ElHome - the solvent Emacs configuration framework

"Keep it together"

Installation

I highly recommend installing elhome through elpa.

It's available on melpa:

M-x package-install elhome

Alternative - use el-get to install elhome

• Evaluate this elisp. You can copy it (to the clipboard or kill ring such that C-y will insert it) and then M-: C-y RET

  (url-retrieve "https://github.com/dabrahams/elhome/raw/master/elhome-install.el" (lambda (s) (end-of-buffer) (eval-print-last-sexp)))

Usage

Add code to your .emacs to do one of two things:

• Load elhome.el manually from your init.el, and then call (elhome-init). Code might look like this:

  (load "~/.emacs.d/elpa/elhome/elhome.el") (elhome-init)

• Use el-get to initialize elhome. A call to el-get might look like this:

  (setq el-get-sources '( (:name elhome :after elhome-init) )) (el-get)

  If you're already using el-get to manage your packages, this is probably easiest.

Congratulations, ELHOME is now installed!

There are several new directories you'll want to work with. See the README files in each one for more details:

• ~/.emacs.d/elhome/ - where everything related to this configuration is stored
• ~/.emacs.d/elhome/startup/ - elisp that is unconditionally loaded as early in startup as possible.
• ~/.emacs.d/elhome/settings/ - settings for specific modes, including the general customization file settings.el (which is used as custom-file).
• ~/.emacs.d/elhome/site-lisp/ - placed on load-path, along with any subdirectories that contain emacs-lisp files.

Startup

This is the first order of business for elhome. Files are loaded in alphabetical order. Look at elhome/startup for an example.

Settings

N.B. This feature requires after-load-functions, introduced in Emacs 23.2.

Any time a file named foo.el is loaded, a file in settings called foo-settings.el is loaded if it exists. This lets you easily organize your customizations according to subject matter.

Additionally, initsplit is used to split customize settings into different files. Every foo-settings.el file will be used to store all customized variables and faces with names starting foo-.

Site-lisp

This directory is put on your load path, to facilitate loading personal code. Additionally, all subdirectories of site-lisp are explored, and those that contain .el files are also put on your load path, so you can organize however you like, track your own git submodules, etc. here without having to mess around manually with load paths.

Me-minor-mode

Major modes often inconveniently shadow your keyboard customizations. One way to get around this is to create a minor mode solely to contain key bindings. elhome automatically configures a minor mode like this called me-minor-mode, which is globally activated. So instead of code like

(define-key global-map (kbd "M-<up>") 'scroll-down-one)

or

(global-define-key (kbd "M-<up>") 'scroll-down-one)

You can use instead

(define-key me-minor-mode-map (kbd "M-<up>") 'scroll-down-one)

You can help

Suggestions for more documentation, and especially patches, would be most welcome here!

History

This project came out of my second .emacs bankruptcy, because the first system I had set up had lost modularity and become too closely coupled with my own configuration.

-Dave Abrahams