What is Stratmacs?

Stratmacs is a bespoke Emacs configuration created for StratOS. It is a general-purpose, unopinionated configuration that serves as a starter kit for Emacs. It includes several (minor and major) Emacs tweaks that seasoned users use in their configs.

Usage

SPC (the space key on your keyboard) is set as the default leader key. Press it to view a list of bindings.
Each character that appears on the submenu(s) is either another key in the key combination or the final key required to execute a certain Elisp function call
- You may view what a keybind does by pressing space-h-k (denoted by SPC h k).

Evil mode

Stratmacs, like most Emacs “distributions”, bundles Evil-mode - an Emacs metapackage that brings Vim motions to the dark side.

Normal Mode (default in Evil)

Similar to Vim’s Normal mode, used for navigation and issuing commands.

h, j, k, l: Move cursor left, down, up, and right.
w, b, e: Move by word.
C-a/0, C-e/$: Move to the beginning and end of a line.
gg, G: Go to the beginning and end of the buffer.
:q, :w: Quit and write, just like in Vim.

Insert Mode: Insert text

i: Enter insert mode at the cursor position.
I: Insert at the beginning of the line.
a: Insert after the cursor.
A: Insert at the end of the line.
Esc: Return to Normal mode.

Visual Mode: Select text for operations.

v: Enter visual mode.
V: Select the entire line.
Ctrl+v: Enter visual block mode (column selection).

Undo/Redo

u: Undo.
C-r: Redo.

Cut, Copy, Paste

dd: Cut a line.
yy: Copy a line.
p: Paste after the cursor.
P: Paste before the cursor.

Text Objects

Operate on text objects like words, sentences, paragraphs. ciw Change inside word. di”: Delete inside quotes. da(: Delete around parentheses. vi{: Select inside curly braces.
Buffers and Windows

:bnext or :bn: Go to the next buffer. :bprev or :bp: Go to the previous buffer. :bd: Close a buffer.
Window Splitting

:vsp: Vertical split. :sp: Horizontal split. Ctrl+w h/j/k/l: Move between windows. Ctrl+w q: Close the current window.

Command Mode (:)

Enter command mode with : (like in Vim) to run commands such as: :w Save the file. :q: Quit Emacs. :wq: Save and quit. :x: Save and close if changes were made.

Emacs-Specific Evil Extensions

Ex Commands: Use : commands for Emacs-specific functionality like buffer operations or mode switching. Org-mode: Evil integrates well with org-mode, so you can use Vim-like navigation while organizing tasks and notes. M-x: Although Evil mimics Vim’s modal behavior, you can still run Emacs commands with M-x. For example, M-x find-file opens a file, or M-x shell launches a shell.

Registers and Marks

Registers allow you to store text or commands.

"ay: Yank to register a. "ap: Paste from register a. :reg: View all registers.

Marks let you set and jump to positions within a buffer.

ma: Set mark a. ’a: Jump to mark a.

Searching and Replacing

Search

/pattern: Search forward. ?pattern: Search backward. n: Jump to the next match. N: Jump to the previous match.
Search and Replace

:%s/old/new/g: Replace old with new throughout the entire buffer. :s /old/new/g: Replace in the current line.

Macros

Record macros to automate repetitive tasks.

q <register>: Start recording to a register.
Do your commands.

q: Stop recording. @<register>: Play the macro.

Advanced Editing

Replace Mode

Use R to enter Replace mode (overwrites text instead of inserting).
Joining Lines

J to join the current line with the next one.
Indenting

>> to indent the current line and << to dedent the current line.

Switching Between Evil and Emacs Modes

Evil mode has several states, including Normal, Insert, Visual, Replace, Emacs. C-z: Toggle between Normal mode and Emacs mode. You can use regular Emacs keybindings (like Ctrl+x combinations) while in Emacs state.

Emacs has a powerful directory mode (dired), and you can navigate it with Vim-like keys if Evil is enabled. dired: SPC f d (or M-x dired to open a directory). Use h, j, k, l to navigate, RET to open files/directories, d to delete, and C to copy.