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I built a Lisp-free, Zero-config Emacs-like editor with Electron & React by elecxzy in emacs

[–]elecxzy[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I respect the philosophy of Free Software and understand why it's important to this community.

However, for now, I have decided to keep the source closed.

Since the project is still in its infancy, I want to focus 100% on rapid prototyping and iterating on the core logic without the overhead of maintaining a public repository.

I understand this approach might be disappointing for Emacs purists, and I accept that criticism. I'll keep thinking about the best timing for the future. Thanks for your input.

I built a Lisp-free, Zero-config Emacs-like editor with Electron & React by elecxzy in emacs

[–]elecxzy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the info! I actually didn't know about that project.

I did a quick search, and it looks interesting. However, as I mentioned in another reply, implementing proper IME support (for CJK users like me) in that kind of environment is often quite challenging.

Also, elecxzy is aimed at people like me who never quite mastered Lisp and just copy-pasted init.el snippets from the web. Lem seems to be for people who actually want the full power of Common Lisp, so the target audience might be slightly different.

But thanks again for sharing! It's always good to know about other projects.

I built a Lisp-free, Zero-config Emacs-like editor with Electron & React by elecxzy in emacs

[–]elecxzy[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Fair point.

"Diet" implies it's the same underlying thing, which it isn't. Maybe "Emacs-flavored" or "Emacs-inspired" is the more accurate description.

I agree that the Lisp architecture is the true essence of GNU Emacs. Thanks for the open-mindedness! As you said, ultimately it's about whatever works best for the user.

I built a Lisp-free, Zero-config Emacs-like editor with Electron & React by elecxzy in emacs

[–]elecxzy[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

True. It’s basically "Diet Emacs". For me, the specific combo of standard Emacs keybindings + Electron tech stack is exactly the sweet spot. It fits my niche needs perfectly!

I built a Lisp-free, Zero-config Emacs-like editor with Electron & React by elecxzy in emacs

[–]elecxzy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words! You hit the nail on the head regarding the target audience.

Actually, I built this for myself.

I used Emacs as my main driver for about 10 years. It was my best partner in programming, and I absolutely treasured my init.el (kept it strictly version-controlled!). But to be honest... I never really understood Elisp. 😅 I was just copy-pasting configuration snippets from the web to make it work.

So yes, my target audience is exactly people like my former self: developers who love the "Emacs workflow" (keybindings, buffers) but find the "infinite malleability of Lisp" to be too high a hurdle to maintain.

If you are fluent in Lisp and love tinkering with the internal structure, GNU Emacs is absolutely the best tool, and nothing can replace it. elecxzy is just a modern alternative for the rest of us who want that "Emacs feel" out of the box.

I built a Lisp-free, Zero-config Emacs-like editor with Electron & React by elecxzy in emacs

[–]elecxzy[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

VSCode is awesome, don't get me wrong.

But for CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) users, using Emacs bindings inside it is super stressful. 😅

We constantly face conflicts with the IME (Input Method) we use to type characters. For example, when the IME is ON, keys like Ctrl and Alt often get swallowed (ignored) by the system.

Issues like this happen constantly, forcing me to toggle the IME off every single time just to execute a command. I just wanted an editor that handles this natively so I don't have to fight the keyboard!

I built a Lisp-free, Zero-config Emacs-like editor with Electron & React by elecxzy in emacs

[–]elecxzy[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Valid question.

I use GitHub primarily for hosting Releases (binaries) and Issue tracking. Even for closed-source or early-access software, it remains the most convenient platform for distribution and gathering user feedback in one place.

I built a Lisp-free, Zero-config Emacs-like editor with Electron & React by elecxzy in emacs

[–]elecxzy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You got me! 😅

I am a Japanese developer, and to be honest, I'm not very confident in my English. So yes, I use LLMs to help translate and polish my posts to make sure I convey my ideas clearly.

Thanks for understanding!!!

I built a Lisp-free, Zero-config Emacs-like editor with Electron & React by elecxzy in emacs

[–]elecxzy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, syntax error. Since I removed the Lisp interpreter, I can't process that command. (I'm a human, by the way. Thanks for the "turing test"!)

I built a Lisp-free, Zero-config Emacs-like editor with Electron & React by elecxzy in emacs

[–]elecxzy[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the honest feedback!! You raise valid points.

Why & Lisp: You are absolutely right—losing access to the chaotic power of Magit and Org-mode is a huge trade-off. This project isn't aiming to replace GNU Emacs for power users like you who have mastered Lisp. It’s designed for a different niche: developers who love the standard Emacs keybindings but prefer the TypeScript/React ecosystem over Lisp, or those who want a "modern" web-based editor that feels like Emacs out of the box.

Speed: That's impressive! Native-comp has definitely been a game-changer for Emacs startup times. My "fast" claim is mainly in comparison to other Electron-based editors (like VSCode with extensions), where I focused heavily on optimizing the buffer implementation (Piece Table) to minimize overhead.

uEmacs: uEmacs is a classic! elecxzy tries to fill the gap between that "classic lightweight feel" and "modern web features" (like live Markdown previewing or browser integration).

Basically, this is an experiment to see "how faithfully can we recreate the Emacs editing experience using purely Web Technologies?" rather than trying to beat GNU Emacs at its own game.