1EMACS(1) General Commands Manual EMACS(1)
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6 emacs - GNU project Emacs editor
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9 emacs [ command-line switches ] [ files ... ]
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12 GNU Emacs is a version of Emacs, written by the author of the original
13 (PDP-10) Emacs, Richard Stallman. The user functionality of GNU Emacs
14 encompasses everything other editors do, and it is easily extensible
15 since its editing commands are written in Lisp.
16 The primary documentation of GNU Emacs is in the GNU Emacs Manual,
18 which you can read using Info, either from Emacs or as a standalone
19 program. Please look there for complete and up-to-date documentation.
20 This man page is updated only when someone volunteers to do so.
21 Emacs has an extensive interactive help facility, but the facility
23 assumes that you know how to manipulate Emacs windows and buffers.
24 CTRL-h or F1 enters the Help facility. Help Tutorial (CTRL-h t) starts
25 an interactive tutorial to quickly teach beginners the fundamentals of
26 Emacs. Help Apropos (CTRL-h a) helps you find a command with a name
27 matching a given pattern, Help Key (CTRL-h k) describes a given key
28 sequence, and Help Function (CTRL-h f) describes a given Lisp function.
29 GNU Emacs's many special packages handle mail reading (RMail) and send‐
31 ing (Mail), outline editing (Outline), compiling (Compile), running
32 subshells within Emacs windows (Shell), running a Lisp read-eval-print
33 loop (Lisp-Interaction-Mode), automated psychotherapy (Doctor), and
34 much more.
35 Emacs Options
37 The following options are of general interest:
38 file Edit file.
40 --file=file, --find-file=file, --visit=file
42 The same as specifying file directly as an argument.
43 +number Go to the line specified by number (do not insert a
45 space between the "+" sign and the number). This
46 applies only to the next file specified.
47 +line:column
49 Go to the specified line and column.
50 --chdir=directory
52 Change to directory.
53 -q, --no-init-file
55 Do not load an init file.
56 -nl, --no-shared-memory
58 Do not use shared memory.
59 --no-site-file
61 Do not load the site-wide startup file.
62 -nsl, --no-site-lisp
64 Do not add site-lisp directories to load-path.
65 --no-desktop
67 Do not load a saved desktop.
68 -Q, --quick
70 Similar to "-q --no-site-file --no-splash". Also, avoid
71 processing X resources.
72 --no-splash
74 Do not display a splash screen during start-up.
75 --debug-init
77 Enable Emacs Lisp debugger during the processing of the
78 user init file ~/.emacs. This is useful for debugging
79 problems in the init file.
80 -u user, --user=user
82 Load user's init file.
83 -t file, --terminal=file
85 Use specified file as the terminal instead of using
86 stdin/stdout. This must be the first argument specified
87 in the command line.
88 --daemon[=name], --bg-daemon[=name]
90 Start Emacs as a daemon, enabling the Emacs server and
91 disconnecting from the terminal. You can then use the
92 emacsclient (see emacsclient(1)) command to connect to
93 the server (with optional name).
94 --fg-daemon[=name]
96 Like "--bg-daemon", but don't disconnect from the termi‐
97 nal.
98 --version
100 Display Emacs version information and exit.
101 --help Display this help and exit.
103 The following options are Lisp-oriented (these options are processed in
105 the order encountered):
106 -f function, --funcall=function
108 Execute the lisp function function.
109 -l file, --load=file
111 Load the lisp code in the file file.
112 --eval=expr, --execute=expr
114 Evaluate the Lisp expression expr.
115 The following options are useful when running Emacs as a batch editor:
117 --batch Edit in batch mode. The editor will send messages to
119 stderr. You must use -l and -f options to specify files
120 to execute and functions to call.
121 --script=file
123 Run file as an Emacs Lisp script.
124 --insert=file
126 Insert contents of file into the current buffer.
127 --kill Exit Emacs while in batch mode.
129 -L dir, --directory=dir
131 Add dir to the list of directories Emacs searches for
132 Lisp files.
133 Using Emacs with X
135 Emacs has been tailored to work well with the X window system. If you
136 run Emacs from under X windows, it will create its own X window to dis‐
137 play in. You will probably want to start the editor as a background
138 process so that you can continue using your original window.
139 Emacs can be started with the following X switches:
141 --name=name
143 Specify the name which should be assigned to the initial
144 Emacs window. This controls looking up X resources as
145 well as the window title.
146 -T name, --title=name
148 Specify the title for the initial X window.
149 -r, -rv, --reverse-video
151 Display the Emacs window in reverse video.
152 -fn font, --font=font
154 Set the Emacs window's font to that specified by font.
155 You will find the various X fonts in the
156 /usr/lib/X11/fonts directory. Note that Emacs will only
157 accept fixed width fonts. Under the X11 Release 4 font-
158 naming conventions, any font with the value "m" or "c"
159 in the eleventh field of the font name is a fixed width
160 font. Furthermore, fonts whose name are of the form
161 widthxheight are generally fixed width, as is the font
162 fixed. See xlsfonts(1) for more information.
163 When you specify a font, be sure to put a space between
165 the switch and the font name.
166 --xrm=resources
168 Set additional X resources.
169 --color, --color=mode
171 Override color mode for character terminals; mode
172 defaults to "auto", and can also be "never", "auto",
173 "always", or a mode name like "ansi8".
174 -bw pixels, --border-width=pixels
176 Set the Emacs window's border width to the number of
177 pixels specified by pixels. Defaults to one pixel on
178 each side of the window.
179 -ib pixels, --internal-border=pixels
181 Set the window's internal border width to the number of
182 pixels specified by pixels. Defaults to one pixel of
183 padding on each side of the window.
184 -g geometry, --geometry=geometry
186 Set the Emacs window's width, height, and position as
187 specified. The geometry specification is in the stan‐
188 dard X format; see X(7) for more information. The width
189 and height are specified in characters; the default for
190 GUI frames is 80 by 36. See the Emacs manual, section
191 "Options for Window Size and Position", for information
192 on how window sizes interact with selecting or deselect‐
193 ing the tool bar and menu bar.
194 -lsp pixels, --line-spacing=pixels
196 Additional space to put between lines.
197 -vb, --vertical-scroll-bars
199 Enable vertical scrollbars.
200 -fh, --fullheight
202 Make the first frame as high as the screen.
203 -fs, --fullscreen
205 Make the first frame fullscreen.
206 -fw, --fullwidth
208 Make the first frame as wide as the screen.
209 -mm, --maximized
211 Maximize the first frame, like "-fw -fh".
212 -fg color, --foreground-color=color
214 On color displays, set the color of the text.
215 Use the command M-x list-colors-display for a list of
217 valid color names.
218 -bg color, --background-color=color
220 On color displays, set the color of the window's back‐
221 ground.
222 -bd color, --border-color=color
224 On color displays, set the color of the window's border.
225 -cr color, --cursor-color=color
227 On color displays, set the color of the window's text
228 cursor.
229 -ms color, --mouse-color=color
231 On color displays, set the color of the window's mouse
232 cursor.
233 -d displayname, --display=displayname
235 Create the Emacs window on the display specified by dis‐
236 playname. Must be the first option specified in the
237 command line.
238 -nbi, --no-bitmap-icon
240 Do not use picture of gnu for Emacs icon.
241 --iconic
243 Start Emacs in iconified state.
244 -nbc, --no-blinking-cursor
246 Disable blinking cursor.
247 --parent-id=xid
249 Set parent window.
250 -nw, --no-window-system
252 Tell Emacs not to create a graphical frame. If you use
253 this switch when invoking Emacs from an xterm(1) window,
254 display is done in that window.
255 -D, --basic-display
257 This option disables many display features; use it for
258 debugging Emacs.
259 You can set X default values for your Emacs windows in your .Xresources
261 file (see xrdb(1)). Use the following format:
262 emacs.keyword:value
264 where value specifies the default value of keyword. Emacs lets you set
266 default values for the following keywords:
267 background (class Background)
269 For color displays, sets the window's background color.
270 bitmapIcon (class BitmapIcon)
272 If bitmapIcon's value is set to on, the window will
273 iconify into the "kitchen sink."
274 borderColor (class BorderColor)
276 For color displays, sets the color of the window's bor‐
277 der.
278 borderWidth (class BorderWidth)
280 Sets the window's border width in pixels.
281 cursorColor (class Foreground)
283 For color displays, sets the color of the window's text
284 cursor.
285 cursorBlink (class CursorBlink)
287 Specifies whether to make the cursor blink. The default
288 is on. Use off or false to turn cursor blinking off.
289 font (class Font)
291 Sets the window's text font.
292 foreground (class Foreground)
294 For color displays, sets the window's text color.
295 fullscreen (class Fullscreen)
297 The desired fullscreen size. The value can be one of
298 fullboth, maximized, fullwidth, or fullheight, which
299 correspond to the command-line options "-fs", "-mm",
300 "-fw", and "-fh", respectively. Note that this applies
301 to the initial frame only.
302 geometry (class Geometry)
304 Sets the geometry of the Emacs window (as described
305 above).
306 iconName (class Title)
308 Sets the icon name for the Emacs window icon.
309 internalBorder (class BorderWidth)
311 Sets the window's internal border width in pixels.
312 lineSpacing (class LineSpacing)
314 Additional space ("leading") between lines, in pixels.
315 menuBar (class MenuBar)
317 Gives frames menu bars if on; don't have menu bars if
318 off. See the Emacs manual, sections "Lucid Resources"
319 and "Motif Resources", for how to control the appearance
320 of the menu bar if you have one.
321 minibuffer (class Minibuffer)
323 If none, don't make a minibuffer in this frame. It will
324 use a separate minibuffer frame instead.
325 paneFont (class Font)
327 Font name for menu pane titles, in non-toolkit versions
328 of Emacs.
329 pointerColor (class Foreground)
331 For color displays, sets the color of the window's mouse
332 cursor.
333 privateColormap (class PrivateColormap)
335 If on, use a private color map, in the case where the
336 "default visual" of class PseudoColor and Emacs is using
337 it.
338 reverseVideo (class ReverseVideo)
340 If reverseVideo's value is set to on, the window will be
341 displayed in reverse video.
342 screenGamma (class ScreenGamma)
344 Gamma correction for colors, equivalent to the frame
345 parameter "screen-gamma".
346 scrollBarWidth (class ScrollBarWidth)
348 The scroll bar width in pixels, equivalent to the frame
349 parameter "scroll-bar-width".
350 selectionFont (class SelectionFont)
352 Font name for pop-up menu items, in non-toolkit versions
353 of Emacs. (For toolkit versions, see the Emacs manual,
354 sections "Lucid Resources" and "Motif Resources".)
355 selectionTimeout (class SelectionTimeout)
357 Number of milliseconds to wait for a selection reply. A
358 value of 0 means wait as long as necessary.
359 synchronous (class Synchronous)
361 Run Emacs in synchronous mode if on. Synchronous mode
362 is useful for debugging X problems.
363 title (class Title)
365 Sets the title of the Emacs window.
366 toolBar (class ToolBar)
368 Number of lines to reserve for the tool bar.
369 useXIM (class UseXIM)
371 Turns off use of X input methods (XIM) if false or off.
372 verticalScrollBars (class ScrollBars)
374 Gives frames scroll bars if on; suppresses scroll bars
375 if off.
376 visualClass (class VisualClass)
378 Specify the "visual" that X should use. This tells X
379 how to handle colors. The value should start with one
380 of TrueColor, PseudoColor, DirectColor, StaticColor,
381 GrayScale, and StaticGray, followed by -depth, where
382 depth is the number of color planes.
383
385 You can order printed copies of the GNU Emacs Manual from the Free
386 Software Foundation, which develops GNU software. See the online store
387 at <https://shop.fsf.org/>.
388 Your local administrator might also have copies available. As with all
389 software and publications from FSF, everyone is permitted to make and
390 distribute copies of the Emacs manual. The Texinfo source to the man‐
391 ual is also included in the Emacs source distribution.
392
394 /usr/local/share/info — files for the Info documentation browser. The
395 complete text of the Emacs reference manual is included in a convenient
396 tree structured form. Also includes the Emacs Lisp Reference Manual,
397 useful to anyone wishing to write programs in the Emacs Lisp extension
398 language, and the Introduction to Programming in Emacs Lisp.
399 /usr/local/share/emacs/$VERSION/lisp — Lisp source files and compiled
401 files that define most editing commands. Some are preloaded; others
402 are autoloaded from this directory when used.
403 /usr/local/libexec/emacs/$VERSION/$ARCH — various programs that are
405 used with GNU Emacs.
406 /usr/local/share/emacs/$VERSION/etc — various files of information.
408 /usr/local/share/emacs/$VERSION/etc/DOC.* — contains the documentation
410 strings for the Lisp primitives and preloaded Lisp functions of GNU
411 Emacs. They are stored here to reduce the size of Emacs proper.
412
415 There is a mailing list, bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org, for reporting Emacs
416 bugs and fixes. But before reporting something as a bug, please try to
417 be sure that it really is a bug, not a misunderstanding or a deliberate
418 feature. We ask you to read the section "Reporting Bugs" in the Emacs
419 manual for hints on how and when to report bugs. Also, include the
420 version number of the Emacs you are running in every bug report that
421 you send in. Bugs tend actually to be fixed if they can be isolated,
422 so it is in your interest to report them in such a way that they can be
423 easily reproduced.
424 Do not expect a personal answer to a bug report. The purpose of
426 reporting bugs is to get them fixed for everyone in the next release,
427 if possible. For personal assistance, consult the service directory at
428 <https://www.fsf.org/resources/service/> for a list of people who offer
429 it.
430 Please do not send anything but bug reports to this mailing list. For
432 other Emacs lists, see <https://savannah.gnu.org/mail/?group=emacs>.
433
435 Emacs is free; anyone may redistribute copies of Emacs to anyone under
436 the terms stated in the GNU General Public License, a copy of which
437 accompanies each copy of Emacs and which also appears in the reference
438 manual.
439 Copies of Emacs may sometimes be received packaged with distributions
441 of Unix systems, but it is never included in the scope of any license
442 covering those systems. Such inclusion violates the terms on which
443 distribution is permitted. In fact, the primary purpose of the GNU
444 General Public License is to prohibit anyone from attaching any other
445 restrictions to redistribution of Emacs.
446 Richard Stallman encourages you to improve and extend Emacs, and urges
448 that you contribute your extensions to the GNU library. Eventually GNU
449 (Gnu's Not Unix) will be a complete replacement for Unix. Everyone
450 will be free to use, copy, study and change the GNU system.
451
453 emacsclient(1), etags(1), X(7), xlsfonts(1), xterm(1), xrdb(1)
454
456 Emacs was written by Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation.
457 For detailed credits and acknowledgments, see the GNU Emacs manual.
458
460 Copyright 1995, 1999-2019 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
461 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
463 document provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
464 preserved on all copies.
465 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
467 document under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
468 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a per‐
469 mission notice identical to this one.
470 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this docu‐
472 ment into another language, under the above conditions for modified
473 versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in a trans‐
474 lation approved by the Free Software Foundation.
475GNU Emacs 26.2 2007 April 13 EMACS(1)