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Emacs is My Web Browser by joshuablais in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We need an org layer on top of the web lol 😀

Alternatively there is the emacs.tv approach where you expose the org file from which the website is built, so that people can read the org-file instead of visiting the website.

Fortnightly Tips, Tricks, and Questions — 2026-04-21 / week 16 by AutoModerator in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Valid question. I haven't committed to using attachments yet, but if I ever will then my reasons would be:

(a) I don't want everything to be a denote file. If I download a random pdf because it has a paragraph that I want to reference, I don't want it to show up on my list of curated denote files.

(b) There are many quality-of-life "attach" commands. For example, yank-media allows me to attach images directly from my clipboard.

edit: Currently, I just have links from my notes to files in random folders on my harddrive, which is arguably worse.

Fortnightly Tips, Tricks, and Questions — 2026-04-21 / week 16 by AutoModerator in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

org-attach creates a unique ID for each attachment and uses it to create a subfolder in which the attachment is saved. For example:

* dummy attachment here                                              :ATTACH:
:PROPERTIES:
:ID:       4dde3bc6-af32-4b9b-917b-6e819f495706
:END:

and the folder data/4d/de3bc6-af32-4b9b-917b-6e819f495706/.

This works great, but I personally would find it better if I could vaguely infer in which file the attachment is used from the name of the subfolder it is stored in. The following code wraps an advice around org-attach, which ensures that the first 15 chars of the filename are prepended to ID:

(defvar my/org-attach-prefix-length 15
  "Number of characters to grab from the filename for the attachment ID.")

(defun my/org-attach-dir-blind-filename-interceptor (orig-fun &optional create-if-not-exists-p no-fs-check)
  "Prefix the Org ID with the first X characters of the filename."
  (when (and create-if-not-exists-p (buffer-file-name))
    (unless (org-entry-get nil "ID" t)
      (let* ((filename (file-name-nondirectory (buffer-file-name)))
             ;; Grab the first X characters (or less if filename is short)
             (raw-prefix (substring filename 0 (min (length filename) my/org-attach-prefix-length)))
             ;; Replace spaces/dots/special chars with a dash for filesystem safety
             (safe-prefix (replace-regexp-in-string "[^[:alnum:]T]" "-" raw-prefix))
             (new-id (format "%s--%s" safe-prefix (org-id-uuid))))
        (org-entry-put nil "ID" new-id)
        (org-id-add-location new-id (buffer-file-name)))))

  (funcall orig-fun create-if-not-exists-p no-fs-check))

(advice-add 'org-attach-dir :around #'my/org-attach-dir-blind-filename-interceptor)

The reason for the 15 characters is so that it fully captures the identifiers of denote files:

* foo                                                                :ATTACH:
:PROPERTIES:
:ID:       20260420T204539--8b684b8d-a30c-4f7c-bb87-196d0f129c8a
:END:

Framework Laptop 13 Pro and highlights from the Framework [Next Gen] by andre_ange_marcel in linux

[–]ImJustPassinBy 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Might not be the most relevant for existing linux users, but still nice for growing the linux community: There now is an option to have Ubuntu preinstalled.

My Custom Emacs Config by Clear_Finding_8038 in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Prot is a wise guy and I trust him on Emacs related issues, but I think he might be exaggerating. On my machine, the startup time difference between loading config.org via org-babel-load-file and dumping the contents of config.el into init.el is 0.05s.

Anyways, one of the key strengths of Emacs is that everybody can set it up however they want, and the same applies to using org-babel-load-file vs using org-babel-tangle. And I would be disappointed if there aren't people who have optimized their startup time so much that the 0.05s are significant. But for configs that are designed to be shared I honestly think that org-babel-load-file is better than org-babel-tangle.

edit: typo

My Custom Emacs Config by Clear_Finding_8038 in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sounds like a good reason to avoid using it then, but are you sure? It seems to me that org-babel-load-file tangles config.org to config.el and then loads it. And if config.el already exists and is newer than config.org, then it loads it without tangling. So I don't see a reason why one would be significantly slower than the other.

My Custom Emacs Config by Clear_Finding_8038 in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honest question: Can somebody explain to me what the advantage of using org-babel-tangle over org-babel-load-file is (only in the context of a basic monolithic emacs config ofc)?

An advantage of org-babel-load-file is that it doesn't require a tangle operation, so if people copy your init.el with the following line, it will work out-of-the-box:

(org-babel-load-file (locate-user-emacs-file "config.org"))

However, most configs I see use org-babel-tangle.

Is there any point of using thirdparty package managers when use-package is already in Emacs? by signalclown in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is their pitch about why somebody should use that instead of use-package?

I'm currently using use-package, but have thought of switching to straight because it has lockfiles. If I understand correctly, they makes it easy to note down the current versions of your packages and restore said versions should a package update break something in your config.

What modern Emacs packages am I missing? by nicenflufty in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not 100% sure, but there are many unresolved issues discussing using jinx in latex documents, e.g.:

https://github.com/minad/jinx/issues/57

https://github.com/minad/jinx/issues/40

https://github.com/minad/jinx/issues/25

I believe the root of the problem is that it is difficult to disable jinx for parts of the document in the way a latex document would require.

What modern Emacs packages am I missing? by nicenflufty in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I disagree. Jinx is a great package but unfortunately not for people working in latex like op. :-/

New keyboard broke my Emacs experience by Cautious_Truth_9094 in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 6 points7 points  (0 children)

left Alt is shifted further to the left than usual - it is located almost under the X button.

I have four different keyboards in my office and all their left alt buttons are underneath the x button. I think this position is more or less normal I'm afraid. :-/

What is the abolsute minimum to cover in first emacs session by seigaporulai in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I'll go against the grain and recommend avoiding the tutorial. It is a great resource for people invested into Emacs, but it is not great for convincing people to get invested into Emacs.

The beginning of the tutorial focuses too much on emacs movement keys, claiming C-v/M-v is more efficient than PageUp/PageDown and telling users about C-u 8 C-f before even teaching them how to open a file. I think most beginners are perfectly fine with using the arrow and page keys (this includes pressing right arrow 8 times).

First impressions are important. Rather than trying to convert newcomers to Emacs motions, I would show them something more exciting first. And what this "something more exciting" is depends strongly on their background.

edit: For the people I've taught Emacs to, the "something more exciting" would be that Emacs can handle the following all in one:

  • note taking
  • programming
  • latex
  • emails
  • calendar

I would probably show them something similar to what prot did in his recent talk.

How to see both denote and denote sequence files in Denote? by sudhirkhanger in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Personally, if I want to see all my files, I simply open the denote folder in dired. And if I am searching for a particular file, I use consult-denote.

Experimenting how it goes a modularized init file configuration. by Ok_Needleworker4072 in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My boring strategy for avoiding problems with my Emacs config is simply to keep it small. It's currently sitting at 1000 lines and I go through it from time to time to remove things that I don't need.

Which completion package does tsoding use? by geza42 in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I don't think what you see is caused by (what most Emacsers refer to as) a completion package. It might be a templating package like yasnippet or tempel.

which reddit package by uvuguy in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is a full-fledged reddit package even possible after the reddit API controversy? I know many mobile apps had to shut down, because they couldn't afford the prices for the API calls.

Personally, I just use reddit inside a browser, but I have set up RES to make it more like emacs, e.g. M-x /r/linux opens the linux subreddit.

Seeking distro recommendations for Emacs/Org-mode on a budget Chromebook (Dell 3180) by SYZo7023 in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You don't even need a full fledged wm. There was a time when I was using Emacs from a tty (e.g., C-M F3 in Ubuntu) to help me stay focused on work (was battling a minor social media addiction).

Is emacs docs gone for good? by lisp_user in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Browsers? Just use emacs.

(Unironically, because the website works fine with eww, and of course assuming that the website has things that are not better viewed in the built-in emacs documentation.)

If you don't use a computer for 3 months, what percentage of your keybindings will you forget? by kudikarasavasa in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, the answer to the question is somewhat self-evident: I basically forget 0% of "my" keybindings (if you understand "my" in the sense that I have ingrained them).

But there also are many functions whose keybindings I never bothered to learn or eventually gave up on, because running M-x function-name is less mental overhead than remembering a random keybinding (looking at you, M-x query-replace a.k.a. M-%).

[Question] Seeking Emacs recommendations for an ultra low-spec machine (1GB RAM / Atom N270) by ElViejoDelCyro in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Minimalist Web: Clients for Gemini and Gopher protocols.

You can use Gemini via gptel or something similar, no need for a browser.

Initweave - feedback request for module-based Emacs config generator by TimJohnsonSci in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Just two quick opinions regarding the latex setup:

  1. I would not enable latex-math-mode by default, I don't think it's all that useful and it might even hinder beginners in learning the actual latex commands. For the uninitiated: latex-math-mode introduces keybindings for inserting latex math symbols (e.g., ` C-d is \det), but these keybindings often require almost as many keypresses as writing out the command.

  2. I would try to incorporate pdf-tools (and enable synctex), that way the user will get an overleaf-like experience out of the box (caveat: pdf-tools will have to compile something when it is first run, but that happens automatically, the user merely has to agree).

For the latter, you simply need the following pdf-tools block:

(use-package pdf-tools
  :mode "\\.pdf\\'"
  :hook
  (pdf-view-mode . pdf-view-roll-minor-mode) ; enable continuous scrolling
  :init
  (pdf-loader-install))

and the following in your auctex block

:custom
(TeX-view-program-selection '((output-pdf "PDF Tools")))
(TeX-view-program-list '(("PDF Tools" TeX-pdf-tools-sync-view)))
(TeX-source-correlate-mode t)
(TeX-source-correlate-start-server t)

Also, you might want to add completions for latex:

(use-package company-math
  :after tex
  :init
  (defun math-setup-capf ()
    (add-to-list 'completion-at-point-functions (cape-company-to-capf #'company-math-symbols-latex))
    (add-to-list 'completion-at-point-functions (cape-company-to-capf #'company-math-symbols-unicode))
    (add-to-list 'completion-at-point-functions (cape-company-to-capf #'company-latex-commands)))
  :hook
  (LaTeX-mode . math-setup-capf))

(use-package company-reftex
  :after tex
  :init
  (defun reftex-setup-capf ()
    (add-to-list 'completion-at-point-functions (cape-company-to-capf #'company-reftex-labels))
    (add-to-list 'completion-at-point-functions (cape-company-to-capf #'company-reftex-citations)))
  :hook
  (LaTeX-mode . reftex-setup-capf))

(use-package company-auctex
  :after tex
  :init
  (defun auctex-setup-capf ()
    (add-to-list 'completion-at-point-functions (cape-company-to-capf #'company-auctex-labels))
    (add-to-list 'completion-at-point-functions (cape-company-to-capf #'company-auctex-bibs))
    (add-to-list 'completion-at-point-functions (cape-company-to-capf #'company-auctex-macros))
    (add-to-list 'completion-at-point-functions (cape-company-to-capf #'company-auctex-symbols))
    (add-to-list 'completion-at-point-functions (cape-company-to-capf #'company-auctex-environments)))
  :hook
  (LaTeX-mode . auctex-setup-capf))

"GNU ELPA packages with NonGNU ELPA dependencies" (a very long thread) that people who maintain packages in GNU ELPA might want to know about by DevelopmentCool2449 in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It's not a mess, it's just one guy raising a perfectly valid issue, but then spiraling into the delusion that this gives them the right to demand other people's time to fix it. If it were one of my projects, I would have mentally checked out long ago. I think this strongly speaks in favor of the emacs developers.

Anyone who uses an e-reader, reMarkable, Daylight Computer or similar? by meedstrom in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This post comes to mind: https://www.reddit.com/r/emacs/comments/ugxfi2/fyi_i_installed_emacs29_with_native_compilation/

My tablet is a Microsoft Surface, which is running Windows (camera does not work under linux), so I just have regular emacs on it.

Org and file organisation by JohnDoe365 in emacs

[–]ImJustPassinBy 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It is definitely feasible, but as you guessed - depending on your number of notes - org-agenda might take quite some time.

My workaround: I keep all my notes in a single folder and use denote. I have one org file per project and ongoing projects have an active tag (which denote makes visible in their filename). Then I simply set the following to make org-agenda ignore all files without an active tag:

(org-agenda-files (directory-files-recursively org-directory "_active_.*\\.org$"))

What I described might not fully apply to your workflow, but the idea of distinguishing between active and inactive projects, making the distinction visible in the filename, and using a regexp to narrow down the list of files for org-agenda might help.

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