I am getting more and more used to doing everything from inside emacs, but it seems that eshell, shell and term will only run one instance each. Is there a way to run multiple terminals (preferably term) inside emacs?
Use the command M-x rename-buffer to give the current shell buffer a new name, then you can start a new shell.
You just have to rename the buffer, here's a function to start zsh and prompt for the buffer name:
(defun zsh (buffer-name)
"Start a terminal and rename buffer."
(interactive "sbuffer name: ")
(term "/bin/zsh")
(rename-buffer buffer-name t))
You can always create a new shell with C-u M-x shell
http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/MultiTerm
You can rename a term and start a new one. I'm using something like that, took it from someone else .emacs.
(require 'term)
(defun visit-ansi-term ()
"If the current buffer is:
1) a running ansi-term named *ansi-term*, rename it.
2) a stopped ansi-term, kill it and create a new one.
3) a non ansi-term, go to an already running ansi-term
or start a new one while killing a defunt one"
(interactive)
(let ((is-term (string= "term-mode" major-mode))
(is-running (term-check-proc (buffer-name)))
(term-cmd "/bin/bash")
(anon-term (get-buffer "*ansi-term*")))
(if is-term
(if is-running
(if (string= "*ansi-term*" (buffer-name))
(call-interactively 'rename-buffer)
(if anon-term
(switch-to-buffer "*ansi-term*")
(ansi-term term-cmd)))
(kill-buffer (buffer-name))
(ansi-term term-cmd))
(if anon-term
(if (term-check-proc "*ansi-term*")
(switch-to-buffer "*ansi-term*")
(kill-buffer "*ansi-term*")
(ansi-term term-cmd))
(ansi-term term-cmd)))))
Or you can have just one and start a screen session in it.
I personally use a screen-like package I wrote, and there's another version available on the wiki here: elscreen. It provides convenient key bindings to jump to/between the different shells.
I modified the accepted answer by Harpo so that it starts a new shell without prompting, shells will be named in the form *shell-1*,*shell-2*,*shell-3* etc.:
(setq bash-counter 1)
(defun bash ()
"Start a bash shell"
(interactive)
(setq bash-counter (+ bash-counter 1))
(let
((explicit-shell-file-name "/bin/bash"))
(shell (concat "*shell-" (number-to-string bash-counter) "*"))
))
Here's a super lightweight little function that you can call to automatically rename the term you're on, and then start a new term:
(defun new-ansi-term ()
(interactive)
(if (string= "*ansi-term*" (buffer-name))
(rename-uniquely))
(ansi-term "/bin/bash"))
Then to bind that within ansi-term, I found this works:
(defvar ansi-term-after-hook nil)
(add-hook 'ansi-term-after-hook
'(lambda ()
(define-key term-raw-map (kbd "C-t") 'new-ansi-term)))
(defadvice ansi-term (after ansi-term-after-advice (org))
(run-hooks 'ansi-term-after-hook))
(ad-activate 'ansi-term)
If you then also bind new-ansi-term to C-t in the normal way, you'll find that when you're not looking at an ansi-term, C-t will focus the ansi-term buffer, and then if you are looking at an ansi-term, C-t will rename it to some unique name, and then open a new ansi-term for you. This works really well in combination with tabbar, which will show you all your opened ansi-terms just above the first line of the buffer. Easy to switch between them ;-)
Related
I use the emacs shell-mode more and more, and there's something that I wish could be improved: the completion when changing directory. I'd love to use ido or projectile-find-dir for that.
My workflow
As of today I do all I can outside of emacs' shell, to use the power of emacs as much as possible (visiting files with ido, finding files in project with projectile, exploring the tree inside dired,…).
I don't cd that often. When I work in a different project I open up another shell buffer. But when I have to, I really miss ido or the fasd shell utility (which works, but without its completion interface which is great with zsh, and which isn't as powerfull as the use of ido could be https://github.com/clvv/fasd).
How to wire that in elisp ?
I know we can give a list to ido-completing-read;
In the shell, typing cd ../<TAB> opens up a new *Completions* buffer. It uses comint-dynamic-completion, but how to get that list in an elisp list, not in a buffer ?
is it possible to wire that completions list into ido ? (or projectile or helm or whatever)
I would appreciate too if you link me to accurate documentation (there's a lot, it's difficult to know what's useful for me)
or does a solution exist yet ?
Thanks !
edit: here is another nice way to cd to recently visited directories, with the fasd utility and ido completion: https://gitlab.com/emacs-stuff/fasd-shell/blob/master/README.org
See another SO question.
ps: eshell doesn't work well with some shell scripts, I'd like to stay in shell-mode.
Try this, it is a quick and dirty hack and may fail in some cases but should work generally. Also pardon my elisp
(require 'ido)
(require 'cl-lib)
(require 'shell)
(defvar my-dir-selected nil "Flag to indicate that user has selected the directory")
(defun my-filter-cd-input (current-input)
"Takes current user input for `cd' the a list
whose car is the 'maximum possible directory path'
and cdr is remaining string.
Examples:
'~/.emacs.d/in => ('~./emacs.d/' 'in')
'/home/gue' => ('/home/' 'gue')
'~/../' => ('~/../' '')"
(let* ((unquoted-input (shell-unquote-argument current-input))
(components (split-string unquoted-input "/"))
(directory-parts (butlast components))
(possible-prefix (car (last components))))
(list (if (string= possible-prefix "")
unquoted-input
(concat (mapconcat 'identity directory-parts "/")
(when directory-parts "/")))
possible-prefix)))
(defun my-complete-directory-name (directory current-input)
"Prompts user for directories in `directory', `current-input'
is the string entered by the user till now"
(let* ((filtered-input (my-filter-cd-input current-input))
(directory-path (car filtered-input))
(partial-input (cadr filtered-input))
(directory-choices (mapcar 'file-name-nondirectory
(condition-case nil
(cl-remove-if-not 'file-directory-p
(directory-files (concat directory directory-path) t))
('file-error (list)))))
(selected-name (ido-completing-read "Directory: "
directory-choices
nil nil partial-input)))
(comint-delete-input)
(insert (concat "cd "
(shell-quote-argument (concat directory-path selected-name "/"))))))
(defun my-prompt-for-dir-or-fallback ()
"If current shell command is `cd' prompt for directory
using ido otherwise fallback to normal completion"
(interactive)
(let* ((user-input (buffer-substring-no-properties (comint-line-beginning-position)
(point-max))))
(if (and (>= (length user-input) 3)
(string= (substring user-input 0 3) "cd "))
(progn
(setq my-dir-selected nil)
(while (not my-dir-selected)
(my-complete-directory-name default-directory
(buffer-substring-no-properties (+ (comint-line-beginning-position) 3)
(point-max))))
(comint-send-input))
(call-interactively 'completion-at-point))))
(define-key shell-mode-map (kbd "<tab>") 'my-prompt-for-dir-or-fallback)
(add-hook 'ido-setup-hook 'ido-my-keys)
(defun ido-my-keys ()
"Add my keybindings for ido."
(define-key ido-completion-map (kbd "<C-return>") (lambda ()
(interactive)
(setq my-dir-selected t)
(ido-exit-minibuffer))))
Hitting <tab> in shell will prompt for directories available using ido if the currently entered command is cd, otherwise it will fallback to default completion, to exit press C-RET
In Emacs, I often find myself in a situation where I need to jump back and forth between various source files to various terminals. However, I feel like I do not have a good way to do this efficiently and it's clumsy that you can only open one shell in Emacs (shell, eshell, or term).
Moreover, I need an efficient way of juggle between multiple terminals and source files.
How can I achieve this?
You can have as many terminals and shells open at once as you want. Just use M-x rename-buffer to change the name of an existing *term* or *shell* buffer, and the next time you do M-x term or M-x shell, a brand new buffer will be created. In the case of M-x shell, a prefix argument will cause you to be prompted for the name of the new shell buffer, as offby1 noted.
A few years ago I had a job where I had to regularly log in to various production servers named "host01.foo.com", "host02.foo.com", etc. I wrote a little function like this one to make it easier to manage them all:
(defun ssh-to-host (num)
(interactive "P")
(let* ((buffer-name (format "*host%02d*" num))
(buffer (get-buffer buffer-name)))
(if buffer
(switch-to-buffer buffer)
(term "/bin/bash")
(term-send-string
(get-buffer-process (rename-buffer buffer-name))
(format "ssh host%02d.foo.com\r" num)))))
Then I bound this command to (say) s-h (super H), enabling me to just type M-5 s-h. If I didn't already have a buffer named *host05*, it would start a new terminal emulator buffer, rename it to *host05*, and ssh me into host05.foo.com. If buffer *host05* already existed, it would simply switch me to it. Quite handy!
You can certainly have multiple interactive shells open. Try typing C-u M-x shell RET RET.
Try using MultiTerm to open multiple shells.
You can use Emacs Lisp Screen, which emulates GNU Screen and provides easy key bindings to jump to and between a number of different shells.
I use many methods for incorporating my terminal life into Emacs:
elscreen.el is a life saver, if you have a complicated window layout like gdb or have simply become overwhelmed with clutter you just open a new screen. In your case you could dedicate one screen to terminals.
multi-term.el makes managing terminals a bit easier.
shell-pop.el, a great tool for quick terminal access. shell-pop lets you assign a key to opening and closing a specific shell buffer window, if you've used drop-down terminals like tilda you know how incredibly handy this can be:
Here's and example of my shell-pop configuration, I use the key C-t to pop up an eshell:
(require 'shell-pop)
(shell-pop-set-internal-mode "eshell") ; Or "ansi-term" if you prefer
(shell-pop-set-window-height 60) ; Give shell buffer 60% of window
;; If you use "ansi-term" and want to use C-t
;; (defvar ansi-term-after-hook nil)
;; (add-hook 'ansi-term-after-hook
;; '(lambda ()
;; (define-key term-raw-map (kbd "C-t") 'shell-pop)))
;; (defadvice ansi-term (after ansi-term-after-advice (org))
;; (run-hooks 'ansi-term-after-hook))
;; (ad-activate 'ansi-term)
(global-set-key (kbd "C-t") 'shell-pop)
I usually do an an M-x server-start and then use emacsclient --no-wait to open files. I've aliased that to e with some embellishments so that it's a little more convenient.
I do all my work in a single terminal and just "throw" the files I want to edit into Emacs using e. Inside Emacs, I juggle around using iswitchb and it works just fine. YMMV.
I regularly used 10 or so shells in my old workplace. The secret is you have to rename additional shell buffers. I did this automatically though in my .emacs, creating and naming the shells logically (I had projnameRun and projnameBuild for every project). Worked really well together with anything, making it very easy to refind the right shell (you use the end of the project name combined with either r or b for run/build).
Instead of having several terminal windows in emacs, I spawn a different xterm whenever I need a new terminal. This of course is bearable because I use a very lightweight terminal emulator (urxvt) which starts in under 0.2s.
Then I use my window manager to switch between them and emacs frames. A configurable window manager will have plenty of options to tune to switch between windows (extremely) efficiently. Inside emacs, I use windmove and ido-mode, and have bound to C-tab a function that switches to the last buffer (because I use C-x b in that fashion a lot).
So um, not sure how useful it is to you since it's quite different from your use pattern, but this is what works for me.
I had exactly the same problem some years ago, and found nothing that satisfied me; so I wrote my own "toggle shell" function. It toggles between the current frame or window configuration and a system shell buffer. It can also put the shell into a dedicated frame, and inject a pushd to the current buffer directory.
This is an excerpt from my .emacs:
(defvar --toggle-shell-last-window-conf nil "The last window configuration.")
(defvar --toggle-shell-last-buf nil "The last buffer object in case there's no last window configuration.")
(defvar --toggle-shell-last-frame nil "The frame that was selected when opening a shell buffer.")
(defun --toggle-shell-have-conf ()
(window-configuration-p --toggle-shell-last-window-conf))
(defun --toggle-shell-store-last-conf ()
(setq --toggle-shell-last-buf (current-buffer)
--toggle-shell-last-frame (selected-frame)
--toggle-shell-last-window-conf (current-window-configuration)))
(defun --toggle-shell-restore-last-conf ()
(if (--toggle-shell-have-conf)
(progn (raise-frame --toggle-shell-last-frame)
(set-window-configuration --toggle-shell-last-window-conf))
(let ((bufnam (if (bufferp --toggle-shell-last-buf)
(buffer-name --toggle-shell-last-buf) --toggle-shell-last-buf)))
(if bufnam
(if (get-buffer bufnam) (switch-to-buffer bufnam t)
(message "%s: buffer not available" bufnam))))))
(defun --toggle-shell (&optional display inject-cd)
"Toggles between current buffers and a system shell buffer. With prefix-arg
close the shell.
When DISPLAY is 'vertical splits the shell as vertical window; when 'frame uses
a dedicated frame (default: single window). When INJECT-CD executes a `pushd'
to the working directory of the buffer from which you toggled the shell."
(interactive)
(let* ((shell-buf (get-buffer "*shell*"))
(shell-window ; non-nil when currently displayed
(if shell-buf (get-buffer-window shell-buf t)))
(shell-frame
(if shell-window (window-frame shell-window)))
(in-shell (eq (current-buffer) shell-buf))
(vertical (string= display 'vertical))
(popup-frame (or (string= display 'frame)
(and inject-cd (not (bufferp shell-buf)))
(and (framep shell-frame)
(not (eq shell-frame (selected-frame)))))))
;; With prefix-arg close shell, restore windows. Otherwise (no prefix-arg)
;; toggle shell window; restore windows when called twice in a row, or the
;; current buffer is the shell buffer (`in-shell').
(if current-prefix-arg
(if (bufferp shell-buf)
(progn (message "Exiting shell '%s'" (buffer-name shell-buf))
(kill-buffer shell-buf)
(if in-shell (--toggle-shell-restore-last-conf)))
(error "No shell buffer to kill."))
;; If already in shell-buffer toggle back to stored frame-configuration.
(if (and in-shell (not inject-cd))
(progn
(--toggle-shell-restore-last-conf)
;; Recurse to reopen the shell-buffer in a dedicated frame, or
;; close the dedicated frame and reopen the buffer in a window.
(if (and popup-frame (eq shell-frame (selected-frame)))
(--toggle-shell 'frame inject-cd)
(when (and popup-frame shell-frame)
(delete-frame shell-frame)
(--toggle-shell nil inject-cd))))
;; Not in shell buffer. Warp to it or create new one.
(unless in-shell
(--toggle-shell-store-last-conf))
(if popup-frame
(progn (switch-to-buffer-other-frame (or shell-buf "*shell*"))
(raise-frame
(or shell-frame (window-frame (get-buffer-window "*shell*" t)))))
(if (> (count-windows) 1)
(delete-other-windows)))
;; Finally `cd' into the working directory the current buffer.
(let ((new-shell (not (bufferp shell-buf)))
(new-dir ; `default-directory' of `--toggle-shell-last-buf'
(if --toggle-shell-last-buf
(buffer-local-value 'default-directory --toggle-shell-last-buf))))
;; Open shell, move point to end-of-buffer. The new shell-buffer's
;; `default-directory' will be that of the buffer the shell was
;; launched from.
(when vertical
(if (> (count-windows) 1)
(delete-other-windows))
(split-window-vertically) (other-window 1))
(funcall 'shell)
(when new-shell
(message "New shell %s (%s)" (buffer-name (current-buffer)) new-dir)
(if inject-cd (sit-for 2))) ; wait for prompt
(goto-char (point-max))
;; If on a command-prompt insert and launch a "cd" command (assume no
;; job is running).
(when (and inject-cd new-dir)
(save-excursion
(backward-line-nomark) (end-of-line)
(unless (setq inject-cd (re-search-forward comint-prompt-regexp (point-max) t))
(error "Cannot `pushd', shell is busy")))
(when (and inject-cd)
(let* ((cmd (format
"pushd '%s' %s" (comint-quote-filename new-dir)
(if (buffer-file-name --toggle-shell-last-buf)
(format "# '%s'" (file-name-directory (buffer-file-name --toggle-shell-last-buf)))
""))))
;; `shell-process-cd' set new `default-directory' and set
;; `shell-last-dir' to old. (If the pushd command is
;; successful, a dirs is performed as well; >nul discards this
;; output.)
(shell-process-cd new-dir)
(insert cmd)
(comint-send-input)
(message "%s: cd '%s'" (buffer-name --toggle-shell-last-buf) new-dir))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
--toggle-shell is the function that does the trick. I bind it to F12:
;; F12 toggle between shell buffer and current window configuration
;; SHIFT-F12 like before, but let shell buffer appear in a dedicated frame
;; ALT-F12 inject a pushd to change to directory of current buffer
;; CTRL-F12 `shell-command'
(global-set-key [(f12)] '--toggle-shell)
(global-set-key [(shift f12)] '(lambda()(interactive)(--toggle-shell 'frame)))
(global-set-key [(meta f12)] '(lambda()(interactive)(--toggle-shell nil t)))
(global-set-key [(meta f10)] '(lambda()(interactive)(--toggle-shell nil t)))
(global-set-key [(control f12)] 'shell-command) ; alias M-!
This is a significant bunch of code to be posted here. But it shall work well.
Semi related - you can quickly run a shell command on selected file with
M+shift+!
It saves a lot of time for smaller commands chmod etc
And maybe my quick pop-up shell also might help you. A quick pop-up shell for emacs
Ecb + eshell will be what you want exactly!
I use vi, but hope this helps. I can open as many terminals as I want by (eg. in Ubuntu 16.04):
ctrl + alt + t
I usually open 2 terminals, and move (position) one terminal to the right by:
ctrl + super + right-arrow
and move the other terminal to the left by:
ctrl + super + left-arrow
so that I have a divided screen by 2 terminals.
What is the most simple way to send current full file name with file path to clipboard?
What I am using now is messages buffer: I copy file name that appears there after saving a file. But, I suppose, there should be much more simple way.
Why no one tell the simple solution.
Just go to your dired buffer then press 0 w or C-u 0 w.
This will call dired-copy-filename-as-kill which gives you full path of a file. If you want current dir, just delete the file at the end of it or you can use the function below, then bind it to any key you like.
(defun my/dired-copy-dirname-as-kill ()
"Copy the current directory into the kill ring."
(interactive)
(kill-new default-directory))
PS: personally I go to current directory from file buffer using dired-jump
I use this:
(defun my-put-file-name-on-clipboard ()
"Put the current file name on the clipboard"
(interactive)
(let ((filename (if (equal major-mode 'dired-mode)
default-directory
(buffer-file-name))))
(when filename
(with-temp-buffer
(insert filename)
(clipboard-kill-region (point-min) (point-max)))
(message filename))))
In Emacs Prelude I use:
(defun prelude-copy-file-name-to-clipboard ()
"Copy the current buffer file name to the clipboard."
(interactive)
(let ((filename (if (equal major-mode 'dired-mode)
default-directory
(buffer-file-name))))
(when filename
(kill-new filename)
(message "Copied buffer file name '%s' to the clipboard." filename))))
If you want to write the name/path of the current buffer you can type C-u M-: and then either (buffer-file-name) - for the full path - or (buffer-name) for the buffer name.
That is:
M-: + ellisp expression evaluates an ellisp expression in the mini-buffer
C-u write the output to the current buffer
Does not exactly answer to the question but could be useful if someone use this or other function sporadically, and prefers to not initialize the function at every startup.
In the Spacemacs distribution, you can press Spacefyy to display the buffer name in the minibuffer and copy it to the kill ring.
The function spacemacs/show-and-copy-buffer-filename seems to originate from this blog post: Emacs: Show Buffer File Name.
(defun camdez/show-buffer-file-name ()
"Show the full path to the current file in the minibuffer."
(interactive)
(let ((file-name (buffer-file-name)))
(if file-name
(progn
(message file-name)
(kill-new file-name))
(error "Buffer not visiting a file"))))
There's a buffer-extension - and it has copy-buffer-file-name-as-kill function. It even asks You what to copy: name, full name or a directory name.
Edit:
I use modified version of copy-buffer-file-name-as-kill from buffer-extension.el:
(defun copy-buffer-file-name-as-kill (choice)
"Copyies the buffer {name/mode}, file {name/full path/directory} to the kill-ring."
(interactive "cCopy (b) buffer name, (m) buffer major mode, (f) full buffer-file path, (d) buffer-file directory, (n) buffer-file basename")
(let ((new-kill-string)
(name (if (eq major-mode 'dired-mode)
(dired-get-filename)
(or (buffer-file-name) ""))))
(cond ((eq choice ?f)
(setq new-kill-string name))
((eq choice ?d)
(setq new-kill-string (file-name-directory name)))
((eq choice ?n)
(setq new-kill-string (file-name-nondirectory name)))
((eq choice ?b)
(setq new-kill-string (buffer-name)))
((eq choice ?m)
(setq new-kill-string (format "%s" major-mode)))
(t (message "Quit")))
(when new-kill-string
(message "%s copied" new-kill-string)
(kill-new new-kill-string))))
If you use Doom Emacs, it can be done with SPC f y.
To paste the current file path in the buffer, the most simple way I see is to do: C-u M-! pwd (this might not work on Windows systems though).
Alternatively, you can use C-x C-b to show the file paths of all opened buffers.
This is what has worked for me on MacOS 10.15.7, GNU Emacs 27.1
(defun copy-current-buffer-file-name ()
(interactive)
(shell-command (concat "echo " (buffer-file-name) " | pbcopy")))
set keybinding to "C-x M-f":
(global-set-key (kbd "C-x M-f") 'copy-current-buffer-file-name)
FYI: For a real beginner reading this, you need to add those lines to your init.el file.
Lots of good answers here, though I think for the "most simple way", as described in the question, there's room for improvement. Here's what I came up with (with thanks to other answers for the bits and pieces):
M-: (kill-new (buffer-file-name)) RET
This does precisely what you asked for -- takes the filename of the current buffer, and puts it in the "kill ring" and, depending on your settings, also the system clipboard. (See emacswiki/CopyAndPaste for more details on that part.)
If you want to do this regularly, then setting up a function like listed in the other answers, and binding it to an available key sequence, would make it easier to do frequently. But the above works with no prior setup, which I'm interpreting to be more "simple".
If I accidentally closed the scratch buffer in Emacs, how do I create a new scratch buffer?
GNU Emacs default bindings:
C-xb *scratch* RET
or, more verbosely
M-x switch-to-buffer *scratch* RET
The *scratch* buffer is the buffer selected upon startup, and has the major mode Lisp Interaction. Note: the mode for the *scratch* buffer is controlled by the variable initial-major-mode.
In general you can create as many "scratch" buffers as you want, and name them however you choose.
C-xb NAME RET
switches to a buffer NAME, creating it if it doesn't exist. A new buffer is not associated with a file on disk until you use C-xC-w (or M-x write-file RET) to choose a file where it should be saved.
M-x text-mode RET
changes the current buffer's major mode to Text mode. To find all the modes available (that is, without requiring any new packages), you can get a list by typing:
M-x apropos-command -mode$ RET
I add following in my .emacs:
;; bury *scratch* buffer instead of kill it
(defadvice kill-buffer (around kill-buffer-around-advice activate)
(let ((buffer-to-kill (ad-get-arg 0)))
(if (equal buffer-to-kill "*scratch*")
(bury-buffer)
ad-do-it)))
If I don't want to see scratch buffer I press C-x C-k , but it doesn't kill it, just place in the end of buffer list, so then I need it next time I don't have to create new one.
There are a whole bunch of tips on this EmacsWiki page.
Here's the first one:
A very simple function to recreate the scratch buffer:
(defun create-scratch-buffer nil
"create a scratch buffer"
(interactive)
(switch-to-buffer (get-buffer-create "*scratch*"))
(lisp-interaction-mode))
C-x b *scratch* RET y RET with iswitchb-mode enabled.
Just C-x b *scratch* RET otherwise.
I found this years ago when I first started using emacs; I have no idea where now but it has always had a home in my personal .el files. It does pop up in google searches.
;;; Prevent killing the *scratch* buffer -- source forgotten
;;;----------------------------------------------------------------------
;;; Make the *scratch* buffer behave like "The thing your aunt gave you,
;;; which you don't know what is."
(save-excursion
(set-buffer (get-buffer-create "*scratch*"))
(make-local-variable 'kill-buffer-query-functions)
(add-hook 'kill-buffer-query-functions 'kill-scratch-buffer))
(defun kill-scratch-buffer ()
;; The next line is just in case someone calls this manually
(set-buffer (get-buffer-create "*scratch*"))
;; Kill the current (*scratch*) buffer
(remove-hook 'kill-buffer-query-functions 'kill-scratch-buffer)
(kill-buffer (current-buffer))
;; Make a brand new *scratch* buffer
(set-buffer (get-buffer-create "*scratch*"))
(lisp-interaction-mode)
(make-local-variable 'kill-buffer-query-functions)
(add-hook 'kill-buffer-query-functions 'kill-scratch-buffer)
;; Since we killed it, don't let caller do that.
nil)
;;;----------------------------------------------------------------------
Like the docstring says, this function will:
Switch to the scratch buffer. If the buffer doesn't exist create it and write the initial message into it."
This will bring a new scratch buffer up which looks like the initial scratch buffer.
(defun switch-buffer-scratch ()
"Switch to the scratch buffer. If the buffer doesn't exist,
create it and write the initial message into it."
(interactive)
(let* ((scratch-buffer-name "*scratch*")
(scratch-buffer (get-buffer scratch-buffer-name)))
(unless scratch-buffer
(setq scratch-buffer (get-buffer-create scratch-buffer-name))
(with-current-buffer scratch-buffer
(lisp-interaction-mode)
(insert initial-scratch-message)))
(switch-to-buffer scratch-buffer)))
(global-set-key "\C-cbs" 'switch-buffer-scratch)
I used to use dwj's solution, and I was quite happy about it, until the day I realized that it failed when you actually rename the scratch buffer (for example by saving it).
Then I adopted this, which works well for me :
(run-with-idle-timer 1 t
'(lambda () (get-buffer-create "*scratch*")))
I have scratch as an interactive command for opening a new scratch buffer (I like to have several):
(defun scratch ()
"create a new scratch buffer to work in. (could be *scratch* - *scratchX*)"
(interactive)
(let ((n 0)
bufname)
(while (progn
(setq bufname (concat "*scratch"
(if (= n 0) "" (int-to-string n))
"*"))
(setq n (1+ n))
(get-buffer bufname)))
(switch-to-buffer (get-buffer-create bufname))
(if (= n 1) initial-major-mode))) ; 1, because n was incremented
adopted from: http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1038451
(global-set-key (kbd "C-x M-z")
'(lambda ()
(interactive)
(switch-to-buffer "*scratch*")))
This will not only quickly switch to *scratch* buffer(since I do this frequently), but recreate a *scratch* buffer and enable lisp-interaction-mode automatically if you kill it accidentally. Change the binding as you like.
Just to note emacs package unkillable-scratch in MELPA will do this. There is also scratch-persist that will automatically save and restore the buffer between sessions.
This is what I use - I have this bound to a convenient keystroke. It sends you to the *scratch* buffer, regardless of whether or not it already exists, and sets it to be in lisp-interaction-mode
(defun eme-goto-scratch ()
"this sends you to the scratch buffer"
(interactive)
(let ((eme-scratch-buffer (get-buffer-create "*scratch*")))
(switch-to-buffer eme-scratch-buffer)
(lisp-interaction-mode)))
I prefer to have my scratch buffer be an actual file that is automatically saved, and reopening it is as simple as opening a file. On startup, I kill the default and find my own like this.
(add-hook 'emacs-startup-hook
(lambda ()
(kill-buffer "*scratch*")
(find-file "/Users/HOME/Desktop/.scratch")))
I have a custom kill-buffer function that does essentially the same thing -- reopens my personal scratch saved file and kills the default scratch if I killed the last visible buffer.
I customized a few of the desktop.el functions to load after (kill-buffer "*scratch*") and (find-file "/Users/HOME/Desktop/.scratch") so that the file last visible on exiting Emacs doesn't get buried by the default scratch or buried by my custom scratch when launching Emacs.
I enjoy using auto-save-buffers-enhanced, which automatically saves any file extension that is not specifically excluded:
https://github.com/kentaro/auto-save-buffers-enhanced/blob/master/auto-save-buffers-enhanced.el
(require 'auto-save-buffers-enhanced)
(auto-save-buffers-enhanced t)
(setq auto-save-buffers-enhanced-save-scratch-buffer-to-file-p 1)
(setq auto-save-buffers-enhanced-exclude-regexps '("\\.txt" "\\.el" "\\.tex"))
I use a slight variation of the function by #paprika when I want to create a no-file visiting buffer:
(defun lawlist-new-buffer ()
"Create a new buffer -- \*lawlist\*"
(interactive)
(let* (
(n 0)
bufname)
(catch 'done
(while t
(setq bufname (concat "*lawlist"
(if (= n 0) "" (int-to-string n))
"*"))
(setq n (1+ n))
(if (not (get-buffer bufname))
(throw 'done nil)) ))
(switch-to-buffer (get-buffer-create bufname))
(text-mode) ))
I have combined the solutions posted so far into one function:
(defun --scratch-buffer(&optional reset)
"Get the *scratch* buffer object.
Make new scratch buffer unless it exists.
If RESET is non-nil arrange it that it can't be killed."
(let ((R (get-buffer "*scratch*")))
(unless R
(message "Creating new *scratch* buffer")
(setq R (get-buffer-create "*scratch*") reset t))
(when reset
(save-excursion
(set-buffer R)
(lisp-interaction-mode)
(make-local-variable 'kill-buffer-query-functions)
(add-hook 'kill-buffer-query-functions '(lambda()(bury-buffer) nil)
)))
R))
To apply this function in your .emacs use:
(--scratch-buffer t)
(run-with-idle-timer 3 t '--scratch-buffer)
This will make the scratch buffer indestructible in the first place, and if saved it will be recreated. Additionally we can use a shortcut function scratch to bring up the buffer quickly:
(defun scratch()
"Switch to *scratch*. With prefix-arg delete its contents."
(interactive)
(switch-to-buffer (--scratch-buffer))
(if current-prefix-arg
(delete-region (point-min) (point-max))
(goto-char (point-max))))
In the past it has proven useful to know the original startup-directory from which Emacs was started. This is either the value of desktop-dirname or the default-directory local variable of the scratch-buffer:
(defvar --scratch-directory
(save-excursion (set-buffer "*scratch*") default-directory)
"The `default-directory' local variable of the *scratch* buffer.")
(defconst --no-desktop (member "--no-desktop" command-line-args)
"True when no desktop file is loaded (--no-desktop command-line switch set).")
(defun --startup-directory ()
"Return directory from which Emacs was started: `desktop-dirname' or the `--scratch-directory'.
Note also `default-minibuffer-frame'."
(if (and (not --no-desktop) desktop-dirname)
desktop-dirname
--scratch-directory))
So --startup-directory will always return the base directory of your makefile, TODO-file etc. In case there is no desktop (--no-desktop commandline-switch or no desktop-file) the --scratch-directory variable will hold directory Emacs was once started under.
find answer in EmacsWiki: http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/RecreateScratchBuffer
(defun create-scratch-buffer nil
"create a scratch buffer"
(interactive)
(switch-to-buffer (get-buffer-create "*scratch*"))
(lisp-interaction-mode))
To add to the accepted answer, if you have ILO mode on (and it is autocompleting after C-x b, thus not letting you write *scratch*), then try:
C-xb C-b*scratch* RET
C-x b C-b *scratch* RET
C-xb and then type *scratch* ↩︎
to create a new buffer which is in lisp interaction mode also.
When I cut (kill) text in Emacs 22.1.1 (in its own window on X, in KDE, on Kubuntu), I can't paste (yank) it in any other application.
Let's be careful with our definitions here
An Emacs copy is the command kill-ring-save (usually bound to M-w).
A system copy is what you typically get from pressing C-c (or choosing "Edit->Copy" in a application window).
An X copy is "physically" highlighting text with the mouse cursor.
An Emacs paste is the command yank (usually bound to C-y).
A system paste is what you typically get from pressing C-v (or choosing "Edit-Paste" in an application window).
An X paste is pressing the "center mouse button" (simulated by pressing the left and right mouse buttons together).
In my case (on GNOME):
Both Emacs and system copy usually work with X paste.
X copy usually works with Emacs paste.
To make system copy work with Emacs paste and Emacs copy work with system paste, you need to add (setq x-select-enable-clipboard t) to your .emacs. Or try
META-X set-variable RET x-select-enable-clipboard RET t
I think this is pretty standard modern Unix behavior.
It's also important to note (though you say you're using Emacs in a separate window) that when Emacs is running in a console, it is completely divorced from the system and X clipboards: cut and paste in that case is mediated by the terminal. For example, "Edit->Paste" in your terminal window should act exactly as if you typed the text from the clipboard into the Emacs buffer.
Insert the following into your .emacs file:
(setq x-select-enable-clipboard t)
The difficulty with copy and paste in Emacs is that you want it to work independently from the internal kill/yank, and you want it to work both in terminal and the gui. There are existing robust solutions for either terminal or gui, but not both. After installing xsel (e.g. sudo apt-get install xsel), here is what I do for copy and paste to combine them:
(defun copy-to-clipboard ()
(interactive)
(if (display-graphic-p)
(progn
(message "Yanked region to x-clipboard!")
(call-interactively 'clipboard-kill-ring-save)
)
(if (region-active-p)
(progn
(shell-command-on-region (region-beginning) (region-end) "xsel -i -b")
(message "Yanked region to clipboard!")
(deactivate-mark))
(message "No region active; can't yank to clipboard!")))
)
(defun paste-from-clipboard ()
(interactive)
(if (display-graphic-p)
(progn
(clipboard-yank)
(message "graphics active")
)
(insert (shell-command-to-string "xsel -o -b"))
)
)
(global-set-key [f8] 'copy-to-clipboard)
(global-set-key [f9] 'paste-from-clipboard)
I stick this in my .emacs:
(setq x-select-enable-clipboard t)
(setq interprogram-paste-function 'x-cut-buffer-or-selection-value)
I subsequently have basically no problems cutting and pasting back and forth from anything in Emacs to any other X11 or Gnome application.
Bonus: to get these things to happen in Emacs without having to reload your whole .emacs, do C-x C-e with the cursor just after the close paren of each of those expressions in the .emacs buffer.
Good luck!
I assume by emacs you are meaning Emacs under X (ie not inside a terminal window).
There are two ways:
(Applies to unix OS's only)
Highlight the desired text with your
mouse (this copies it to the X
clipboard) and then middle click to
paste.
Highlight the desired text and then "M-x clipboard-kill-ring-save"
(note you can bind this to an easier
key). Then just "Edit->Paste" in
your favorite app.
Clipboard operations available:
clipboard-kill-ring-save -- copy
selection from Emacs to clipboard
clipboard-kill-region -- cut
selection from Emacs to clipboard
clipboard-yank -- paste from
clipboard to Emacs
There is an EmacsWiki article that explains some issues with copy & pasting under X and how to configure it to work.
This works with M-w on Mac OSX. Just add to your .emacs file.
(defun copy-from-osx ()
(shell-command-to-string "pbpaste"))
(defun paste-to-osx (text &optional push)
(let ((process-connection-type nil))
(let ((proc (start-process "pbcopy" "*Messages*" "pbcopy")))
(process-send-string proc text)
(process-send-eof proc))))
(setq interprogram-cut-function 'paste-to-osx)
(setq interprogram-paste-function 'copy-from-osx)
Source https://gist.github.com/the-kenny/267162
I use the following, based on the other answers here, to make C-x C-w and C-x C-y be copy and paste on both Mac and Linux (if someone knows the version for Windows feel free to add it). Note that on Linux you will have to install xsel and xclip with your package manager.
;; Commands to interact with the clipboard
(defun osx-copy (beg end)
(interactive "r")
(call-process-region beg end "pbcopy"))
(defun osx-paste ()
(interactive)
(if (region-active-p) (delete-region (region-beginning) (region-end)) nil)
(call-process "pbpaste" nil t nil))
(defun linux-copy (beg end)
(interactive "r")
(call-process-region beg end "xclip" nil nil nil "-selection" "c"))
(defun linux-paste ()
(interactive)
(if (region-active-p) (delete-region (region-beginning) (region-end)) nil)
(call-process "xsel" nil t nil "-b"))
(cond
((string-equal system-type "darwin") ; Mac OS X
(define-key global-map (kbd "C-x C-w") 'osx-copy)
(define-key global-map (kbd "C-x C-y") 'osx-paste))
((string-equal system-type "gnu/linux") ; linux
(define-key global-map (kbd "C-x C-w") 'linux-copy)
(define-key global-map (kbd "C-x C-y") 'linux-paste)))
The code below, inspired by #RussellStewart's answer above, adds support for x-PRIMARY and x-SECONDARY, replaces region-active-p with use-region-p to cover the case of an empty region, does not return silently if xsel has not been installed (returns an error message), and includes a "cut" function (emacs C-y, windows C-x).
(defun my-copy-to-xclipboard(arg)
(interactive "P")
(cond
((not (use-region-p))
(message "Nothing to yank to X-clipboard"))
((and (not (display-graphic-p))
(/= 0 (shell-command-on-region
(region-beginning) (region-end) "xsel -i -b")))
(error "Is program `xsel' installed?"))
(t
(when (display-graphic-p)
(call-interactively 'clipboard-kill-ring-save))
(message "Yanked region to X-clipboard")
(when arg
(kill-region (region-beginning) (region-end)))
(deactivate-mark))))
(defun my-cut-to-xclipboard()
(interactive)
(my-copy-to-xclipboard t))
(defun my-paste-from-xclipboard()
"Uses shell command `xsel -o' to paste from x-clipboard. With
one prefix arg, pastes from X-PRIMARY, and with two prefix args,
pastes from X-SECONDARY."
(interactive)
(if (display-graphic-p)
(clipboard-yank)
(let*
((opt (prefix-numeric-value current-prefix-arg))
(opt (cond
((= 1 opt) "b")
((= 4 opt) "p")
((= 16 opt) "s"))))
(insert (shell-command-to-string (concat "xsel -o -" opt))))))
(global-set-key (kbd "C-c C-w") 'my-cut-to-xclipboard)
(global-set-key (kbd "C-c M-w") 'my-copy-to-xclipboard)
(global-set-key (kbd "C-c C-y") 'my-paste-from-xclipboard)
Hmm, what platform and what version of emacs are you using? With GNU Emacs 22.1.1 on Windows Vista, it works fine for me.
If, by any chance, you are doing this from windows to linux through a RealVNC viewer, make sure you are running "vncconfig -iconic" on the linux box first.....
I always use quick paste -- drag selection in emacs, hit the middle mouse button in target window.
(From the reference to kate, I take it you're on linux or similar and probably using emacs in X one way or another.)
You might want to specify what platform you are using. Is it on linux, unix, macosx, windows, ms-dos?
I believe that for windows it should work. For MacOSX it will get added to the x-windows clipboard, which isn't the same thing as the macosx clipboard. For Linux, it depends on your flavour of window manager, but I believe that x-windows handles it in a nice way on most of them.
So, please specify.
What I do is to use a good terminal tool (PuTTY on Windows, Konsole or Terminal on Linux) that has copy facilities built-in.
In PuTTY, you highlight the text you want with the mouse and then paste it elsewhere. Right-clicking in a PuTTY window pastes the contents of the Windows copy/paste buffer.
In Konsole or Terminal on Linux, you highlight what you want then press Shift+Ctrl+C for copy and Shift+Ctrl+V for paste.
In the win32 compile of emacs, yanking text does put it on the copy/paste buffer .. most of the time.
On Mac OS X, the Apple-key chortcuts work fine, because Terminal traps them.
There is no direct way of doing it on the commandline because the shell does not maintain a copy/paste buffer for each application. bash does maintain a copy/paste buffer for itself, and, by default, emacs ^k/^y shortcuts work.