Emacs in nixos 101 - (1) Install and Basic Setting

0x01 Installing emacs in NixOS

Use the home-manager：

{inputs, pkgs, ...}:

{
  programs.emacs = {
    enable = true;
    package = pkgs.emacs-pgtk;
  };
}

I choose the emacs-gtk，rather than emacs, whose UI is in a vintage style.

0x02 Basic settings

Add extraConfig attribute to include some emacs settings, like indent-width and some file behavior.

{inputs, pkgs, ...}:

{
  programs.emacs = {
    enable = true;
    package = pkgs.emacs-gtk;  
    
    extraConfig = ''
      (setq inhibit-startup-screen t)   ; disable welcom message
      (setq standard-indent 2)
      (setq make-backup-files nil)      ; disable xxx.txt~ 
      (setq auto-save-default nil)      ; disable #xxx.txt#
      (global-display-line-numbers-mode 1)  ; enable line number
    '';
  };
}

So after rebuilding, the next time we launch emacs, we can use C-h v to check the info of a variable.

Fix eamcs window behavior in niri You may need to add those settings if using niri

; fix emacs window behavior in niri (https://github.com/niri-wm/niri/issues/2632)

(setopt frame-inhibit-implied-resize t)

(setopt frame-resize-pixelwise t)

inline-help

C-h k : Describe Key. Shows the documentation for the command bound to a specific key sequence (e.g., C-h k C-f).

C-h f: Describe Function. Prompts for a function name and displays its documentation.

C-h v: Describe Variable. Shows the documentation and current value of a Lisp variable.

C-h a : Apropos. Lists all commands whose names match a specific string or regular expression.

C-h t: Tutorial. Launches the interactive “learn-by-doing” Emacs tutorial.

C-h m: Mode Help. Describes the current major and minor modes and their specific key bindings.

C-h C-h: Displays a comprehensive menu of all available help options.

TODO