then you run into problems with many packages from MELPA. If some third-party package introduces its own keybindings, then you still wind up with odd emacs-style keybindings here and there, rather than Vim-style ones. Furthermore, Vim's leader key is backslash, not space, regardless of how you like to configure it. So, what's "better" about it? The fact that it's got a "pretty" powerline statusline by default? The fact that it uses some dark colorscheme by default? That's not enough for me to abandon vim.
  - kiiski 10y ago
    > Spacemacs takes so long to load that it's laughable. Emacs is typically started once, and then you open files in the same instance. With vanilla emacs you can use `emacs --daemon` to start it as a server, and then use `emacsclient` to open files. That way it should open pretty much instantly. I'm not sure what Spacemacs calls those.
DigitalJack 10y ago
While I haven't run spacemacs in non-vim mode, it is there. Give it a try. It's all built into .emacs.d, so it's easy to try and drop if you want to. Just backup your .emacs.d first.
tangue 10y ago
The modal mode is not mandatory. You can change a variable and have the classic Emacs keybindings + the advantages of spacemacs (sane configuration, beautiful look)
gnuvince 10y ago
Spacemacs looks nice and is well polished, but I'd say if you have a comfortable setup that you are used to, it's probably not worth the hassle.

DigitalJack 10y ago

I love spacemacs. Best of VIM and EMACS. It does support a non-evil mode, and asks which way you want the first time you run it.

asciihacker 10y ago
> Best of VIM and EMACS. Since there is no good in VIM (besides being pre-installed on every *nix platform), you know what that equation leads to... just emacs.

chj 10y ago

When I am doing copy and paste, I choose emacs; when I want sane tab behaviour, I choose vim. Will spacemacs be good for me?

tambourine_man 10y ago
Are you aware of paste mode and clipboard/register sharing in Vim?
- chj 10y ago
  Do you mean `:set paste` every time you want to copy something from clipboard?
  - SevereOverfl0w 10y ago
    `:set clipboard=unnamedplus` let's you use the Xwindow clipboard for `p` to paste. I also believe Neovim (and possibly normal vim, I'm not sure), automatically does `:set paste` and `:set nopaste` when you use the terminal paste.
    - groovy2shoes 10y ago
      Just to add, I highly recommend people to look at `:help 'clipboard`. There are several options available, and one or another might be better depending on what you're expecting, and on which platform you're on (e.g., there are notes about using the clipboard on X vs. Windows).
xemoka 10y ago
There is a hybrid mode that enables emacs commands (C-E, C-A, C-Y etc.) while in insert mode. Quite enjoyable, particularly when you're used to using emacs movement commands while editing text fields (thanks macOS).

suvelx 10y ago

Finally got into using spacemacs as my go-to editor... Mostly because I couldn't reliably get python completion to work in Vim. But one thing that's annoying the hell out of me is window/buffer management. It really confuses me when plugins 'eat' a buffer to display something.

kcbanner 10y ago
Check out dedicated-mode, it sets the "dedicated" flag on a buffer so that things don't use it for their temporary output.

cmiles74 10y ago

It's more than just Evil mode (vi emulation). They have a pretty thoughtful way to organize libraries (layers) and a decent solution to the "how to I manage my Emacs config" problem.

tangue 10y ago
This +1000. Flymake or Flycheck, Autocomplete or Company ? I was in the classic .emacs bankruptcy situation and even started using atom before cloning the Spacemacs repo in my .emacs.d
- dschiptsov 10y ago
  For those who do not want to understand the details (which in case of Emacs is silly - one miss so many aha moments) bbatsov's prelude is a piece of true craftsmanship.
k33n 10y ago
Emacs solved that nicely on its own already. Using melpa packages, this is my config: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mkeen/config-emacs/master/.emacs https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mkeen/config-emacs/master/... Pretty simple and doesn't rely on heresy such as evil mode.
- hashkb 10y ago
  Calling evil mode heresy is the same as saying "I wish fewer people used Emacs." Why continue the holy war? You've won many vimmers over... why marginalize us?
  - k33n 10y ago
    I think the creators of evil mode are well aware that it is heresy. They even named it evil mode.
  - jordigh 10y ago
    I think the whole holiness of Emacs and the evilness of vim is more tongue-in-cheek than anything.

tangue 10y ago

Even if you don't like Vi they added tho option to use the the default Emacs keybindings later as an option. I didn't catch with prelude or oh-my-emacs but Spacemacs is imho how Emacs should be shipped. edit typo

Keepo 10y ago

Anybody using it for react development without complications?

ak1394 10y ago
Yes. I recommend running it off master branch instead of release, for better es6 support.

mightypirate 10y ago

I love using Spacemacs in hybrid mode. If you're using one of the supported layer you're in a ton of lack as the only configuration job you have to is minor tweaking of stuff you don't like.

ak1394 10y ago

Spacemacs is great! What like the most, is that it's very easy on your hands. No more emacs pinky!

Rainymood 10y ago

The installation does not work for me. I follow all the steps and then run '$ emacs' in the console and the old GNU emacs just pops up. Anyone got a clue what I'm doing wrong? Edit: fixed it. It turns out that was an ~/.emacs file present which prevents Spacemacs from starting. If you did the cloning and $ emacs results in your standard GNU emacs, look for the file ~/.emacs and remove it.

looki 10y ago

I just wanted to say thanks - I could never get into vanilla Emacs but after about an hour of playing around with Spacemacs I have to say it's amazing. It's incredible what a few convenience features (and of course, familiar keybindings) can do.