Last Friday, I was genuinely surprised by a live demo of my Emacs Solo configuration on the System Crafters Weekly Show. Watching the live demo was an eye-opener, as I hadn't expected the project to get such attention, especially in a live setting. Seeing David Wilson take a deep dive into the setup, testing the configuration live, and exploring how powerful Emacs can be with only its built-in packages was both humbling and inspiring.
For more details and to explore the configuration yourself, visit the Emacs Solo GitHub repository.
The Emacs Solo configuration is all about returning to the roots of Emacs. It's a minimalist setup designed to challenge myself and test the full potential of Emacs using only its built-in functionality. The goal was to create an efficient, yet fully functional environment, all while keeping things as light and fast as possible. No external dependencies, no clutter. Just pure, unadulterated Emacs.
The Project: Emacs Solo
Emacs Solo is a configuration that embraces the power of Emacs without relying on external packages. It's a setup I go back to from time to time to remind myself of how much can be accomplished with just what Emacs offers out of the box.
This configuration is designed to be both powerful and lightweight, allowing for a fast, efficient workflow with a focus on simplicity and minimalism. The project includes several useful features for day-to-day tasks like searching, editing, and navigating—everything you need for an efficient Emacs experience.
Some of the highlights of the project include:
» A preview of icomplete-verical enhancements I proposed to the
Emacs core team (custom prefixes, vertico style setup, and inline
completion closer to corfu/company that works on text buffers and
eshell).
» An experimental custom git-gutter-like feature.
» Supercharged eshell customization.
» Custom solutions for editing multiple search entries.
» Built-in news readers like Gnus and Newsticker.
» Advanced file diffing and version control.
» Extended viper mode for those who prefer vim-style editing.
» Tree-sitter modes.
» LSP configurations.
» Custom rainbown-mode like.
» And many customizations of built-in packages.
The idea is that Emacs is already a powerful IDE, and with a bit of clever customization, it can be made into something even more streamlined, adaptable, and effective without the need for external packages.
Watch the Demo
Here's the video of the live demo from the System Crafters Weekly Show:
Conclusion
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank David Wilson for the amazing show and to the System Crafters community for their continued support and enthusiasm around Emacs. I also want to express my gratitude to everyone who has contributed code that I’ve borrowed and learned from over the years. Particularly Gopar and Protesilaos. Without the shared knowledge and experience from these fantastic people, the Emacs Solo project wouldn't have been possible.
As always, the beauty of Emacs lies in its community, and I'm grateful for all the inspiration, contributions, and shared wisdom that make projects like Emacs Solo come to life. Thank you to everyone who continues to inspire and teach me along the way.