Dotfiles

• Init
  • Options
  • Startup
• Hosts
  • Example (Ubuntu)
  • Phone (Termux)
  • Laptop (Acernitro)
• Modules
  • Core
    • Startup
    • Packages
    • Cleanup
    • Babel
  • Editor
    • Keys
    • Help
    • Files
    • Shell
    • Source
    • Windows
    • Shortcuts
  • Desktop
    • Email
    • Browser
    • Startup
    • Methods
    • Displays
    • Configuration
  • Writing
    • Roam
    • Agenda
    • Images
  • Projects
    • Containers
    • Management
    • Passwords
    • Debugging
    • Completion
    • Languages
      • Go
      • C/C++
      • Python
      • PlantUML
  • Interface
    • Ivy
    • Fonts
    • Lines
    • Themes
    • Ligatures
    • Dashboard

Immutable GNU Emacs dotfiles. Built for Life, Liberty, and the Open Road.

• 100% Literate

• 100% Immutable

• 100% Reproducible

Heavily inspired by Doom Emacs and System Crafters.

Init

Although later versions of Emacs introduce early-init.el, it's not used in this configuration for two reasons:

• It's not required due to the modularity

• Maintaining support for older versions

Assuming you have completed all of the following tasks prior to proceeding further:

1. Imported the secrets

2. Initialized the passwords

3. Defined the host file

4. Created all required symbolic links

Launch emacs: emacs -mm --debug-init

Options

Here's a complete list of all of the options configurable for each host, and their default values. If a host configuration does not exist, these values will be used in place.

Configure the system font with a single font-family and define the size, of which variations to the font size are relative to this value.

(defvar dotfiles/font
  "Fira Code"
  "Unified system font family, used on all font faces.")

(defvar dotfiles/font-size
  96
  "Unified font size, of which all variations are relative to.")

Used by the desktop module to find the appropriate browser.

(defvar dotfiles/browser
  (getenv "BROWSER")
  "The default browser used by the system.")

All of the available modules are defined in the dotfiles/modules-available constant.

(defconst dotfiles/modules-available
  '(core editor desktop writing projects interface)
  "All of the available modules for hosts to load.")

Add the modules you want to initialize to the dotfiles/modules variable.

(defvar dotfiles/modules
  dotfiles/modules-available
  "Enabled modules, modify this in your host configuration.")

Specify the emacs home, and the cache directory.

(defvar dotfiles/home
  user-emacs-directory
  "Original value of `user-emacs-directory'.")

Used to seperate the immutable configuration from the stateful package files.

(defvar dotfiles/cache
  (expand-file-name "~/.cache/emacs")
  "Where `user-emacs-directory' will be redirected.")

Functionality like completion and hints can be delayed to avoid popups for common manuevers.

(defvar dotfiles/idle
  0.0
  "Length of time to wait before offering completions.")

Required for the all powerful leader key.

(defvar dotfiles/leader-key
  "SPC"
  "Custom leader key for custom actions.")

The desktop module requires the global leader key to be set.

(defvar dotfiles/leader-key-global
  (concat "C-" dotfiles/leader-key)
  "Global leader key available everywhere.")

Define where the source repositories are stored, for integration with the Projects module.

(defvar dotfiles/projects
  (expand-file-name "~/.local/source/")
  "Location where source code projects are stored.")

Where the password store is located.

(defvar dotfiles/passwords
  (expand-file-name "~/.password-store/")
  "Directory containing the password store.")

Startup

The host configuration is loaded (if it exist) using the systems name.

;; Load the host configuration.
(let ((host-file (concat dotfiles/home "/hosts/" system-name ".el")))
  (when (file-exists-p host-file)
    (load-file host-file)))

Load all of the enabled modules:

;; Load the enabled modules.
(dolist (m dotfiles/modules)
  (let ((mod-file (concat dotfiles/home "/modules/" (symbol-name m) ".el")))
    (when (file-exists-p mod-file)
      (load-file mod-file))))

Hosts

Each host system that runs Emacs has a file defined in the hosts/ sub directory, following the pattern of $HOSTNAME.el. All of the configurations are defined within this file, the values of which are read from by the other modules during startup and installation. This does not cover hosts that are controlled via TRAMP, as that will be covered in another section.

Example (Ubuntu)

The first configuration, which was built using the Ubuntu 20.04 LTS server edition. I decided to incorporate flatpaks into this build.

(setq dotfiles/browser "flatpak run org.mozilla.firefox")

• Set the browser to the flatpak browser currently installed

  • firefox

  • chromium

  • any other browser

Phone (Termux)

Remove the desktop module, since we're running on android.

(delete 'desktop dotfiles/modules)

Laptop (Acernitro)

Use firefox as a web browser.

(setq dotfiles/browser "firefox")

This machine has a screen with a very high DPI, requiring modification to dotfiles/font-size.

(setq dotfiles/font-size 144)

Modules

Breaking down the project into logical units or chapters to keep the code more maintainable and organized. This is also a fundemental requirement to achieve the goal of modularity. Incorporating just the core module on a build server to build literate programming projects is just one example of what can be achieved.

Core

Minimal configuration to make Emacs usable for my own personal workflow. This does very little in the ways of improving the visuals, only removing what is included by default and not required.

Startup

Emacs creates a lot of files relative to user-emacs-directory, these files are not part of this immutable configuration and do not belong in the emacs directory. How can we solve this issue? Shortly after initialization, before most packages are loaded, we change the value to dotfiles/cache. I elaborate more on the technique in my post Immutable Emacs.

(setq user-emacs-directory dotfiles/cache)

Because this project uses version-control, we can disable more unwanted features:

• Lock files

• Backup files

(setq create-lockfiles nil
      make-backup-files nil)

Packages

Download and install packages using straight.el, a functional package manager that integrates with use-package, giving us more control over where packages are sourced from.

• Use the development branch

• Integrate with use-package

Apply the configurations prior to bootstrapping the package manager, by setting (writing) to the variables that straight will ultimately read from.

(setq straight-repository-branch "develop"
      straight-use-package-by-default t)

Bootstrap the package manager, downloading, installing, or configuring depending on the state of the configuration. All packages are downloaded and built from source, and can be pinned to specific git commit hashes.

(defvar bootstrap-version)
(let ((bootstrap-file
       (expand-file-name "straight/repos/straight.el/bootstrap.el" user-emacs-directory))
      (bootstrap-version 5))
  (unless (file-exists-p bootstrap-file)
    (with-current-buffer
        (url-retrieve-synchronously
         "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/raxod502/straight.el/develop/install.el"
         'silent 'inhibit-cookies)
      (goto-char (point-max))
      (eval-print-last-sexp)))
  (load bootstrap-file nil 'nomessage))

Complete the integration with use-package by installing it with straight.

(straight-use-package 'use-package)

Cleanup

Despite having our stateful and immutable configurations seperate, it's good practice to make efforts to reduce the trash created by Emacs.

Install no-littering to reduce the files created by Emacs.

(use-package no-littering)

Emacs' default user interface is horrendous, but with less than 10 lines of code we can change that.

(setq inhibit-startup-message t)
(global-prettify-symbols-mode)

(when (< emacs-major-version 27)
 (scroll-bar-mode -1))

(menu-bar-mode -1)
(tool-bar-mode -1)
(tooltip-mode -1)

Babel

Organize your plain life in plain text

Org-mode is one of the hallmark features of Emacs, and provides the basis for my Literate Programming platform. It's essentially a markdown language with rich features for project management, scheduling, development, and writing. It's hard to convey everything within its capabilities.

• Babel languages

• Structure templates

(use-package org
  :hook (org-mode . (lambda ()
          (org-indent-mode)
          (visual-line-mode 1)
          (variable-pitch-mode 1)))
  :custom (org-ellipsis " ▾")
          (org-log-done 'time)
          (org-log-into-drawer t)
          (org-image-actual-width nil)
          (org-directory dotfiles/home)
          (org-src-preserve-indentation t)
  :config (require 'org-tempo)
          (add-to-list 'org-structure-template-alist '("s" . "src"))
          (add-to-list 'org-structure-template-alist '("q" . "quote"))
          (add-to-list 'org-structure-template-alist '("e" . "example"))
          (add-to-list 'org-structure-template-alist '("sh" . "src shell"))
          (add-to-list 'org-structure-template-alist '("el" . "src emacs-lisp"))
          (org-babel-do-load-languages 'org-babel-load-languages '((shell . t)
                                                                   (emacs-lisp . t))))

Build all of the org files within a given directory.

(defun dotfiles/tangle (dir)
  "Recursively tangle the Org files within a directory."
  (interactive)
  (let ((org-files (directory-files-recursively dir "org")))
    (dolist (f org-files)
      (org-babel-tangle-file f))))

Editor

This section contains configuration for improving the editor experience within Emacs.

Keys

Make the ESC key quit (most) prompts, instead of the default C-g.

(global-set-key (kbd "<escape>") 'keyboard-escape-quit)

Download which-key, a package that displays the current incomplete keybinding input in a mini-buffer, showing available completion options.

(use-package which-key
  :diminish which-key-mode
  :custom (which-key-idle-delay dotfiles/idle)
  :config (which-key-mode))

After a few hour with vim I knew it was game over, I cannot even think of another way I would feel comfortable editing text. Luckily, there exist packages to emulate this within Emacs. evil-mode is the extensible VI layer for Emacs.

(use-package evil
  :custom (evil-want-integration t)  ;; Required for `evil-collection'.
          (evil-want-keybinding nil) ;; Same as above
  :config (evil-mode 1))

Unfortunately the default keybindings are lacking, but there is a community curated package evil-collection, which does a much better job implementing keybindings you would expect to find.

(use-package evil-collection
  :after evil
  :config (evil-collection-init))

Surround text with functions, quotations, and any other symbols using the evil-surround package.

(use-package evil-surround
  :after evil
  :config (global-evil-surround-mode 1))

https://github.com/redguardtoo/evil-nerd-commenter

• Toggle comments with M-;

(use-package evil-nerd-commenter
  :after evil
  :bind ("M-;" . evilnc-comment-or-uncomment-lines))

Implement the leader key using general.el, letting us easily configure prefixed keybindings in a much cleaner manner than the default methods.

(use-package general
  :after evil
  :config
  (general-create-definer dotfiles/leader
    :states '(normal motion)
    :keymaps 'override
    :prefix dotfiles/leader-key
    :global-prefix dotfiles/leader-key-global))

Use hydra for transient keybindings sharing a common prefix.

(use-package hydra
  :defer t)

Help

Run helper functions with SPC h.

• Packages p

• Variables v

• Functions f

(dotfiles/leader
  "h" '(:ignore t :which-key "Help")
  "hp" '(describe-package :which-key "Package")
  "hv" '(describe-variable :which-key "Variable")
  "hf" '(describe-function :which-key "Function"))

Files

Emacs' can feel more modern when icon-fonts are installed and prioritized. I feel that this makes navigation of folders much faster, given that file types may be quickly identified by their corresponding icons.

https://github.com/domtronn/all-the-icons.el

• Collects various icon fonts

(use-package all-the-icons)

https://github.com/jtbm37/all-the-icons-dired

• Integration with dired

(use-package all-the-icons-dired
  :hook (dired-mode . all-the-icons-dired-mode))

When opening dired, I don't want to have to press RET twice to navigate to the current directory. This can be avoided with dired-jump, included in the dired-x package shipped with dired.

(require 'dired-x)

By default dired will create a new buffer everytime you press RET over a directory. In my workflow this leads to many unwanted dired buffers that have to be cleaned up manually. Dired-single lets us reuse the same dired buffer.

• Move up a directory with h

• Open a single buffer with l

(use-package dired-single
  :config (evil-collection-define-key 'normal 'dired-mode-map
            "h" 'dired-single-up-directory
            "l" 'dired-single-buffer))

Open a dired buffer with SPC d.

(dotfiles/leader
  "d" '(dired-jump :which-key "Dired"))

Shell

While not a traditional terminal emulator, eshell provides me with all of the functionality I expect and require from one. Some users may be left wanting more, I would recommend they look into vterm.

https://github.com/zwild/eshell-prompt-extras

• Enable lambda shell prompt

(use-package eshell-prompt-extras
  :custom (eshell-highlight-prompt nil)
	        (eshell-prompt-function 'epe-theme-lambda))

Open an eshell buffer with SPC e.

(dotfiles/leader
  "e" '(eshell :which-key "Shell"))

Source

Another hallmark feature is Magit, a complete git porcelain within Emacs.

(use-package magit
  :custom (magit-display-buffer-function
           #'magit-display-buffer-same-window-except-diff-v1))

Work directly with github issues / pull requests using Forge.

• Requires a valid $GITHUB_TOKEN

(use-package forge
  :after magit)

Open the status page for the current repository with SPC g.

(dotfiles/leader
  "g" '(magit-status :which-key "Magit"))

Windows

Window management with SPC w.

• Swap with w

• Close with c

• Motions with h,j,k,l

• Split with s + <MOTION>

(dotfiles/leader
  "w" '(:ignore t :which-key "Window")
  "ww" '(window-swap-states :which-key "Swap")
  "wc" '(delete-window :which-key "Close")
  "wh" '(windmove-left :which-key "Left")
  "wj" '(windmove-down :which-key "Down")
  "wk" '(windmove-up :which-key "Up")
  "wl" '(windmove-right :which-key "Right")
  "ws" '(:ignore t :which-key "Split")
  "wsj" '(split-window-below :which-key "Down")
  "wsl" '(split-window-right :which-key "Right"))

Shortcuts

Implement a few shortcut bindings, cherry picked from Doom emacs.

• Close buffers with SPC c

• Find files with SPC . (period)

(dotfiles/leader
  "." '(find-file :which-key "Files")
  "c" '(kill-buffer-and-window :which-key "Close"))

Quit emacs with SPC q.

• Saving q

• Without w

• Frame (daemon) f

(dotfiles/leader
  "q" '(:ignore t :which-key "Quit")
  "qq" '(save-buffers-kill-emacs :which-key "Save")
  "qw" '(kill-emacs :which-key "Now")
  "qf" '(delete-frame :which-key "Frame"))

Place runtime tweaks behind SPC t.

(dotfiles/leader
  "t" '(:ignore t :which-key "Tweaks"))

Desktop

I use Emacs as a Desktop Environment with the exwm package. It allows Emacs to function as a complete tiling window manager for X11. My workflow includes launching the window manager with xinitrc, without the use of a display manager, controlling everything within Emacs.

exec dbus-launch --exit-with-session emacs -mm --debug-init

Email

Plain text email delivered via mu, mu4e and mbsync. I run my own email server, so your configuration may differ from mine. This is the mbsyncrc file I use to synchronize my local mail with my server. This is required for mu4e in Emacs.

IMAPStore xyz-remote
Host mail.chrishayward.xyz
User chris@chrishayward.xyz
PassCmd "pass chrishayward.xyz/chris"
SSLType IMAPS

MaildirStore xyz-local
Path ~/.cache/mail/
Inbox ~/.cache/mail/inbox
SubFolders Verbatim

Channel xyz
Master :xyz-remote:
Slave :xyz-local:
Patterns * !Archives
Create Both
Expunge Both
SyncState *

The system typically expects to find this file at $HOME/.mbsyncrc, but you may also specify a custom path if launching the command using arguments. I chose to symlink the default location to my repository.

mbsync -a
mu index --maildir="~/.cache/mail"

Once the mail is being synchronized, and the mail has been indexed with mu, it's time to install the required packages for Emacs.

• Update every 5 minutes

• Scale text for all devices

• Sign outbound mail with GPG key

• Configure mail account(s)

(use-package mu4e
  :load-path "/usr/share/emacs/site-lisp/mu4e"
  :custom (mu4e-maildir "~/.cache/mail")
          (mu4e-update-interval (* 5 60))
          (mu4e-get-mail-command "mbsync -a")
          (mu4e-compose-format-flowed t)
          (mu4e-change-filenames-when-moving t)
          (message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it)  
          (mml-secure-openpgp-signers '("37AB1CB72B741E478CA026D43025DCBD46F81C0F"))
          (mu4e-compose-signature (concat "Chris Hayward\n"
                                          "https://chrishayward.xyz\n"))
  :config
  (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime)
  (setq mu4e-contexts
    (list
      ;; Main
      ;; chris@chrishayward.xyz
      (make-mu4e-context
        :name "Main"
        :match-func
          (lambda (msg)
            (when msg 
              (string-prefix-p "/Main" (mu4e-message-field msg :maildir))))
        :vars
          '((user-full-name . "Christopher James Hayward")
            (user-mail-address . "chris@chrishayward.xyz")
            (smtpmail-smtp-server . "mail.chrishayward.xyz")
            (smtpmail-smtp-service . 587)
            (smtpmail-stream-type . starttls))))))

Use mu4e-alert to give us desktop notifications about incoming mail.

(use-package mu4e-alert
  :after mu4e
  :custom (mu4e-alert-set-default-style 'libnotify)
  :config (mu4e-alert-enable-notifications)
          (mu4e-alert-enable-mode-line-display))

Create a keybinding to open the mail dashboard with SPC m.

(dotfiles/leader
  "m" '(mu4e :which-key "Mail"))

Browser

Write out the $BROWSER environment variable.

(setenv "BROWSER" dotfiles/browser)

Launch a browser with SPC b.

;; (dotfiles/leader
;;   "b" '(dotfiles/run-in-background dotfiles/browser :which-key "Browser"))

Startup

When launching into a session, if the display server is not running then startx should be invoked, to run the window manager.

if [ -z "${DISPLAY}" ] && [ "${XDG_VTNR}" -eq 1 ]; then
    exec startx
fi

Methods

Define a method to run an external process, allowing us to launch any application on a new process without interferring with Emacs.

(defun dotfiles/run (command)
  "Run an external process."
  (interactive (list (read-shell-command "λ ")))
  (start-process-shell-command command nil command))

Some methods must be called and applied to the current call process in order to function correctly with Emacs hooks.

(defun dotfiles/run-in-background (command)
  (let ((command-parts (split-string command "[ ]+")))
    (apply #'call-process `(,(car command-parts) nil 0 nil ,@(cdr command-parts)))))

Place keybindings for executing shell commands behind SPC x.

• Run shell commands with x

• Run async shell commands with z

(dotfiles/leader
  "x" '(:ignore t :which-key "Run")
  "xx" '(dotfiles/run :which-key "Run")
  "xz" '(async-shell-command :which-key "Async"))

Displays

When the window manager first launches the init-hook will be called, this allows us to define some custom logic when it's initialized.

• Display time and date

• Display battery info (if available)

In my personal configuration, I do not want the battery or time displayed within Emacs when it's not running as desktop environment because that information is typically already available.

(defun dotfiles/init-hook ()
  (exwm-workspace-switch-create 1)
  (setq display-time-and-date t)
  (display-battery-mode 1)
  (display-time-mode 1))

Using autorandr with pre configured profiles, switching screens (AKA hot plugging) is also handled through a hook.

(defun dotfiles/update-display ()
  (dotfiles/run-in-background "autorandr --change --force"))

Configuration

Connect our custom hooks and configure the input keys, a custom layer for defining which keys are captured by Emacs, and which are passed through to X applications.

• Enable randr support

• Pass through to Emacs

  • M-x to Emacs

  • C-g to Emacs

  • C-SPC to Emacs

• Bindings with S (Super / Win)

  • Reset S-r

  • Launch S-&

  • Workspace S-[1..9]

(use-package exwm
  :custom (exwm-input-prefix-keys
            '(?\M-x
              ?\C-g
              ?\C-\ ))
          (exwm-input-global-keys
            `(([?\s-r] . exwm-reset)
              ,@(mapcar (lambda (i)
                          `(,(kbd (format "s-%d" i)) .
                          (lambda ()
                          (interactive)
                          (exwm-workspace-switch-create ,i))))
                          (number-sequence 1 9))))
  :config (require 'exwm-randr)
          (exwm-randr-enable)
          (add-hook 'exwm-init-hook #'dotfiles/init-hook)
          (add-hook 'exwm-randr-screen-change-hook #'dotfiles/update-display)
          (dotfiles/update-display)
          (exwm-enable))

Writing

I am using Org-mode extensively for writing projects for different purposes. Most of the improvements are done in the Core module for the Literate programming configuration. Org-superstar-mode for making headline stars more super.

(use-package org-superstar
  :after org
  :hook (org-mode . org-superstar-mode))

I use Hugo for my personal website, which I write in Org-mode before compiling to hugo-markdown. Ox-hugo, configured for one-post-per-file is my technique for managing my blog.

(use-package ox-hugo 
  :after ox)

Produce high quality presentations that work anywhere with HTML/JS and the Reveal.js package. Ox-reveal, configured to use a cdn allows us to produce ones that are not dependent on a local version of Reveal.js.

(use-package ox-reveal
  :after ox
  :custom (org-reveal-root "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/reveal.js"))

Roam

Download and install org-roam, a plain text knowledge management system for Emacs. Organize the capture templates, this allows me to quickly dictate where each new item should be placed.

• posts/ contains blog posts

• notes/ contains cited notes on others' work

• slides/ contains presentations / screencasts

(use-package org-roam
  :hook (after-init . org-roam-mode)
  :custom (org-roam-directory org-directory)
          (org-roam-encrypt-files t)
          (org-roam-capture-templates
          '(("p" "Post" plain (function org-roam-capture--get-point)
             "%?"
             :file-name "docs/posts/${slug}"
             :unnarrowed t
             :head
"
,#+TITLE: ${title}
,#+AUTHOR: Christopher James Hayward
,#+DATE: %<%Y-%m-%d>

,#+EXPORT_FILE_NAME: ${slug}
,#+ROAM_KEY: https://chrishayward.xyz/posts/${slug}/

,#+HUGO_BASE_DIR: ../../website/
,#+HUGO_AUTO_SET_LASTMOD: t
,#+HUGO_SECTION: posts
,#+HUGO_DRAFT: true
")
            ("n" "Notes" plain (function org-roam-capture--get-point)
             "%?"
             :file-name "docs/notes/${slug}"
             :unnarrowed t
             :head
"
,#+TITLE: ${title}
,#+AUTHOR: Christopher James Hayward

,#+EXPORT_FILE_NAME: ${slug}
,#+ROAM_KEY: https://chrishayward.xyz/notes/${slug}/

,#+HUGO_BASE_DIR: ../../website
,#+HUGO_AUTO_SET_LASTMOD: t
,#+HUGO_SECTION: notes
,#+HUGO_DRAFT: true
")

            ("s" "Slides" plain (function org-roam-capture--get-point)
             "%?"
             :file-name "docs/slides/${slug}"
             :unnarrowed t
             :head
"
,#+TITLE: ${title}
,#+AUTHOR: Christopher James Hayward

,#+REVEAL_ROOT: https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/reveal.js
")))
          (org-roam-dailies-capture-templates
          '(("d" "Default" entry (function org-roam-capture--get-point)
             "* %?"
             :file-name "docs/daily/%<%Y-%m-%d>"
             :head
"
,#+TITLE: %<%Y-%m-%d>
,#+AUTHOR: Christopher James Hayward
"))))

Place keybindings behind SPC r.

• Find with f

• Toggle buffer with b

• Dailies with d

  • Arbitrary date with d

  • Today with t

  • Tomorrow with m

  • Yesterday with y

(dotfiles/leader
  "r" '(:ignore t :which-key "Roam")
  "rf" '(org-roam-find-file :which-key "Find")
  "rb" '(org-roam-buffer-toggle-display :which-key "Buffer")
  "rd" '(:ignore t :which-key "Dailies")
  "rdd" '(org-roam-dailies-find-date :which-key "Date")
  "rdt" '(org-roam-dailies-find-today :which-key "Today")
  "rdm" '(org-roam-dailies-find-tomorrow :which-key "Tomorrow")
  "rdy" '(org-roam-dailies-find-yesterday :which-key "Yesterday"))

Visualize the org-roam database with the server, available when the editor is running at http://localhost:8080

(use-package org-roam-server
  :hook (org-roam-mode . org-roam-server-mode))

Agenda

Override org-agenda-file-regexp to include .org.gpg files.

(unless (string-match-p "\\.gpg" org-agenda-file-regexp)
  (setq org-agenda-file-regexp
        (replace-regexp-in-string "\\\\\\.org" "\\\\.org\\\\(\\\\.gpg\\\\)?"
                                  org-agenda-file-regexp)))

Configure agenda sources.

(setq org-agenda-files '("~/.emacs.d/docs/"
                         "~/.emacs.d/docs/daily/"))

Open an agenda buffer with SPC a.

(dotfiles/leader
  "a" '(org-agenda :which-key "Agenda"))

Images

Create screencasts with one-frame-per-action GIF recording via emacs-gif-screencast.

• Can be paused / resumed

• High quality images

• Optimized size

It requires the installation of scrot, gifsicle, and convert from the ImageMagick library.

(use-package gif-screencast
  :commands (gif-screencast-start-or-stop gif-screencast-toggle-pause)
  :custom (gif-screencast-output-directory (concat dotfiles/home "docs/images/")))

Screencast controls behind SPC s.

• Start / stop with s

• Pause with t

(dotfiles/leader
  "s" '(:ignore t :which-key "Screencast")
  "ss" '(gif-screencast-start-or-stop :which-key "Start / Stop")
  "sp" '(gif-screencast-toggle-pause :which-key "Pause"))

Projects

An IDE like experience (or better) can be achieved in Emacs using two Microsoft open source initiatives. Turn Emacs into an IDE (or better) with the Language Server Protocol, an open source initiative from Microsoft for the VSCode editor. lsp-mode brings support for language servers into Emacs.

(use-package lsp-mode
  :commands (lsp lsp-deferred)
  :custom (gc-cons-threshold 1000000000)
          (lsp-idle-delay 0.500))

lsp-ui provides UI improvements for lsp-mode.

(use-package lsp-ui
  :after lsp
  :custom (lsp-ui-doc-position 'at-point)
          (lsp-ui-doc-delay 0.500))

Containers

Use docker for running containers. Download and install https://github.com/Silex/docker.el, allowing us to manage containers within Emacs.

(use-package docker
  :commands (docker))

Open the management screen with SPC k.

(dotfiles/leader
  "k" '(docker :which-key "Docker"))

Management

Configure projectile, a project interaction library for Emacs. It provides a nice set of features for operating on a project level without introducing external dependencies.

(use-package projectile
  :custom (projectile-project-search-path '("~/.local/source"))
  :config (projectile-mode))

Passwords

Pass makes managing passwords extremely easy, encrypring them in a file structure and providing easy commands for generating, modify, and copying passwords. password-store.el provides a wrapper for the functionality within Emacs.

(use-package password-store
  :custom (password-store-dir dotfiles/passwords))

Configure keybindings behind SPC p.

• Copy with p

• Rename with r

• Generate with g

(dotfiles/leader
  "p" '(:ignore t :which-key "Passwords")
  "pp" '(password-store-copy :which-key "Copy")
  "pr" '(password-store-rename :which-key "Rename")
  "pg" '(password-store-generate :which-key "Generate"))

Debugging

Handled through the Debug Adapter Protocol, an open source initiative from Microsoft for the VSCode editor.

Dap-mode adds support for the protocol to Emacs.

(use-package dap-mode
  :commands (dap-debug))

Completion

Text completion framework via company aka Complete Anything.

http://company-mode.github.io/

• Integrate with lsp-mode

(use-package company
  :after lsp)

(use-package company-lsp
  :after (lsp company)
  :custom (company-backend 'company-lsp))

Languages

Support for individual languages are implemented here.

Go

Install the gopls language server.

GO111MODULE=on go get golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest

Set the GOPATH environment variable prior to loading, this allows us to change the default value of $HOME/go to $HOME/.go.

(setenv "GOPATH" (concat (getenv "HOME") "/.go/"))

Additionally, include the bin subdirectory of the $GOPATH in the $PATH variable, adding compiled golang programs.

(setenv "PATH" (concat (getenv "GOPATH") "bin:" (getenv "PATH")))

Finally we can include the go-mode package, integrating it with lsp.

(use-package go-mode
  :hook (go-mode . lsp)
  :custom (lsp-go-gopls-server-path "~/.go/bin/gopls"))

Apply some custom behaviour before saving:

• Format buffer

• Organize imports

(defun dotfiles/go-hook ()
  (add-hook 'before-save-hook #'lsp-format-buffer t t)
  (add-hook 'before-save-hook #'lsp-organize-imports t t))

(add-hook 'go-mode-hook #'dotfiles/go-hook)

Add a golang source code block structure template with <go:

(add-to-list 'org-structure-template-alist '("go" . "src go"))

C/C++

Install the ccls language server, and allow us to create a new structure template for C/C++ with <cc.

(use-package ccls
  :hook ((c-mode c++-mode objc-mode cuda-mode) .
         (lambda ()
           (require 'ccls)
           (lsp-deferred)))
  :config (add-to-list 'org-structure-template-alist '("cc" . "src cc")))

Python

Install the pyls language server.

pip install --user "python-language-server[all]"

Python-mode is an Emacs built in mode.

• Load the babel language module for Python

• Add a python source code block structure template with <py

(use-package python-mode
  :hook (python-mode . lsp-deferred)
  :config (require 'dap-python)
          (add-to-list 'org-src-lang-modes '("python" . python))
          (add-to-list 'org-structure-template-alist '("py" . "src python"))
          (org-babel-do-load-languages 'org-babel-load-languages '((python . t)))
  :custom (python-shell-interpreter "python3") ;; Required if "python" is not python 3.
          (dap-python-executable "python3")    ;; Same as above.
          (dap-python-debugger 'debugpy))

PlantUML

Download and install PlantUML, a text-based markup language for creating UML diagrams.

• Load the babel language module for PlantUML

• Create a structure template with <pl

(use-package plantuml-mode
  :after lsp
  :custom (plantuml-default-exec-mode 'jar)
          (plantuml-jar-path "~/.local/bin/plantuml.jar")
          (org-plantuml-jar-path (expand-file-name "~/.local/bin/plantuml.jar"))
          (org-startup-with-inline-images t)
  :config (add-to-list 'org-src-lang-modes '("plantuml" . plantuml))
          (add-to-list 'org-structure-template-alist '("pl" . "src plantuml"))
          (org-babel-do-load-languages 'org-babel-load-languages '((plantuml . t))))

Toggle inline images with SPC t i.

(dotfiles/leader
  "ti" '(org-display-inline-images :which-key "Images"))

Interface

Bring Emacs out of the eighties

Ivy

Download and configure ivy, a powerful selection menu for Emacs.

(use-package ivy
  :diminish
  :config (ivy-mode 1))

Counsel is a customized set of commands to replace built in completion buffers.

(use-package counsel
  :after ivy
  :custom (counsel-linux-app-format-function #'counsel-linux-app-format-function-name-only)
  :config (counsel-mode 1))

Switch buffers with SPC , (comma).

(dotfiles/leader
  "," '(counsel-switch-buffer :which-key "Buffers"))

Provide more information about each item with ivy-rich.

(use-package ivy-rich
  :after counsel
  :init (ivy-rich-mode 1))

Fonts

Write out to all 3 of Emacs' default font faces.

(set-face-attribute 'default nil :font dotfiles/font :height dotfiles/font-size)
(set-face-attribute 'fixed-pitch nil :font dotfiles/font :height dotfiles/font-size)
(set-face-attribute 'variable-pitch nil :font dotfiles/font :height dotfiles/font-size)

Define a transient keybinding for scaling the text.

(defhydra hydra-text-scale (:timeout 4)
  "Scale"
  ("j" text-scale-increase "Increase")
  ("k" text-scale-decrease "Decrease")
  ("f" nil "Finished" :exit t))

Increase the font size in buffers with SPC t f.

• Increase j

• Decrease k

• Finish f

(dotfiles/leader
  "tf" '(hydra-text-scale/body :which-key "Font"))

Lines

Relative line numbers are important when using VI emulation keys. You can prefix most commands with a number, allowing you to jump up / down by a line count.

  5:
  4:
  3:
  2:
  1:
156: << CURRENT LINE >>
  1:
  2:
  3:
  4:
  5:

https://github.com/emacsmirror/linum-relative

• Integrate with display-line-numbers-mode for performance

(use-package linum-relative
  :custom (linum-relative-backend 'display-line-numbers-mode)
  :config (linum-relative-global-mode))

Add line numbers to the toggles behind SPC t l.

(dotfiles/leader
  "tl" '(linum-relative-global-mode :which-key "Lines"))

https://github.com/Fanael/rainbow-delimiters

• Colourize nested parenthesis

(use-package rainbow-delimiters
  :hook (prog-mode . rainbow-delimiters-mode))

Themes

Cherry pick a few modules from doom-emacs. High quality and modern colour themes are provided in the doom-themes package.

(use-package doom-themes
  :init (load-theme 'doom-moonlight t))

doom-modeline provides an elegant status bar / modeline.

(use-package doom-modeline
  :custom (doom-modeline-height 16)
  :config (doom-modeline-mode 1))

Load a theme with SPC t t.

(dotfiles/leader
  "tt" '(counsel-load-theme t t :which-key "Theme"))

Ligatures

Enable font ligatures via fira-code-mode, perform this action only when Fira Code is set as the current font.

(when (display-graphic-p)
  (use-package fira-code-mode
    :hook (prog-mode org-mode)))

Toggle global ligature mode with SPC t g.

(dotfiles/leader
  "tg" '(global-fira-code-mode :which-key "Ligatures"))

Dashboard

Present a dashboard when first launching Emacs. Customize the buttons of the navigator:

• Brain @ http://localhost:8080

• Homepage @ https://chrishayward.xyz

• Athabasca @ https://login.athabascau.ca/cas/login

• Bookshelf @ https://online.vitalsource.com

(use-package dashboard
  :custom (dashboard-center-content t)
          (dashboard-set-init-info t)
          (dashboard-set-file-icons t)
          (dashboard-set-heading-icons t)
          (dashboard-set-navigator t)
          (dashboard-startup-banner 'logo)
          (dashboard-projects-backend 'projectile)
          (dashboard-items '((projects . 5)
                             (recents  . 5)
                             (agenda . 5)))
          (dashboard-navigator-buttons `(((,(all-the-icons-fileicon "brain" :height 1.1 :v-adjust 0.0)
                                          "Brain" "Knowledge base"
                                          (lambda (&rest _) (browse-url "http://localhost:8080"))))
                                         ((,(all-the-icons-material "public" :height 1.1 :v-adjust 0.0)
                                          "Homepage" "Personal website"
                                          (lambda (&rest _) (browse-url "https://chrishayward.xyz"))))
                                         ((,(all-the-icons-faicon "university" :height 1.1 :v-adjust 0.0)
                                          "Athabasca" "Univeristy login"
                                          (lambda (&rest _) (browse-url "https://login.athabascau.ca/cas/login"))))
                                         ((,(all-the-icons-faicon "book" :height 1.1 :v-adjust 0.0)
                                          "Bookshelf" "Vitalsource bookshelf"
                                          (lambda (&rest _) (browse-url "https://online.vitalsource.com"))))))
  :config (dashboard-setup-startup-hook))

When running in daemon mode, ensure that the dashboard is the initial buffer.

(setq initial-buffer-choice
      (lambda ()
        (get-buffer "*dashboard*")))