3 ms·

Any recommendation on how to get started with emacs? I tried it a few years ago and was so hard to use it, after that I switched to nvim, but now I have interes

Any recommendation on how to get started with emacs? I tried it a few years ago and was so hard to use it, after that I switched to nvim, but now I have interest in learning emacs again.

bananapub 3y ago
either: 1. go through the entire built-in tutorial (which it will prompt you about on first load) 2. just adopt doomemacs or spacemacs, which are very large complicated default configs that are easier for vim users to start with
cmrdporcupine 3y ago
Many configuration-ish things that were hard a few years ago are now way easier. with emacs 29+. There's way fewer reason to reach for doomemacs etc now because package management, configuring LSP mode, etc is much cleaner these days. In some ways working through setting up your .emacs the way you want it is a great way to learn the tool.
- seanw444 3y ago
  Agreed. It's gotten easier. If I was starting Emacs from scratch again, I'd probably write my own vanilla config. But Doom helped introduce me when the concept was bizarre and foreign to me, and I'm very grateful for that. Now I'm comfortable with my Doom config, and it works great, so I have little incentive to ditch it.
  - cmrdporcupine 3y ago
    The problem I have with doom and spacemacs is that it seems to be bringing people into the emacs community using the vi keybindings as default, including people who were not vim users before... which is... strange. Vanilla Emacs keybindings, or cua-mode, are fine, and probably less of a learning curve than going modal. If you're already in that headspace, all power to you, but half the reason I got into emacs in the first place was because I couldn't stand vi.
ParetoOptimal 3y ago
Go through emacs from scratch: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=74zOY-vgkyw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=74zOY-vgkyw Try using that config 25% of your work/productive time for 1 month. Then if you are annoyed by how much time it takes try using doomemacs for the same 25% time. At the end of this you'll know if/which emacs approach is for you.
- norman784 3y ago
  Thanks for the recommendation
  - tveyben 3y ago
    And look at all the many other excellent videos that David Wilson (aka SystemCrafters) have made regarding Emacs!
  - ParetoOptimal 3y ago
    No problem. 25% isn't a hard number btw, tailor for the process to be frictionless and useful for you.
justinhj 3y ago
The built in tutorial followed by a couple of weeks of forcing yourself to use it for basic editing tasks until you find yourself comfortable again. Don’t try to recreate a full IDE experience at first. Try to walk before you run. The beauty of emacs comes from discovering that it solves problems you didn’t know you had rather than being a drop in for your current IDE.
- norman784 3y ago
  Thanks, great advice, I would say it was my mistake before, I wanted to configure everything how I wanted and the information was overwhelming, plus the learning curve.
  - kstrauser 3y ago
    While tempting, don’t do that. Use it as-is for a little bit to see its way of doing things before you start tweaking. My init.el adds quite a bit of functionality but doesn’t change many default settings at all.
treeblah 3y ago
Emacs 29 made getting started a lot easier IMO, my from-scratch configuration is pretty minimal and I use it everyday. To plug my own project, I built a "kickstart" equivalent (https://github.com/mgmarlow/start-emacs https://github.com/mgmarlow/start-emacs) that sets up some recommended defaults and packages with lots of comments so you can easily extend it.
maxace 3y ago
moving the control and alt keys while keeping the default keybindings makes for a great experience imo https://precondition.github.io/home-row-mods https://precondition.github.io/home-row-mods

Any recommendation on how to get started with emacs? I tried it a few years ago and was so hard to use it, after that I switched to nvim, but now I have interest in learning emacs again.

bananapub 3y ago

either: 1. go through the entire built-in tutorial (which it will prompt you about on first load) 2. just adopt doomemacs or spacemacs, which are very large complicated default configs that are easier for vim users to start with

cmrdporcupine 3y ago

Many configuration-ish things that were hard a few years ago are now way easier. with emacs 29+. There's way fewer reason to reach for doomemacs etc now because package management, configuring LSP mode, etc is much cleaner these days. In some ways working through setting up your .emacs the way you want it is a great way to learn the tool.

seanw444 3y ago
Agreed. It's gotten easier. If I was starting Emacs from scratch again, I'd probably write my own vanilla config. But Doom helped introduce me when the concept was bizarre and foreign to me, and I'm very grateful for that. Now I'm comfortable with my Doom config, and it works great, so I have little incentive to ditch it.
- cmrdporcupine 3y ago
  The problem I have with doom and spacemacs is that it seems to be bringing people into the emacs community using the vi keybindings as default, including people who were not vim users before... which is... strange. Vanilla Emacs keybindings, or cua-mode, are fine, and probably less of a learning curve than going modal. If you're already in that headspace, all power to you, but half the reason I got into emacs in the first place was because I couldn't stand vi.

ParetoOptimal 3y ago

Go through emacs from scratch: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=74zOY-vgkyw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=74zOY-vgkyw Try using that config 25% of your work/productive time for 1 month. Then if you are annoyed by how much time it takes try using doomemacs for the same 25% time. At the end of this you'll know if/which emacs approach is for you.

norman784 3y ago
Thanks for the recommendation
- tveyben 3y ago
  And look at all the many other excellent videos that David Wilson (aka SystemCrafters) have made regarding Emacs!
- ParetoOptimal 3y ago
  No problem. 25% isn't a hard number btw, tailor for the process to be frictionless and useful for you.

justinhj 3y ago

The built in tutorial followed by a couple of weeks of forcing yourself to use it for basic editing tasks until you find yourself comfortable again. Don’t try to recreate a full IDE experience at first. Try to walk before you run. The beauty of emacs comes from discovering that it solves problems you didn’t know you had rather than being a drop in for your current IDE.

norman784 3y ago
Thanks, great advice, I would say it was my mistake before, I wanted to configure everything how I wanted and the information was overwhelming, plus the learning curve.
- kstrauser 3y ago
  While tempting, don’t do that. Use it as-is for a little bit to see its way of doing things before you start tweaking. My init.el adds quite a bit of functionality but doesn’t change many default settings at all.

treeblah 3y ago

Emacs 29 made getting started a lot easier IMO, my from-scratch configuration is pretty minimal and I use it everyday. To plug my own project, I built a "kickstart" equivalent (https://github.com/mgmarlow/start-emacs https://github.com/mgmarlow/start-emacs) that sets up some recommended defaults and packages with lots of comments so you can easily extend it.

maxace 3y ago

moving the control and alt keys while keeping the default keybindings makes for a great experience imo https://precondition.github.io/home-row-mods https://precondition.github.io/home-row-mods