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399
nixos/modules/services/editors/emacs.md Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,399 @@
# Emacs {#module-services-emacs}
<!--
Documentation contributors:
Damien Cassou @DamienCassou
Thomas Tuegel @ttuegel
Rodney Lorrimar @rvl
Adam Hoese @adisbladis
-->
[Emacs](https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/) is an
extensible, customizable, self-documenting real-time display editor — and
more. At its core is an interpreter for Emacs Lisp, a dialect of the Lisp
programming language with extensions to support text editing.
Emacs runs within a graphical desktop environment using the X Window System,
but works equally well on a text terminal. Under
macOS, a "Mac port" edition is available, which
uses Apple's native GUI frameworks.
Nixpkgs provides a superior environment for
running Emacs. It's simple to create custom builds
by overriding the default packages. Chaotic collections of Emacs Lisp code
and extensions can be brought under control using declarative package
management. NixOS even provides a
{command}`systemd` user service for automatically starting the Emacs
daemon.
## Installing Emacs {#module-services-emacs-installing}
Emacs can be installed in the normal way for Nix (see
[](#sec-package-management)). In addition, a NixOS
*service* can be enabled.
### The Different Releases of Emacs {#module-services-emacs-releases}
Nixpkgs defines several basic Emacs packages.
The following are attributes belonging to the {var}`pkgs` set:
{var}`emacs`
: The latest stable version of Emacs using the [GTK 2](http://www.gtk.org)
widget toolkit.
{var}`emacs-nox`
: Emacs built without any dependency on X11 libraries.
{var}`emacsMacport`
: Emacs with the "Mac port" patches, providing a more native look and
feel under macOS.
If those aren't suitable, then the following imitation Emacs editors are
also available in Nixpkgs:
[Zile](https://www.gnu.org/software/zile/),
[mg](http://homepage.boetes.org/software/mg/),
[Yi](http://yi-editor.github.io/),
[jmacs](https://joe-editor.sourceforge.io/).
### Adding Packages to Emacs {#module-services-emacs-adding-packages}
Emacs includes an entire ecosystem of functionality beyond text editing,
including a project planner, mail and news reader, debugger interface,
calendar, and more.
Most extensions are gotten with the Emacs packaging system
({file}`package.el`) from
[Emacs Lisp Package Archive (ELPA)](https://elpa.gnu.org/),
[MELPA](https://melpa.org/),
[MELPA Stable](https://stable.melpa.org/), and
[Org ELPA](http://orgmode.org/elpa.html). Nixpkgs is
regularly updated to mirror all these archives.
Under NixOS, you can continue to use
`package-list-packages` and
`package-install` to install packages. You can also
declare the set of Emacs packages you need using the derivations from
Nixpkgs. The rest of this section discusses declarative installation of
Emacs packages through nixpkgs.
The first step to declare the list of packages you want in your Emacs
installation is to create a dedicated derivation. This can be done in a
dedicated {file}`emacs.nix` file such as:
[]{#ex-emacsNix}
```nix
/*
This is a nix expression to build Emacs and some Emacs packages I like
from source on any distribution where Nix is installed. This will install
all the dependencies from the nixpkgs repository and build the binary files
without interfering with the host distribution.
To build the project, type the following from the current directory:
$ nix-build emacs.nix
To run the newly compiled executable:
$ ./result/bin/emacs
*/
# The first non-comment line in this file indicates that
# the whole file represents a function.
{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {} }:
let
# The let expression below defines a myEmacs binding pointing to the
# current stable version of Emacs. This binding is here to separate
# the choice of the Emacs binary from the specification of the
# required packages.
myEmacs = pkgs.emacs;
# This generates an emacsWithPackages function. It takes a single
# argument: a function from a package set to a list of packages
# (the packages that will be available in Emacs).
emacsWithPackages = (pkgs.emacsPackagesFor myEmacs).emacsWithPackages;
in
# The rest of the file specifies the list of packages to install. In the
# example, two packages (magit and zerodark-theme) are taken from
# MELPA stable.
emacsWithPackages (epkgs: (with epkgs.melpaStablePackages; [
magit # ; Integrate git <C-x g>
zerodark-theme # ; Nicolas' theme
])
# Two packages (undo-tree and zoom-frm) are taken from MELPA.
++ (with epkgs.melpaPackages; [
undo-tree # ; <C-x u> to show the undo tree
zoom-frm # ; increase/decrease font size for all buffers %lt;C-x C-+>
])
# Three packages are taken from GNU ELPA.
++ (with epkgs.elpaPackages; [
auctex # ; LaTeX mode
beacon # ; highlight my cursor when scrolling
nameless # ; hide current package name everywhere in elisp code
])
# notmuch is taken from a nixpkgs derivation which contains an Emacs mode.
++ [
pkgs.notmuch # From main packages set
])
```
The result of this configuration will be an {command}`emacs`
command which launches Emacs with all of your chosen packages in the
{var}`load-path`.
You can check that it works by executing this in a terminal:
```ShellSession
$ nix-build emacs.nix
$ ./result/bin/emacs -q
```
and then typing `M-x package-initialize`. Check that you
can use all the packages you want in this Emacs instance. For example, try
switching to the zerodark theme through `M-x load-theme <RET> zerodark <RET> y`.
::: {.tip}
A few popular extensions worth checking out are: auctex, company,
edit-server, flycheck, helm, iedit, magit, multiple-cursors, projectile,
and yasnippet.
:::
The list of available packages in the various ELPA repositories can be seen
with the following commands:
[]{#module-services-emacs-querying-packages}
```
nix-env -f "<nixpkgs>" -qaP -A emacs.pkgs.elpaPackages
nix-env -f "<nixpkgs>" -qaP -A emacs.pkgs.melpaPackages
nix-env -f "<nixpkgs>" -qaP -A emacs.pkgs.melpaStablePackages
nix-env -f "<nixpkgs>" -qaP -A emacs.pkgs.orgPackages
```
If you are on NixOS, you can install this particular Emacs for all users by
adding it to the list of system packages (see
[](#sec-declarative-package-mgmt)). Simply modify your file
{file}`configuration.nix` to make it contain:
[]{#module-services-emacs-configuration-nix}
```
{
environment.systemPackages = [
# [...]
(import /path/to/emacs.nix { inherit pkgs; })
];
}
```
In this case, the next {command}`nixos-rebuild switch` will take
care of adding your {command}`emacs` to the {var}`PATH`
environment variable (see [](#sec-changing-config)).
<!-- fixme: i think the following is better done with config.nix
https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual/#sec-modify-via-packageOverrides
-->
If you are not on NixOS or want to install this particular Emacs only for
yourself, you can do so by adding it to your
{file}`~/.config/nixpkgs/config.nix` (see
[Nixpkgs manual](https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual/#sec-modify-via-packageOverrides)):
[]{#module-services-emacs-config-nix}
```
{
packageOverrides = super: let self = super.pkgs; in {
myemacs = import /path/to/emacs.nix { pkgs = self; };
};
}
```
In this case, the next `nix-env -f '<nixpkgs>' -iA
myemacs` will take care of adding your emacs to the
{var}`PATH` environment variable.
### Advanced Emacs Configuration {#module-services-emacs-advanced}
If you want, you can tweak the Emacs package itself from your
{file}`emacs.nix`. For example, if you want to have a
GTK 3-based Emacs instead of the default GTK 2-based binary and remove the
automatically generated {file}`emacs.desktop` (useful if you
only use {command}`emacsclient`), you can change your file
{file}`emacs.nix` in this way:
[]{#ex-emacsGtk3Nix}
```
{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {} }:
let
myEmacs = (pkgs.emacs.override {
# Use gtk3 instead of the default gtk2
withGTK3 = true;
withGTK2 = false;
}).overrideAttrs (attrs: {
# I don't want emacs.desktop file because I only use
# emacsclient.
postInstall = (attrs.postInstall or "") + ''
rm $out/share/applications/emacs.desktop
'';
});
in [...]
```
After building this file as shown in [the example above](#ex-emacsNix), you
will get an GTK 3-based Emacs binary pre-loaded with your favorite packages.
## Running Emacs as a Service {#module-services-emacs-running}
NixOS provides an optional
{command}`systemd` service which launches
[Emacs daemon](https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Emacs-Server.html)
with the user's login session.
*Source:* {file}`modules/services/editors/emacs.nix`
### Enabling the Service {#module-services-emacs-enabling}
To install and enable the {command}`systemd` user service for Emacs
daemon, add the following to your {file}`configuration.nix`:
```
services.emacs.enable = true;
services.emacs.package = import /home/cassou/.emacs.d { pkgs = pkgs; };
```
The {var}`services.emacs.package` option allows a custom
derivation to be used, for example, one created by
`emacsWithPackages`.
Ensure that the Emacs server is enabled for your user's Emacs
configuration, either by customizing the {var}`server-mode`
variable, or by adding `(server-start)` to
{file}`~/.emacs.d/init.el`.
To start the daemon, execute the following:
```ShellSession
$ nixos-rebuild switch # to activate the new configuration.nix
$ systemctl --user daemon-reload # to force systemd reload
$ systemctl --user start emacs.service # to start the Emacs daemon
```
The server should now be ready to serve Emacs clients.
### Starting the client {#module-services-emacs-starting-client}
Ensure that the emacs server is enabled, either by customizing the
{var}`server-mode` variable, or by adding
`(server-start)` to {file}`~/.emacs`.
To connect to the emacs daemon, run one of the following:
```
emacsclient FILENAME
emacsclient --create-frame # opens a new frame (window)
emacsclient --create-frame --tty # opens a new frame on the current terminal
```
### Configuring the {var}`EDITOR` variable {#module-services-emacs-editor-variable}
<!--<title>{command}`emacsclient` as the Default Editor</title>-->
If [](#opt-services.emacs.defaultEditor) is
`true`, the {var}`EDITOR` variable will be set
to a wrapper script which launches {command}`emacsclient`.
Any setting of {var}`EDITOR` in the shell config files will
override {var}`services.emacs.defaultEditor`. To make sure
{var}`EDITOR` refers to the Emacs wrapper script, remove any
existing {var}`EDITOR` assignment from
{file}`.profile`, {file}`.bashrc`,
{file}`.zshenv` or any other shell config file.
If you have formed certain bad habits when editing files, these can be
corrected with a shell alias to the wrapper script:
```
alias vi=$EDITOR
```
### Per-User Enabling of the Service {#module-services-emacs-per-user}
In general, {command}`systemd` user services are globally enabled
by symlinks in {file}`/etc/systemd/user`. In the case where
Emacs daemon is not wanted for all users, it is possible to install the
service but not globally enable it:
```
services.emacs.enable = false;
services.emacs.install = true;
```
To enable the {command}`systemd` user service for just the
currently logged in user, run:
```
systemctl --user enable emacs
```
This will add the symlink
{file}`~/.config/systemd/user/emacs.service`.
## Configuring Emacs {#module-services-emacs-configuring}
The Emacs init file should be changed to load the extension packages at
startup:
[]{#module-services-emacs-package-initialisation}
```
(require 'package)
;; optional. makes unpure packages archives unavailable
(setq package-archives nil)
(setq package-enable-at-startup nil)
(package-initialize)
```
After the declarative emacs package configuration has been tested,
previously downloaded packages can be cleaned up by removing
{file}`~/.emacs.d/elpa` (do make a backup first, in case you
forgot a package).
<!--
todo: is it worth documenting customizations for
server-switch-hook, server-done-hook?
-->
### A Major Mode for Nix Expressions {#module-services-emacs-major-mode}
Of interest may be {var}`melpaPackages.nix-mode`, which
provides syntax highlighting for the Nix language. This is particularly
convenient if you regularly edit Nix files.
### Accessing man pages {#module-services-emacs-man-pages}
You can use `woman` to get completion of all available
man pages. For example, type `M-x woman <RET> nixos-rebuild <RET>.`
### Editing DocBook 5 XML Documents {#sec-emacs-docbook-xml}
Emacs includes
[nXML](https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/nxml-mode/Introduction.html),
a major-mode for validating and editing XML documents. When editing DocBook
5.0 documents, such as [this one](#book-nixos-manual),
nXML needs to be configured with the relevant schema, which is not
included.
To install the DocBook 5.0 schemas, either add
{var}`pkgs.docbook5` to [](#opt-environment.systemPackages)
([NixOS](#sec-declarative-package-mgmt)), or run
`nix-env -f '<nixpkgs>' -iA docbook5`
([Nix](#sec-ad-hoc-packages)).
Then customize the variable {var}`rng-schema-locating-files` to
include {file}`~/.emacs.d/schemas.xml` and put the following
text into that file:
[]{#ex-emacs-docbook-xml}
```xml
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!--
To let emacs find this file, evaluate:
(add-to-list 'rng-schema-locating-files "~/.emacs.d/schemas.xml")
-->
<locatingRules xmlns="http://thaiopensource.com/ns/locating-rules/1.0">
<!--
Use this variation if pkgs.docbook5 is added to environment.systemPackages
-->
<namespace ns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
uri="/run/current-system/sw/share/xml/docbook-5.0/rng/docbookxi.rnc"/>
<!--
Use this variation if installing schema with "nix-env -iA pkgs.docbook5".
<namespace ns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
uri="../.nix-profile/share/xml/docbook-5.0/rng/docbookxi.rnc"/>
-->
</locatingRules>
```

2
nixos/modules/services/editors/emacs.nix
View file

@ -99,5 +99,7 @@ in
environment.variables.EDITOR = mkIf cfg.defaultEditor (mkOverride 900 "${editorScript}/bin/emacseditor");
};
# Don't edit the docbook xml directly, edit the md and generate it:
# `pandoc emacs.md -t docbook --top-level-division=chapter --extract-media=media -f markdown-smart --lua-filter ../../../../doc/build-aux/pandoc-filters/myst-reader/roles.lua --lua-filter ../../../../doc/build-aux/pandoc-filters/docbook-writer/rst-roles.lua > emacs.xml`
meta.doc = ./emacs.xml;
}

824
nixos/modules/services/editors/emacs.xml
View file

@ -1,143 +1,119 @@
<chapter xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
version="5.0"
xml:id="module-services-emacs">
<title>Emacs</title>
<!--
Documentation contributors:
Damien Cassou @DamienCassou
Thomas Tuegel @ttuegel
Rodney Lorrimar @rvl
Adam Hoese @adisbladis
-->
<para>
<link xlink:href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/">Emacs</link> is an
extensible, customizable, self-documenting real-time display editor — and
more. At its core is an interpreter for Emacs Lisp, a dialect of the Lisp
programming language with extensions to support text editing.
</para>
<para>
Emacs runs within a graphical desktop environment using the X Window System,
but works equally well on a text terminal. Under
macOS, a "Mac port" edition is available, which
uses Apple's native GUI frameworks.
</para>
<para>
Nixpkgs provides a superior environment for
running Emacs. It's simple to create custom builds
by overriding the default packages. Chaotic collections of Emacs Lisp code
and extensions can be brought under control using declarative package
management. NixOS even provides a
<command>systemd</command> user service for automatically starting the Emacs
daemon.
</para>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-installing">
<title>Installing Emacs</title>
<chapter xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xml:id="module-services-emacs">
<title>Emacs</title>
<para>
Emacs can be installed in the normal way for Nix (see
<xref linkend="sec-package-management" />). In addition, a NixOS
<emphasis>service</emphasis> can be enabled.
<link xlink:href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/">Emacs</link>
is an extensible, customizable, self-documenting real-time display
editor — and more. At its core is an interpreter for Emacs Lisp, a
dialect of the Lisp programming language with extensions to support
text editing.
</para>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-releases">
<title>The Different Releases of Emacs</title>
<para>
Nixpkgs defines several basic Emacs packages.
The following are attributes belonging to the <varname>pkgs</varname> set:
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<varname>emacs</varname>
</term>
<term>
<varname>emacs</varname>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The latest stable version of Emacs using the
<link
xlink:href="http://www.gtk.org">GTK 2</link>
widget toolkit.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<varname>emacs-nox</varname>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Emacs built without any dependency on X11 libraries.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<varname>emacsMacport</varname>
</term>
<term>
<varname>emacsMacport</varname>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Emacs with the "Mac port" patches, providing a more native look and
feel under macOS.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>
<para>
If those aren't suitable, then the following imitation Emacs editors are
also available in Nixpkgs:
<link xlink:href="https://www.gnu.org/software/zile/">Zile</link>,
<link xlink:href="http://homepage.boetes.org/software/mg/">mg</link>,
<link xlink:href="http://yi-editor.github.io/">Yi</link>,
<link xlink:href="https://joe-editor.sourceforge.io/">jmacs</link>.
</para>
</section>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-adding-packages">
<title>Adding Packages to Emacs</title>
<para>
Emacs includes an entire ecosystem of functionality beyond text editing,
including a project planner, mail and news reader, debugger interface,
calendar, and more.
</para>
<para>
Most extensions are gotten with the Emacs packaging system
(<filename>package.el</filename>) from
<link
xlink:href="https://elpa.gnu.org/">Emacs Lisp Package Archive
(ELPA)</link>,
<link xlink:href="https://melpa.org/">MELPA</link>,
<link xlink:href="https://stable.melpa.org/">MELPA Stable</link>, and
<link xlink:href="http://orgmode.org/elpa.html">Org ELPA</link>. Nixpkgs is
regularly updated to mirror all these archives.
</para>
<para>
Under NixOS, you can continue to use
<literal>package-list-packages</literal> and
<literal>package-install</literal> to install packages. You can also
declare the set of Emacs packages you need using the derivations from
Nixpkgs. The rest of this section discusses declarative installation of
Emacs packages through nixpkgs.
</para>
<para>
The first step to declare the list of packages you want in your Emacs
installation is to create a dedicated derivation. This can be done in a
dedicated <filename>emacs.nix</filename> file such as:
<example xml:id="ex-emacsNix">
<title>Nix expression to build Emacs with packages (<filename>emacs.nix</filename>)</title>
<programlisting language="nix">
<para>
Emacs runs within a graphical desktop environment using the X Window
System, but works equally well on a text terminal. Under macOS, a
&quot;Mac port&quot; edition is available, which uses Apple's native
GUI frameworks.
</para>
<para>
Nixpkgs provides a superior environment for running Emacs. It's
simple to create custom builds by overriding the default packages.
Chaotic collections of Emacs Lisp code and extensions can be brought
under control using declarative package management. NixOS even
provides a <command>systemd</command> user service for automatically
starting the Emacs daemon.
</para>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-installing">
<title>Installing Emacs</title>
<para>
Emacs can be installed in the normal way for Nix (see
<xref linkend="sec-package-management"></xref>). In addition, a
NixOS <emphasis>service</emphasis> can be enabled.
</para>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-releases">
<title>The Different Releases of Emacs</title>
<para>
Nixpkgs defines several basic Emacs packages. The following are
attributes belonging to the <varname>pkgs</varname> set:
</para>
<variablelist spacing="compact">
<varlistentry>
<term>
<varname>emacs</varname>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The latest stable version of Emacs using the
<link xlink:href="http://www.gtk.org">GTK 2</link> widget
toolkit.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<varname>emacs-nox</varname>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Emacs built without any dependency on X11 libraries.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<varname>emacsMacport</varname>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Emacs with the &quot;Mac port&quot; patches, providing a
more native look and feel under macOS.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<para>
If those aren't suitable, then the following imitation Emacs
editors are also available in Nixpkgs:
<link xlink:href="https://www.gnu.org/software/zile/">Zile</link>,
<link xlink:href="http://homepage.boetes.org/software/mg/">mg</link>,
<link xlink:href="http://yi-editor.github.io/">Yi</link>,
<link xlink:href="https://joe-editor.sourceforge.io/">jmacs</link>.
</para>
</section>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-adding-packages">
<title>Adding Packages to Emacs</title>
<para>
Emacs includes an entire ecosystem of functionality beyond text
editing, including a project planner, mail and news reader,
debugger interface, calendar, and more.
</para>
<para>
Most extensions are gotten with the Emacs packaging system
(<filename>package.el</filename>) from
<link xlink:href="https://elpa.gnu.org/">Emacs Lisp Package
Archive (ELPA)</link>,
<link xlink:href="https://melpa.org/">MELPA</link>,
<link xlink:href="https://stable.melpa.org/">MELPA
Stable</link>, and
<link xlink:href="http://orgmode.org/elpa.html">Org ELPA</link>.
Nixpkgs is regularly updated to mirror all these archives.
</para>
<para>
Under NixOS, you can continue to use
<literal>package-list-packages</literal> and
<literal>package-install</literal> to install packages. You can
also declare the set of Emacs packages you need using the
derivations from Nixpkgs. The rest of this section discusses
declarative installation of Emacs packages through nixpkgs.
</para>
<para>
The first step to declare the list of packages you want in your
Emacs installation is to create a dedicated derivation. This can
be done in a dedicated <filename>emacs.nix</filename> file such
as:
</para>
<para>
<anchor xml:id="ex-emacsNix" />
</para>
<programlisting language="nix">
/*
This is a nix expression to build Emacs and some Emacs packages I like
from source on any distribution where Nix is installed. This will install
@ -191,111 +167,103 @@ in
pkgs.notmuch # From main packages set
])
</programlisting>
</example>
</para>
<para>
The result of this configuration will be an <command>emacs</command>
command which launches Emacs with all of your chosen packages in the
<varname>load-path</varname>.
</para>
<para>
You can check that it works by executing this in a terminal:
<screen>
<prompt>$ </prompt>nix-build emacs.nix
<prompt>$ </prompt>./result/bin/emacs -q
</screen>
and then typing <literal>M-x package-initialize</literal>. Check that you
can use all the packages you want in this Emacs instance. For example, try
switching to the zerodark theme through <literal>M-x load-theme &lt;RET&gt;
zerodark &lt;RET&gt; y</literal>.
</para>
<tip>
<para>
A few popular extensions worth checking out are: auctex, company,
edit-server, flycheck, helm, iedit, magit, multiple-cursors, projectile,
and yasnippet.
</para>
</tip>
<para>
The list of available packages in the various ELPA repositories can be seen
with the following commands:
<anchor xml:id="module-services-emacs-querying-packages" />
<programlisting><![CDATA[
nix-env -f "<nixpkgs>" -qaP -A emacs.pkgs.elpaPackages
nix-env -f "<nixpkgs>" -qaP -A emacs.pkgs.melpaPackages
nix-env -f "<nixpkgs>" -qaP -A emacs.pkgs.melpaStablePackages
nix-env -f "<nixpkgs>" -qaP -A emacs.pkgs.orgPackages
]]></programlisting>
</para>
<para>
If you are on NixOS, you can install this particular Emacs for all users by
adding it to the list of system packages (see
<xref linkend="sec-declarative-package-mgmt" />). Simply modify your file
<filename>configuration.nix</filename> to make it contain:
<anchor xml:id="module-services-emacs-configuration-nix" />
<programlisting><![CDATA[
<para>
The result of this configuration will be an
<command>emacs</command> command which launches Emacs with all
of your chosen packages in the <varname>load-path</varname>.
</para>
<para>
You can check that it works by executing this in a terminal:
</para>
<programlisting>
$ nix-build emacs.nix
$ ./result/bin/emacs -q
</programlisting>
<para>
and then typing <literal>M-x package-initialize</literal>. Check
that you can use all the packages you want in this Emacs
instance. For example, try switching to the zerodark theme
through
<literal>M-x load-theme &lt;RET&gt; zerodark &lt;RET&gt; y</literal>.
</para>
<tip>
<para>
A few popular extensions worth checking out are: auctex,
company, edit-server, flycheck, helm, iedit, magit,
multiple-cursors, projectile, and yasnippet.
</para>
</tip>
<para>
The list of available packages in the various ELPA repositories
can be seen with the following commands:
<anchor xml:id="module-services-emacs-querying-packages" />
</para>
<programlisting>
nix-env -f &quot;&lt;nixpkgs&gt;&quot; -qaP -A emacs.pkgs.elpaPackages
nix-env -f &quot;&lt;nixpkgs&gt;&quot; -qaP -A emacs.pkgs.melpaPackages
nix-env -f &quot;&lt;nixpkgs&gt;&quot; -qaP -A emacs.pkgs.melpaStablePackages
nix-env -f &quot;&lt;nixpkgs&gt;&quot; -qaP -A emacs.pkgs.orgPackages
</programlisting>
<para>
If you are on NixOS, you can install this particular Emacs for
all users by adding it to the list of system packages (see
<xref linkend="sec-declarative-package-mgmt"></xref>). Simply
modify your file <filename>configuration.nix</filename> to make
it contain:
<anchor xml:id="module-services-emacs-configuration-nix" />
</para>
<programlisting>
{
environment.systemPackages = [
# [...]
(import /path/to/emacs.nix { inherit pkgs; })
];
}
]]></programlisting>
</para>
<para>
In this case, the next <command>nixos-rebuild switch</command> will take
care of adding your <command>emacs</command> to the <varname>PATH</varname>
environment variable (see <xref linkend="sec-changing-config" />).
</para>
<!-- fixme: i think the following is better done with config.nix
https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual/#sec-modify-via-packageOverrides
-->
<para>
If you are not on NixOS or want to install this particular Emacs only for
yourself, you can do so by adding it to your
<filename>~/.config/nixpkgs/config.nix</filename> (see
<link xlink:href="https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual/#sec-modify-via-packageOverrides">Nixpkgs
manual</link>):
<anchor xml:id="module-services-emacs-config-nix" />
<programlisting><![CDATA[
</programlisting>
<para>
In this case, the next <command>nixos-rebuild switch</command>
will take care of adding your <command>emacs</command> to the
<varname>PATH</varname> environment variable (see
<xref linkend="sec-changing-config"></xref>).
</para>
<para>
If you are not on NixOS or want to install this particular Emacs
only for yourself, you can do so by adding it to your
<filename>~/.config/nixpkgs/config.nix</filename> (see
<link xlink:href="https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual/#sec-modify-via-packageOverrides">Nixpkgs
manual</link>):
<anchor xml:id="module-services-emacs-config-nix" />
</para>
<programlisting>
{
packageOverrides = super: let self = super.pkgs; in {
myemacs = import /path/to/emacs.nix { pkgs = self; };
};
}
]]></programlisting>
</para>
<para>
In this case, the next <literal>nix-env -f '&lt;nixpkgs&gt;' -iA
myemacs</literal> will take care of adding your emacs to the
<varname>PATH</varname> environment variable.
</para>
</section>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-advanced">
<title>Advanced Emacs Configuration</title>
<para>
If you want, you can tweak the Emacs package itself from your
<filename>emacs.nix</filename>. For example, if you want to have a
GTK 3-based Emacs instead of the default GTK 2-based binary and remove the
automatically generated <filename>emacs.desktop</filename> (useful if you
only use <command>emacsclient</command>), you can change your file
<filename>emacs.nix</filename> in this way:
</para>
<anchor xml:id="ex-emacsGtk3Nix" />
<programlisting><![CDATA[
{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {} }:
</programlisting>
<para>
In this case, the next
<literal>nix-env -f '&lt;nixpkgs&gt;' -iA myemacs</literal> will
take care of adding your emacs to the <varname>PATH</varname>
environment variable.
</para>
</section>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-advanced">
<title>Advanced Emacs Configuration</title>
<para>
If you want, you can tweak the Emacs package itself from your
<filename>emacs.nix</filename>. For example, if you want to have
a GTK 3-based Emacs instead of the default GTK 2-based binary
and remove the automatically generated
<filename>emacs.desktop</filename> (useful if you only use
<command>emacsclient</command>), you can change your file
<filename>emacs.nix</filename> in this way:
</para>
<para>
<anchor xml:id="ex-emacsGtk3Nix" />
</para>
<programlisting>
{ pkgs ? import &lt;nixpkgs&gt; {} }:
let
myEmacs = (pkgs.emacs.override {
# Use gtk3 instead of the default gtk2
@ -304,151 +272,143 @@ let
}).overrideAttrs (attrs: {
# I don't want emacs.desktop file because I only use
# emacsclient.
postInstall = (attrs.postInstall or "") + ''
postInstall = (attrs.postInstall or &quot;&quot;) + ''
rm $out/share/applications/emacs.desktop
'';
});
in [...]
]]></programlisting>
<para>
After building this file as shown in <xref linkend="ex-emacsNix" />, you
will get an GTK 3-based Emacs binary pre-loaded with your favorite packages.
</para>
</programlisting>
<para>
After building this file as shown in
<link linkend="ex-emacsNix">the example above</link>, you will
get an GTK 3-based Emacs binary pre-loaded with your favorite
packages.
</para>
</section>
</section>
</section>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-running">
<title>Running Emacs as a Service</title>
<para>
NixOS provides an optional
<command>systemd</command> service which launches
<link xlink:href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Emacs-Server.html">
Emacs daemon </link> with the user's login session.
</para>
<para>
<emphasis>Source:</emphasis>
<filename>modules/services/editors/emacs.nix</filename>
</para>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-enabling">
<title>Enabling the Service</title>
<para>
To install and enable the <command>systemd</command> user service for Emacs
daemon, add the following to your <filename>configuration.nix</filename>:
<programlisting>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-running">
<title>Running Emacs as a Service</title>
<para>
NixOS provides an optional <command>systemd</command> service
which launches
<link xlink:href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Emacs-Server.html">Emacs
daemon</link> with the user's login session.
</para>
<para>
<emphasis>Source:</emphasis>
<filename>modules/services/editors/emacs.nix</filename>
</para>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-enabling">
<title>Enabling the Service</title>
<para>
To install and enable the <command>systemd</command> user
service for Emacs daemon, add the following to your
<filename>configuration.nix</filename>:
</para>
<programlisting>
services.emacs.enable = true;
services.emacs.package = import /home/cassou/.emacs.d { pkgs = pkgs; };
</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
The <varname>services.emacs.package</varname> option allows a custom
derivation to be used, for example, one created by
<literal>emacsWithPackages</literal>.
</para>
<para>
Ensure that the Emacs server is enabled for your user's Emacs
configuration, either by customizing the <varname>server-mode</varname>
variable, or by adding <literal>(server-start)</literal> to
<filename>~/.emacs.d/init.el</filename>.
</para>
<para>
To start the daemon, execute the following:
<screen>
<prompt>$ </prompt>nixos-rebuild switch # to activate the new configuration.nix
<prompt>$ </prompt>systemctl --user daemon-reload # to force systemd reload
<prompt>$ </prompt>systemctl --user start emacs.service # to start the Emacs daemon
</screen>
The server should now be ready to serve Emacs clients.
</para>
</section>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-starting-client">
<title>Starting the client</title>
<para>
Ensure that the emacs server is enabled, either by customizing the
<varname>server-mode</varname> variable, or by adding
<literal>(server-start)</literal> to <filename>~/.emacs</filename>.
</para>
<para>
To connect to the emacs daemon, run one of the following:
<programlisting><![CDATA[
<para>
The <varname>services.emacs.package</varname> option allows a
custom derivation to be used, for example, one created by
<literal>emacsWithPackages</literal>.
</para>
<para>
Ensure that the Emacs server is enabled for your user's Emacs
configuration, either by customizing the
<varname>server-mode</varname> variable, or by adding
<literal>(server-start)</literal> to
<filename>~/.emacs.d/init.el</filename>.
</para>
<para>
To start the daemon, execute the following:
</para>
<programlisting>
$ nixos-rebuild switch # to activate the new configuration.nix
$ systemctl --user daemon-reload # to force systemd reload
$ systemctl --user start emacs.service # to start the Emacs daemon
</programlisting>
<para>
The server should now be ready to serve Emacs clients.
</para>
</section>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-starting-client">
<title>Starting the client</title>
<para>
Ensure that the emacs server is enabled, either by customizing
the <varname>server-mode</varname> variable, or by adding
<literal>(server-start)</literal> to
<filename>~/.emacs</filename>.
</para>
<para>
To connect to the emacs daemon, run one of the following:
</para>
<programlisting>
emacsclient FILENAME
emacsclient --create-frame # opens a new frame (window)
emacsclient --create-frame --tty # opens a new frame on the current terminal
]]></programlisting>
</para>
</section>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-editor-variable">
<title>Configuring the <varname>EDITOR</varname> variable</title>
<!--<title><command>emacsclient</command> as the Default Editor</title>-->
<para>
If <xref linkend="opt-services.emacs.defaultEditor"/> is
<literal>true</literal>, the <varname>EDITOR</varname> variable will be set
to a wrapper script which launches <command>emacsclient</command>.
</para>
<para>
Any setting of <varname>EDITOR</varname> in the shell config files will
override <varname>services.emacs.defaultEditor</varname>. To make sure
<varname>EDITOR</varname> refers to the Emacs wrapper script, remove any
existing <varname>EDITOR</varname> assignment from
<filename>.profile</filename>, <filename>.bashrc</filename>,
<filename>.zshenv</filename> or any other shell config file.
</para>
<para>
If you have formed certain bad habits when editing files, these can be
corrected with a shell alias to the wrapper script:
<programlisting>
</programlisting>
</section>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-editor-variable">
<title>Configuring the <varname>EDITOR</varname> variable</title>
<para>
If <xref linkend="opt-services.emacs.defaultEditor"></xref> is
<literal>true</literal>, the <varname>EDITOR</varname> variable
will be set to a wrapper script which launches
<command>emacsclient</command>.
</para>
<para>
Any setting of <varname>EDITOR</varname> in the shell config
files will override
<varname>services.emacs.defaultEditor</varname>. To make sure
<varname>EDITOR</varname> refers to the Emacs wrapper script,
remove any existing <varname>EDITOR</varname> assignment from
<filename>.profile</filename>, <filename>.bashrc</filename>,
<filename>.zshenv</filename> or any other shell config file.
</para>
<para>
If you have formed certain bad habits when editing files, these
can be corrected with a shell alias to the wrapper script:
</para>
<programlisting>
alias vi=$EDITOR
</programlisting>
</para>
</section>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-per-user">
<title>Per-User Enabling of the Service</title>
<para>
In general, <command>systemd</command> user services are globally enabled
by symlinks in <filename>/etc/systemd/user</filename>. In the case where
Emacs daemon is not wanted for all users, it is possible to install the
service but not globally enable it:
<programlisting>
</section>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-per-user">
<title>Per-User Enabling of the Service</title>
<para>
In general, <command>systemd</command> user services are
globally enabled by symlinks in
<filename>/etc/systemd/user</filename>. In the case where Emacs
daemon is not wanted for all users, it is possible to install
the service but not globally enable it:
</para>
<programlisting>
services.emacs.enable = false;
services.emacs.install = true;
</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
To enable the <command>systemd</command> user service for just the
currently logged in user, run:
<programlisting>
<para>
To enable the <command>systemd</command> user service for just
the currently logged in user, run:
</para>
<programlisting>
systemctl --user enable emacs
</programlisting>
This will add the symlink
<filename>~/.config/systemd/user/emacs.service</filename>.
</para>
<para>
This will add the symlink
<filename>~/.config/systemd/user/emacs.service</filename>.
</para>
</section>
</section>
</section>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-configuring">
<title>Configuring Emacs</title>
<para>
The Emacs init file should be changed to load the extension packages at
startup:
<anchor xml:id="module-services-emacs-package-initialisation" />
<programlisting><![CDATA[
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-configuring">
<title>Configuring Emacs</title>
<para>
The Emacs init file should be changed to load the extension
packages at startup:
<anchor xml:id="module-services-emacs-package-initialisation" />
</para>
<programlisting>
(require 'package)
;; optional. makes unpure packages archives unavailable
@ -456,89 +416,73 @@ systemctl --user enable emacs
(setq package-enable-at-startup nil)
(package-initialize)
]]></programlisting>
</para>
<para>
After the declarative emacs package configuration has been tested,
previously downloaded packages can be cleaned up by removing
<filename>~/.emacs.d/elpa</filename> (do make a backup first, in case you
forgot a package).
</para>
<!--
todo: is it worth documenting customizations for
server-switch-hook, server-done-hook?
-->
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-major-mode">
<title>A Major Mode for Nix Expressions</title>
<para>
Of interest may be <varname>melpaPackages.nix-mode</varname>, which
provides syntax highlighting for the Nix language. This is particularly
convenient if you regularly edit Nix files.
</para>
</section>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-man-pages">
<title>Accessing man pages</title>
<para>
You can use <literal>woman</literal> to get completion of all available
man pages. For example, type <literal>M-x woman &lt;RET&gt; nixos-rebuild
&lt;RET&gt;.</literal>
</para>
</section>
<section xml:id="sec-emacs-docbook-xml">
<title>Editing DocBook 5 XML Documents</title>
<para>
Emacs includes
<link
xlink:href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/nxml-mode/Introduction.html">nXML</link>,
a major-mode for validating and editing XML documents. When editing DocBook
5.0 documents, such as <link linkend="book-nixos-manual">this one</link>,
nXML needs to be configured with the relevant schema, which is not
included.
</para>
<para>
To install the DocBook 5.0 schemas, either add
<varname>pkgs.docbook5</varname> to
<xref linkend="opt-environment.systemPackages"/>
(<link
linkend="sec-declarative-package-mgmt">NixOS</link>), or run
<literal>nix-env -f '&lt;nixpkgs&gt;' -iA docbook5</literal>
(<link linkend="sec-ad-hoc-packages">Nix</link>).
</para>
<para>
Then customize the variable <varname>rng-schema-locating-files</varname> to
include <filename>~/.emacs.d/schemas.xml</filename> and put the following
text into that file:
<anchor xml:id="ex-emacs-docbook-xml" />
<programlisting language="xml"><![CDATA[
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!--
</programlisting>
<para>
After the declarative emacs package configuration has been tested,
previously downloaded packages can be cleaned up by removing
<filename>~/.emacs.d/elpa</filename> (do make a backup first, in
case you forgot a package).
</para>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-major-mode">
<title>A Major Mode for Nix Expressions</title>
<para>
Of interest may be <varname>melpaPackages.nix-mode</varname>,
which provides syntax highlighting for the Nix language. This is
particularly convenient if you regularly edit Nix files.
</para>
</section>
<section xml:id="module-services-emacs-man-pages">
<title>Accessing man pages</title>
<para>
You can use <literal>woman</literal> to get completion of all
available man pages. For example, type
<literal>M-x woman &lt;RET&gt; nixos-rebuild &lt;RET&gt;.</literal>
</para>
</section>
<section xml:id="sec-emacs-docbook-xml">
<title>Editing DocBook 5 XML Documents</title>
<para>
Emacs includes
<link xlink:href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/nxml-mode/Introduction.html">nXML</link>,
a major-mode for validating and editing XML documents. When
editing DocBook 5.0 documents, such as
<link linkend="book-nixos-manual">this one</link>, nXML needs to
be configured with the relevant schema, which is not included.
</para>
<para>
To install the DocBook 5.0 schemas, either add
<varname>pkgs.docbook5</varname> to
<xref linkend="opt-environment.systemPackages"></xref>
(<link linkend="sec-declarative-package-mgmt">NixOS</link>), or
run <literal>nix-env -f '&lt;nixpkgs&gt;' -iA docbook5</literal>
(<link linkend="sec-ad-hoc-packages">Nix</link>).
</para>
<para>
Then customize the variable
<varname>rng-schema-locating-files</varname> to include
<filename>~/.emacs.d/schemas.xml</filename> and put the
following text into that file:
<anchor xml:id="ex-emacs-docbook-xml" />
</para>
<programlisting language="xml">
&lt;?xml version=&quot;1.0&quot;?&gt;
&lt;!--
To let emacs find this file, evaluate:
(add-to-list 'rng-schema-locating-files "~/.emacs.d/schemas.xml")
-->
<locatingRules xmlns="http://thaiopensource.com/ns/locating-rules/1.0">
<!--
(add-to-list 'rng-schema-locating-files &quot;~/.emacs.d/schemas.xml&quot;)
--&gt;
&lt;locatingRules xmlns=&quot;http://thaiopensource.com/ns/locating-rules/1.0&quot;&gt;
&lt;!--
Use this variation if pkgs.docbook5 is added to environment.systemPackages
-->
<namespace ns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
uri="/run/current-system/sw/share/xml/docbook-5.0/rng/docbookxi.rnc"/>
<!--
Use this variation if installing schema with "nix-env -iA pkgs.docbook5".
<namespace ns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
uri="../.nix-profile/share/xml/docbook-5.0/rng/docbookxi.rnc"/>
-->
</locatingRules>
]]></programlisting>
</para>
--&gt;
&lt;namespace ns=&quot;http://docbook.org/ns/docbook&quot;
uri=&quot;/run/current-system/sw/share/xml/docbook-5.0/rng/docbookxi.rnc&quot;/&gt;
&lt;!--
Use this variation if installing schema with &quot;nix-env -iA pkgs.docbook5&quot;.
&lt;namespace ns=&quot;http://docbook.org/ns/docbook&quot;
uri=&quot;../.nix-profile/share/xml/docbook-5.0/rng/docbookxi.rnc&quot;/&gt;
--&gt;
&lt;/locatingRules&gt;
</programlisting>
</section>
</section>
</section>
</chapter>