Emacs Cheat Sheet

Emacs is a powerful text editor with a steep learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it can be highly efficient. Here’s a basic cheat sheet to help you navigate and perform common tasks in Emacs:

Basic Navigation

• Move Cursor:
  • Forward: C-f (Ctrl + f)
  • Backward: C-b (Ctrl + b)
  • Up: C-p (Ctrl + p)
  • Down: C-n (Ctrl + n)
• Page Navigation:
  • Next Page: C-v (Ctrl + v)
  • Previous Page: M-v (Alt + v)
• Go to Beginning/End of Line:
  • Beginning: C-a (Ctrl + a)
  • End: C-e (Ctrl + e)

Editing

• Copy/Paste:
  • Copy: M-w (Alt + w)
  • Cut: C-w (Ctrl + w)
  • Paste: C-y (Ctrl + y)
• Undo/Redo:
  • Undo: C-/ (Ctrl + /) or C-x u
  • Redo: M-/ (Alt + /) or C-x C-u
• Search/Replace:
  • Search: C-s (Ctrl + s)
  • Replace: M-x replace-string

File Operations

• Open File:
  • C-x C-f
• Save File:
  • C-x C-s
• Close Emacs:
  • C-x C-c

Buffers and Windows

• Switch Buffer:
  • C-x b
• Split Windows:
  • Horizontally: C-x 2
  • Vertically: C-x 3
• Switch Between Windows:
  • Next: C-x o (Ctrl + x, then o)

Marking Text

• Set Mark:
  • C-SPC (Ctrl + Space)
• Mark Region:
  • Move cursor and set mark (C-SPC), then perform actions.

Advanced Commands

• Execute Command:
  • M-x
• Open/Close Dired (File Explorer):
  • C-x d
• Shell:
  • M-x shell
• Comment/Uncomment Region:
  • M-; (Alt + 😉

Customization

• Init File (Configuration):
  • C-x C-f ~/.emacs.d/init.el
• Reload Configuration:
  • M-x load-file RET ~/.emacs.d/init.el

Help

• Get Help for a Command:
  • C-h k followed by the key sequence.
• Info Pages:
  • C-h i

Exiting Emacs

• Save-buffers-kill-Emacs:
  • C-x C-c

Remember, these are just basic commands, and Emacs has a vast number of features and customization options. Explore the manual (C-h t for the tutorial) and documentation for more in-depth information.