DOCUMENTATION.org

#+TITLE: Spacemacs documentation

* Table of Contents                     :TOC_5_gh:noexport:
- [[#core-pillars][Core Pillars]]
  - [[#mnemonic][Mnemonic]]
  - [[#discoverable][Discoverable]]
  - [[#consistent][Consistent]]
  - [[#crowd-configured][Crowd-Configured]]
- [[#highlighted-features][Highlighted features]]
- [[#screenshots][Screenshots]]
- [[#who-can-benefit-from-this][Who can benefit from this?]]
- [[#update-and-rollback][Update and Rollback]]
  - [[#update-spacemacs-repository][Update Spacemacs repository]]
    - [[#updating-manually-with-git-for-develop][Updating Manually with git (for develop)]]
    - [[#automatic-updates-for-master][Automatic Updates (for master)]]
    - [[#updating-from-the-spacemacs-buffer-for-master][Updating from the Spacemacs Buffer (for master)]]
  - [[#update-packages][Update packages]]
- [[#configuration-layers][Configuration layers]]
  - [[#purpose][Purpose]]
  - [[#structure][Structure]]
  - [[#configure-packages][Configure packages]]
    - [[#with-a-layer][With a layer]]
      - [[#declaration][Declaration]]
      - [[#initialization][Initialization]]
      - [[#exclusion][Exclusion]]
      - [[#overriding-a-layer-package][Overriding a layer package]]
    - [[#without-a-layer][Without a layer]]
  - [[#packages-synchronization][Packages synchronization]]
  - [[#types-of-configuration-layers][Types of configuration layers]]
  - [[#submitting-a-configuration-layer-upstream][Submitting a configuration layer upstream]]
  - [[#example-themes-megapack-example][Example: Themes Megapack example]]
  - [[#managing-private-configuration-layers][Managing private configuration layers]]
    - [[#using-the-private-directory][Using the private directory]]
    - [[#using-an-external-git-repository][Using an external Git repository]]
    - [[#using-a-personal-branch][Using a personal branch]]
  - [[#tips-for-writing-layers][Tips for writing layers]]
- [[#dotfile-configuration][Dotfile Configuration]]
  - [[#dotfile-installation][Dotfile Installation]]
  - [[#alternative-dotdirectory][Alternative dotdirectory]]
  - [[#synchronization-of-dotfile-changes][Synchronization of dotfile changes]]
  - [[#testing-the-dotfile][Testing the dotfile]]
  - [[#dotfile-contents][Dotfile Contents]]
    - [[#configuration-functions][Configuration functions]]
    - [[#custom-variables][Custom variables]]
  - [[#declaring-configuration-layers][Declaring Configuration layers]]
    - [[#setting-configuration-layers-variables][Setting configuration layers variables]]
    - [[#disabling-layer-services-in-other-layers][Disabling layer services in other layers]]
    - [[#selectingignoring-packages-of-a-layer][Selecting/Ignoring packages of a layer]]
    - [[#excluding-packages][Excluding packages]]
- [[#concepts][Concepts]]
  - [[#editing-styles][Editing Styles]]
    - [[#vim][Vim]]
    - [[#emacs][Emacs]]
    - [[#hybrid][Hybrid]]
  - [[#states][States]]
  - [[#special-mode-and-its-derived-modes-buffers][Special mode (and its derived modes) buffers]]
  - [[#evilified-modes][Evilified modes]]
  - [[#evil-leader][Evil leader]]
  - [[#universal-argument][Universal argument]]
  - [[#transient-states][Transient-states]]
  - [[#toggles][Toggles]]
    - [[#configuring-toggles-in-the-dotfile][Configuring toggles in the dotfile]]
- [[#differences-between-vim-evil-and-spacemacs][Differences between Vim, Evil and Spacemacs]]
  - [[#the-vim-surround-case][The vim-surround case]]
- [[#evil-plugins][Evil plugins]]
- [[#environment-variables-and-path][Environment variables and PATH]]
  - [[#default-behavior][Default behavior]]
  - [[#managing-environment-variables-by-yourself][Managing environment variables by yourself]]
  - [[#note-about-the-function-dotspacemacsuser-env][Note about the function dotspacemacs/user-env]]
- [[#binding-keys][Binding keys]]
- [[#gui-elements][GUI Elements]]
  - [[#color-themes][Color themes]]
    - [[#default-theme][Default theme]]
    - [[#choosing-themes][Choosing themes]]
      - [[#themes-transient-state][Themes Transient State]]
    - [[#external-theme][External theme]]
    - [[#browsing-themes][Browsing themes]]
    - [[#notes][Notes]]
  - [[#font][Font]]
  - [[#gui-toggles][GUI Toggles]]
    - [[#global-line-numbers][Global line numbers]]
  - [[#mode-line][Mode-line]]
    - [[#mode-line-themes][Mode-line themes]]
    - [[#separators][Separators]]
    - [[#separator-scale][Separator scale]]
    - [[#spacemacs-mode-line-theme][Spacemacs mode-line theme]]
      - [[#flycheck-integration][Flycheck integration]]
      - [[#anzu-integration][Anzu integration]]
      - [[#battery-status-integration][Battery status integration]]
    - [[#all-the-icons-theme][All-the-Icons theme]]
    - [[#custom-spaceline-theme][Custom spaceline theme]]
    - [[#minor-modes][Minor Modes]]
  - [[#frame][Frame]]
    - [[#title][Title]]
      - [[#iconified-tabified-title][Iconified (tabified) title]]
    - [[#transparency][Transparency]]
    - [[#background-transparency][Background transparency]]
- [[#layouts-and-workspaces][Layouts and workspaces]]
  - [[#layouts][Layouts]]
    - [[#the-default-layout][The default layout]]
    - [[#project-layouts][Project layouts]]
    - [[#custom-layouts][Custom Layouts]]
    - [[#saveload-layouts-into-a-file][Save/Load layouts into a file]]
    - [[#layout-key-bindings][Layout key bindings]]
    - [[#behavior-of-spc-tab-with-layouts][Behavior of SPC TAB with layouts]]
    - [[#restrict-a-given-function-to-the-current-layout][Restrict a given function to the current layout]]
  - [[#workspaces][Workspaces]]
    - [[#workspace-key-bindings][Workspace key bindings]]
- [[#commands][Commands]]
  - [[#vim-key-bindings][Vim key bindings]]
    - [[#escaping][Escaping]]
    - [[#executing-vim-and-emacs-exm-x-commands][Executing Vim and Emacs ex/M-x commands]]
    - [[#leader-key][Leader key]]
    - [[#major-mode-leader-key][Major Mode leader key]]
    - [[#additional-text-objects][Additional text objects]]
  - [[#reserved-prefix-command-for-user][Reserved prefix command for user]]
  - [[#completion][Completion]]
  - [[#discovering][Discovering]]
    - [[#key-bindings][Key bindings]]
      - [[#which-key][Which-key]]
      - [[#which-key-persistent][Which-key persistent]]
      - [[#describe-key-bindings][Describe key bindings]]
    - [[#getting-help][Getting help]]
    - [[#available-layers][Available layers]]
      - [[#available-packages-in-spacemacs][Available packages in Spacemacs]]
      - [[#new-packages-from-elpa-repositories][New packages from ELPA repositories]]
    - [[#toggles-1][Toggles]]
  - [[#navigating][Navigating]]
    - [[#pointcursor][Point/Cursor]]
      - [[#smooth-scrolling][Smooth scrolling]]
    - [[#vim-motions-with-avy][Vim motions with avy]]
      - [[#ace-link-mode][ace-link mode]]
    - [[#unimpaired-bindings][Unimpaired bindings]]
    - [[#jumping-joining-and-splitting][Jumping, Joining and Splitting]]
      - [[#jumping][Jumping]]
      - [[#joining-and-splitting][Joining and splitting]]
    - [[#window-manipulation][Window manipulation]]
      - [[#window-manipulation-key-bindings][Window manipulation key bindings]]
      - [[#window-transient-state][Window transient state]]
      - [[#golden-ratio][Golden ratio]]
    - [[#buffers-and-files][Buffers and Files]]
      - [[#buffers-manipulation-key-bindings][Buffers manipulation key bindings]]
      - [[#create-a-new-empty-buffer][Create a new empty buffer]]
      - [[#buffers-transient-state][Buffers transient state]]
      - [[#file-manipulation-key-bindings][File manipulation key bindings]]
      - [[#frame-manipulation-key-bindings][Frame manipulation key bindings]]
      - [[#emacs-and-spacemacs-files][Emacs and Spacemacs files]]
      - [[#browsing-files-in-completion-buffer][Browsing files in completion buffer]]
      - [[#popup-buffers][Popup buffers]]
    - [[#ido][Ido]]
    - [[#ido-transient-state][Ido transient state]]
    - [[#bookmarks][Bookmarks]]
    - [[#docview-mode][DocView mode]]
  - [[#auto-saving][Auto-saving]]
    - [[#frequency-of-auto-saving][Frequency of auto-saving]]
    - [[#location-of-auto-saved-files][Location of auto-saved files]]
    - [[#disable-auto-save][Disable auto-save]]
  - [[#searching][Searching]]
    - [[#with-an-external-tool][With an external tool]]
      - [[#useful-key-bindings][Useful key bindings]]
      - [[#searching-in-current-file][Searching in current file]]
      - [[#searching-in-all-open-buffers-visiting-files][Searching in all open buffers visiting files]]
      - [[#searching-in-files-in-an-arbitrary-directory][Searching in files in an arbitrary directory]]
      - [[#searching-in-current-directory][Searching in current directory]]
      - [[#searching-in-a-project][Searching in a project]]
      - [[#searching-the-web][Searching the web]]
    - [[#persistent-highlighting][Persistent highlighting]]
    - [[#highlight-current-symbol][Highlight current symbol]]
    - [[#visual-star][Visual Star]]
    - [[#listing-symbols-by-semantic][Listing symbols by semantic]]
  - [[#editing][Editing]]
    - [[#paste-text][Paste text]]
      - [[#paste-transient-state][Paste transient state]]
      - [[#auto-indent-pasted-text][Auto-indent pasted text]]
    - [[#text-manipulation-commands][Text manipulation commands]]
      - [[#drag-stuff-transient-state][Drag stuff transient state]]
    - [[#text-insertion-commands][Text insertion commands]]
    - [[#smartparens-strict-mode][Smartparens Strict mode]]
    - [[#zooming][Zooming]]
      - [[#text][Text]]
      - [[#frame-1][Frame]]
    - [[#increasedecrease-numbers][Increase/Decrease numbers]]
    - [[#spell-checking][Spell checking]]
    - [[#region-selection][Region selection]]
      - [[#expand-region][Expand-region]]
      - [[#indent-text-object][Indent text object]]
    - [[#region-narrowing][Region narrowing]]
    - [[#replacing-text-with-iedit][Replacing text with iedit]]
      - [[#iedit-states-key-bindings][iedit states key bindings]]
        - [[#state-transitions][State transitions]]
        - [[#in-iedit-state][In iedit state]]
        - [[#in-iedit-insert-state][In iedit-insert state]]
      - [[#examples][Examples]]
    - [[#replacing-text-in-several-files][Replacing text in several files]]
      - [[#helm][Helm]]
      - [[#compleseus][Compleseus]]
    - [[#renaming-files-in-a-directory][Renaming files in a directory]]
    - [[#commenting][Commenting]]
    - [[#regular-expressions][Regular expressions]]
    - [[#deleting-files][Deleting files]]
    - [[#editing-lisp-code][Editing Lisp code]]
      - [[#lisp-key-bindings][Lisp Key bindings]]
        - [[#lisp-state-key-bindings][Lisp state key bindings]]
        - [[#emacs-lisp-specific-key-bindings][Emacs lisp specific key bindings]]
    - [[#keyboard-macros][Keyboard macros]]
      - [[#vim-keyboard-macros][Vim keyboard macros]]
      - [[#emacs-keyboard-macros][Emacs keyboard macros]]
        - [[#macro-counter][Macro counter]]
        - [[#key-bindings-1][Key bindings]]
    - [[#scratch-buffer][Scratch buffer]]
      - [[#persistent-scratch][Persistent scratch]]
      - [[#unkillable-scratch][Unkillable scratch]]
    - [[#mouse-usage][Mouse usage]]
  - [[#comparing-diff][Comparing (diff)]]
  - [[#managing-projects][Managing projects]]
  - [[#registers][Registers]]
  - [[#errors-handling][Errors handling]]
    - [[#error-transient-state][Error transient state]]
    - [[#custom-fringe-bitmaps][Custom fringe bitmaps]]
  - [[#compiling][Compiling]]
  - [[#quickrun][Quickrun]]
- [[#editorconfig][EditorConfig]]
- [[#emacs-server][Emacs Server]]
  - [[#connecting-to-the-emacs-server][Connecting to the Emacs server]]
  - [[#keeping-the-server-alive][Keeping the server alive]]
- [[#troubleshoot][Troubleshoot]]
  - [[#loading-fails][Loading fails]]
  - [[#upgradingdowngrading-emacs-version][Upgrading/Downgrading Emacs version]]
  - [[#general-layer-errors][General layer errors]]
    - [[#step-by-step-instructions-for-minimal-layer-bug-reports][Step by step instructions for minimal layer bug reports]]
  - [[#general-emacs-package-errors][General emacs package errors]]
    - [[#step-by-step-instructions-for-minimal-emacs-package-bug-reports][Step by step instructions for minimal emacs package bug reports]]
- [[#achievements][Achievements]]
  - [[#issues][Issues]]
  - [[#merged-pull-requests][Merged Pull Requests]]
  - [[#stars-forks-and-watchers][Stars, forks and watchers]]
  - [[#gitter-chat][Gitter chat]]
  - [[#first-times][First times]]
  - [[#special-mentions][Special Mentions]]
  - [[#special-titles][Special Titles]]
- [[#thank-you][Thank you]]

* Core Pillars
Four core pillars: Mnemonic, Discoverable, Consistent and "Crowd-Configured".

If any of these core pillars are violated, open an issue and we'll try our best
to fix it.

** Mnemonic
Key bindings are organized using mnemonic prefixes like ~b~ for buffer, ~p~ for
project, ~s~ for search, ~h~ for help, etc...

** Discoverable
Innovative real-time display of available key bindings. Simple query
system to quickly find available layers, packages, and more.

** Consistent
Similar functionalities have the same key binding everywhere, thanks to a
clearly defined set of conventions. Documentation is mandatory for any layer
that ships with Spacemacs.

** Crowd-Configured
Community-driven configuration provides curated packages tuned by power users
and bugs are fixed quickly.

* Highlighted features
- *Bring the efficiency of modal editing* to the powerful Emacs lisp platform.
  Modal UX is optional and Spacemacs can be used with only Emacs key bindings.
- Integrate nicely with =Evil= states (=Vim= modes).
- *Keep your fingers on the home row* for quicker editing with support for
  QWERTY and BEPO layouts.
- *Minimalistic and nice graphical UI* keeps your available screen space for
  what matters: your text files.
- *Fast boot time*: packages and configuration are lazy-loaded as much as
  possible. For even faster boot time, Spacemacs now provides full support for
  the new portable dumper available in Emacs 27 and later.
- *Lower the risk of RSI* by heavily using the space bar instead of modifiers.
  If you have issues with your thumbs you can still use Spacemacs using
  modifiers.
- Contribute easily with your improvements and new configuration layers.
- *Very active and helpful community* on =Gitter= and =IRC=
  (via Gitter IRC bridge)

* Screenshots
[[file:img/spacemacs-python.png]]
/Python/

*Note*: Even though screenshots are updated frequently, Spacemacs is evolving
quickly and the screenshots may not reflect exactly the current state of the
project.

* Who can benefit from this?
- Spacemacs was initially intended to be used by *Vim users* who want to go to
  the next level by using Emacs (see [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/blob/master/doc/VIMUSERS.org][guide]] for Vimmers). But it is now
  perfectly *usable by non Vim users* by choosing the =emacs= editing style.
- It is also a good fit for people wanting to *lower the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repetitive_strain_injury][risk of RSI]]* induced by
  the default Emacs key bindings. (This is an assumption, there are no official
  studies to prove this!) If you have issues using your thumbs you can still
  use the =emacs= editing style which puts the leader key on a modifier
  combination.
- Emacs users wanting to learn *a different way to edit files* or wanting to
  learn Vim key bindings or even wanting to mix both editing styles by setting
  their style to =hybrid=.
- Emacs users wanting a simple but deep configuration system that greatly
  *lowers the risk of .emacs bankruptcy*.
- *Pair-programming* users thanks to out of the box support for dynamic
  switching of editing style. A Vim user and an Emacs user can use the same
  Spacemacs comfortably.

* Update and Rollback
** Update Spacemacs repository
There are several methods of updating the core files and layer information for
Spacemacs. However afterwards you should always update all your packages; see the next section.

Spacemacs supports two different update schemes, the default is a rolling update scheme based
on the latest version of packages available. This version can be found on the =develop= branch
and is updated by a simple git pull.

The second depreciated one is a fixed version scheme which is based on a stable set
of packages. This version can be found on the =master= branch and will show a notification when
a new version is available. Be warned this has not been updated in a long time now so packages
will be very old.

*** Updating Manually with git (for develop)
To update manually close Emacs and update the git repository:

#+BEGIN_SRC sh
  $ git pull --rebase
#+END_SRC

*** Automatic Updates (for master)
Spacemacs will automatically check for a new version periodically. When it
detects that a new version is available an arrow will appear in the modeline.
Click it to update Spacemacs. You must restart Emacs after updating.
[[file:img/powerline-update.png]]
/Update Button/

*** Updating from the Spacemacs Buffer (for master)
Use the button labeled "Update Spacemacs" in the Spacemacs buffer. You will be
prompted for the version you would like to use.

*Note*: The master branch is considered to be immutable in the sense that you
must not modify it by adding your own commit. If you do so you will break the
automatic update of Spacemacs on the master branch. To fork Spacemacs code you
have to use a custom branch that you manage manually.

** Update packages
To update the Emacs packages used by Spacemacs press RET (enter) or click on the
link =[Update Packages]= in the startup page under the banner then restart
Emacs. If you prefer, you can use the command
=configuration-layer/update-packages= instead of the button.

If anything goes wrong you should be able to rollback the update by pressing
~RET~ or clicking on the =[Rollback Package Update]= link in the startup page
and choosing a rollback slot (sorted by date). This button uses the command
=configuration-layer/rollback=.

* Configuration layers
This section is an overview of layers. A more extensive introduction to writing
configuration layers can be found [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/blob/master/doc/LAYERS.org][here]] (recommended reading!).

** Purpose
Layers help collect related packages together to provide features. For example,
the =python= layer provides auto-completion, syntax checking, and REPL support
for python files. This approach helps keep configuration organized and reduces
overhead for the user by keeping them from having to think about what packages
to install. To install all the =python= features the user has just to add the
=python= layer to their dotfile.

** Structure
Configuration is organized in layers. Each layer has the following structure:

#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
  [layer_name]
    |__ [local]
    | |__ [package 1]
    | |     ...
    | |__ [package n]
    |-- layers.el
    |__ packages.el
    |__ funcs.el
    |__ config.el
    |__ keybindings.el

  [] = directory
#+END_EXAMPLE

Where:

| File           | Usage                                                                                            |
|----------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| layers.el      | The place to declare additional layers                                                           |
| packages.el    | The list of packages and their configuration functions (init, post-init, etc...)                 |
| funcs.el       | All functions defined in the layer (used in package configuration for instance)                  |
| config.el      | Layer configuration (defines the layer variables default values and setup some config variables) |
| keybindings.el | General key bindings not tied to a specific package configuration                                |

=Packages= can be:
- =ELPA= packages installed from an =ELPA= compliant repository
- local packages in a layer's =local= folder
- installed from an online source using [[https://github.com/quelpa/quelpa][quelpa]].

** Configure packages
*** With a layer
**** Declaration
=Packages= are declared in a variable called =<layer>-packages= where =<layer>=
is the name of the layer.

Example:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq <layer>-packages '(package1 package2 ...)
#+END_SRC

All packages from all layers are processed in alphabetical order so sometimes
you'll have to use some =with-eval-after-load= black magic to configure them
properly. For instance, if package =A= depends on =B= then you can configure
=A= with:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (with-eval-after-load 'B ...)
#+END_SRC

For details on installing packages using quelpa or local packages see [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/blob/master/doc/LAYERS.org#packagesel][LAYERS]].

**** Initialization
To initialize a package =xxx=, define a function with this format in
=packages.el=:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (defun <layer>/init-xxx () ...body )
#+END_SRC

It is common to define the body with the [[https://github.com/jwiegley/use-package][use-package]] macro.

**** Exclusion
It is possible to exclude some packages from Spacemacs on a per-layer basis.
This is useful when a configuration layer aims to replace a stock package
declared in the Spacemacs layer.

To do so add the package names to exclude to the variable
=<layer>-excluded-packages=.

Example:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq <layer>-excluded-packages '(package1 package2 ...)
#+END_SRC

**** Overriding a layer package
See [[https://spacemacs.org/doc/FAQ.html#how-to-override-a-layer-package][this answer in the FAQ's]].

*** Without a layer
Sometimes a layer can be an unnecessary overhead, this is the case if you just
want to install a package with very few configurations associated to it. A good
example is some niche language where you are only interested in syntax
highlighting.

You can install such packages by adding them to the variable
=dotspacemacs-additional-packages= under the =dotspacemacs/layers= function in your dotfile.

For example, to install =llvm-mode= and =dts-mode=:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (defun dotspacemacs/layers ()
    "Configuration Layers declaration..."
    (setq-default
     ;; ...
     dotspacemacs-additional-packages '(llvm-mode dts-mode)
     ;; ...
     ))
#+END_SRC

If you want to add some configuration for them, do so in the
=dotspacemacs/user-config= function, or consider creating a layer.

** Packages synchronization
Spacemacs will only install the packages that are explicitly used by the user.
A package is considered to be used if its layer is used (i.e. listed in
=dotspacemacs-configuration-layers=).
Any package that is not used will be considered an orphan and will be deleted at
the next startup of Emacs.

** Types of configuration layers
There are two types of configuration layers:
- distributed layers (in the =layers= directory, those layers are contributions shared
  by the community and merged upstream)
- private (in the =private= directory, they are ignored by Git)

** Submitting a configuration layer upstream
If you decide to provide a configuration layer, please check the contribution
guidelines first in [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/blob/develop/COMMUNITY.org][CONTRIBUTING]].

** Example: Themes Megapack example
This is a simple configuration layer listing a bunch of themes which you can
find [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/blob/develop/layers/%2Bthemes/themes-megapack/README.org][here]].

To install it, just add =themes-megapack= to your =~/.spacemacs= like so:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-configuration-layers '(themes-megapack))
#+END_SRC

Adding this layer will install around 100 themes; to uninstall them remove the
layer from the =dotspacemacs-configuration-layers= and press ~SPC f e R~.

** Managing private configuration layers
Spacemacs's configuration system is flexible enough to let you manage your
private layers in different ways.

*** Using the private directory
Everything in the private directory is ignored by Git so it is a good place to
store private layers. There is a huge drawback to this approach though: /your
layers are not source controlled/.

*** Using an external Git repository
This is the recommended way to manage your private layers.

The best approach is to store all your private layers in an external Git
repository. For example, if you have a =dotfiles= repository it is a good
practice to store these layers in there, along with your =~/.spacemacs= file.

Then you are free to symlink your layers into =~/emacs.d/private= /or/ leave them
anywhere you want, and reference the parent directory in the variable
=dotspacemacs-configuration-layer-path= of your =~/.spacemacs=.

*Note*: You could also have a dedicated repository for all your private layers
and then directly clone this repository in =~/.emacs.d/private=.

*** Using a personal branch
The final main way to manage your private layers is to push them in a personal
branch that you keep up to date with upstream =master= or =develop=.

** Tips for writing layers
Please refer to [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/blob/develop/doc/LAYERS.org][this]] introduction for some tips on writing layers, and how to
best make them fit with the Spacemacs philosophy and loading strategy.

* Dotfile Configuration
User configuration can be stored in your =~/.spacemacs= file.

** Dotfile Installation
The very first time Spacemacs starts up, it will ask you several questions
and then install the =.spacemacs= file in your =HOME= directory.

** Alternative dotdirectory
A dotdirectory =~/.spacemacs.d/= can be used instead of a dotfile.
If you want to use this option, move =~/.spacemacs= to =~/.spacemacs.d/init.el=.

It is also possible to override the location of =~/.spacemacs.d/= using the
environment variable =SPACEMACSDIR=. Of course, you can also use symlinks to
change the location of this directory.

*Note*: =~/.spacemacs= will always take priority over =~/.spacemacs.d/init.el=,
so =~/.spacemacs= must not exist for =~/.spacemacs.d/init.el= to be used by
Spacemacs.

** Synchronization of dotfile changes
To apply the modifications made in =~/.spacemacs= press ~SPC f e R~. It will
re-execute the Spacemacs initialization process.

*Note*: A synchronization re-executes the functions =dotspacemacs/init=,
=dotspacemacs/user-init= and =dotspacemacs/user-config=.
Depending on the contents of these functions, you may encounter some unwanted side
effects. For instance, if you use a toggle in =dotspacemac/user-config= to enable
some behavior, this behavior will be turned off whenever the dotfile is
re-synchronized. To avoid these side-effects, it is recommended to either use
=setq= expressions instead of toggle functions, or to use the =on= or =off=
versions instead (i.e. instead of =spacemacs/toggle-<thing>=, use
=spacemacs/toggle-<thing>-on= or =spacemacs/toggle-<thing>-off=).

It is possible to /skip/ the execution of =dotspacemacs/user-config= with the
universal argument (~SPC u SPC f e R~).

** Testing the dotfile
You can use the command =SPC SPC dotspacemacs/test-dotfile= to check if your
=~/.spacemacs= looks correct. This will check, among other things, whether the
declared layers can be found and that the variables have sensible values. These
tests are also run automatically when you synchronize with ~SPC f e R~.

** Dotfile Contents
*** Configuration functions
Five special functions in the =~/.spacemacs= file can be used to perform
configuration at the beginning and end of Spacemacs loading process:
- =dotspacemacs/init= is called at the very startup of Spacemacs initialization
  before layers configuration. *You should not put any user code* in there
  besides modifying the Spacemacs variable values prefixed with =dotspacemacs-=.
- =dotspacemacs/user-init= is called immediately after =dotspacemacs/init=,
  before layer configuration. This function is mostly useful for variables
  that need to be set before packages are loaded.
- =dotspacemacs/user-env= is called before the layers and packages configuration
  and it is responsible to setup environment variables.
- =dotspacemacs/layers= is called at the startup of Spacemacs initialization,
  this is where you set the Spacemacs distribution and declare layers to be used
  in your configuration. You can also add or exclude packages of your choice
  and tweak some behaviors of Spacemacs loading.
- =dotspacemacs/user-config= is called at the very end of Spacemacs
  initialization after layers configuration. This is the place where most of
  your configurations should be done. Unless it is explicitly specified that a
  variable should be set before a package is loaded, you should place your code
  here.
- =dotspacemacs/emacs-custom-settings= is a generated function where all Emacs
  custom settings are written. You should not edit this function. See
  =Custom variables= section for more information.

*** Custom variables
By default custom variables from =M-x customize-group= are automatically saved
at the end of your =~/.spacemacs= file in the function
=dotspacemacs/emacs-custom-settings= unless you declare a custom =custom-file=
in the =dotspacemacs/user-init= function, in this case custom variables will be
written to the user defined =custom-file= and the function
=dotspacemacs/emacs-custom-settings= will remain empty.

*Note*: If you set a custom =custom-file= value then it is your responsibility
to load this file at the appropriate time. Often the best time to load it is
just after setting the value for =custom-file= in the =dotspacemacs/user-init=
function.

** Declaring Configuration layers
To use a configuration layer, declare it in your dotfile by adding it to the
=dotspacemacs-configuration-layers= variable of your =~/.spacemacs=.

*Note*: In this documentation a =used layer= is equivalent to a =declared
layer=.

For instance, [[#thank-you][RMS]] can add his private configuration layer like this:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-configuration-layers
                '(
                  ;; other layers
                  ;; rms layer added at the end of the list
                  rms
                  ))
#+END_SRC

Official layers shipped with Spacemacs are stored in =~/.emacs.d/layers=. The
directory =~/.emacs.d/private= is a drop-in location for your private layers.
It is possible to put layers at the location of your choice provided you tell
Spacemacs where to look for them. This is done by setting the list
=dotspacemacs-configuration-layer-path= in your =~/.spacemacs=. For instance
to add some layers in =~/.myconfig=, set the variable like this:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-configuration-layer-path '("~/.myconfig/"))
#+END_SRC

*** Setting configuration layers variables
Some configuration layers have configuration variables to enable specific
features. For instance the [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/blob/develop/layers/%2Bsource-control/git/README.org][git layer]] has several configuration variables, they
can be set directly in the =dotspacemacs-configuration-layers= like this:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (defun dotspacemacs/layers ()
    ;; List of configuration layers to load.
    (setq-default dotspacemacs-configuration-layers
      '(auto-completion
        (git :variables
             git-magit-status-fullscreen t
             git-variable-example nil)
        smex)))
#+END_SRC

The =:variables= keyword is a convenience to keep layer configuration close to
their declaration. Setting layer variables in the =dotspacemacs/user-init=
function of your dotfile is also a perfectly valid way to configure a layer.

*** Disabling layer services in other layers
Often layers enable services that other layers can use. For instance if you use
the layer =auto-completion= then all other layers supporting =auto-completion=
will have this feature enabled.

Sometimes you may want to disable a service added by a layer in some specific
layers. Say you want to disable =auto-completion= in =org= and =git= layers,
you can do it with the following layer declaration.

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (defun dotspacemacs/layers ()
    ;; List of configuration layers to load.
    (setq-default dotspacemacs-configuration-layers
      '(org git
        (auto-completion :disabled-for org git))))
#+END_SRC

You can also use the =:enabled-for= construct to disable it for /all/ layers
/except/ those explicitly identified.

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (defun dotspacemacs/layers ()
    ;; List of configuration layers to load.
    (setq-default dotspacemacs-configuration-layers
      '(java python c-c++
        (auto-completion :enabled-for java python))))
#+END_SRC

Note that =:enabled-for= may be an empty list.

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (defun dotspacemacs/layers ()
    ;; List of configuration layers to load.
    (setq-default dotspacemacs-configuration-layers
      '(java python c-c++
        (auto-completion :enabled-for))))
#+END_SRC

=:enabled-for= takes precedence over =:disabled-for= if both are present.

*** Selecting/Ignoring packages of a layer
By default a declared layer installs/configures all its associated packages. You
may want to select only some of them or ignoring some of them. This is possible
with the =:packages= keyword.

For instance to ignore the =treemacs= and =fancy-battery= packages from
=spacemacs-ui-visual= layer:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (defun dotspacemacs/layers ()
    ;; List of configuration layers to load.
    (setq-default dotspacemacs-configuration-layers
      '(auto-completion
        (spacemacs-ui-visual :packages (not treemacs fancy-battery))))
#+END_SRC

The opposite would be to ignore all packages except =treemacs= and
=fancy-battery=:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (defun dotspacemacs/layers ()
    ;; List of configuration layers to load.
    (setq-default dotspacemacs-configuration-layers
      '(auto-completion
        (spacemacs-ui-visual :packages treemacs fancy-battery)))
#+END_SRC

*Note*: Ignoring a package from a layer is different than excluding a package.
An excluded packages is completely removed from your configuration whereas an
ignored package is ignored only for a given layer but it can remain on your
system. It happens that if the given layer is the owner of the package then
ignoring this package is the same as excluding it (because the package becomes
orphan so it is considered unused by Spacemacs).

*** Excluding packages
You can exclude packages you don't want to install with the variable
=dotspacemacs-excluded-packages= (see [[#configuration-layers][Configuration layers]] for more info
on packages).

For instance, to disable the =rainbow-delimiters= package:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-excluded-packages '(rainbow-delimiters))
#+END_SRC

When you exclude a package, Spacemacs will automatically delete it for you the
next time you launch Emacs or at the next dotfile synchronization. All the
orphan dependencies are also deleted automatically. Excluding a package
effectively remove _all_ references to it in Spacemacs without breaking the rest
of the configuration, this is a powerful feature which allows you to quickly
remove any feature from Spacemacs.

*Note*: A few packages are essential for Spacemacs to correctly operate, those
packages are protected and cannot be excluded or uninstalled even if they become
orphans or are excluded. =use-package= is an example of a protected package that
cannot be removed from Spacemacs.

* Concepts
** Editing Styles
Spacemacs comes with several editing styles which can be switched dynamically
providing an easier way to do pair programming, for instance between a Vim user
and an Emacs user.

Three styles are available:
- Vim,
- Emacs,
- Hybrid (a mix between Vim and Emacs).

To set the editing style set the variable =dotspacemacs-editing-style= to
either =vim=, =hybrid=, or =emacs=. It possible to pass a list of variables
as well with the keyword =:variables=, just like for layer variables.

*** Vim
Spacemacs behaves like in Vim using the [[https://github.com/emacs-evil/evil/][Evil]] mode package to emulate Vim key
bindings. This is the default style of Spacemacs; it can be set explicitly by
setting the =dotspacemacs-editing-style= variable to =vim= in the dotfile.

To bind keys in Vim editing style (=insert state=):

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (define-key evil-insert-state-map (kbd "C-]") 'forward-char)
#+END_SRC

When setting the Vim style you can pass any variable supported by =evil-mode=
with the keyword =:variables=. Spacemacs also supports the following editing
style variables for Vim:

| Variables                                | Description                                                             |
|------------------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| =vim-style-visual-feedback=              | If non-nil then objects are briefly highlighted                         |
| =vim-style-remap-Y-to-y$=                | If non-nil ~Y~ is remapped to ~y$~ in Evil states                       |
| =vim-style-retain-visual-state-on-shift= | If non-nil, the shift mappings ~<~ and ~>~ retain visual state          |
| =vim-style-visual-line-move-text=        | If non-nil, ~J~ and ~K~ move lines up and down when in visual mode      |
| =vim-style-ex-substitute-global=         | If non-nil, inverse the meaning of ~g~ in =:substitute= Evil ex-command |

Default configuration is:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-editing-style '(vim :variables
                                                 vim-style-visual-feedback nil
                                                 vim-style-remap-Y-to-y$ nil
                                                 vim-style-retain-visual-state-on-shift t
                                                 vim-style-visual-line-move-text nil
                                                 vim-style-ex-substitute-global nil)
#+END_SRC

*** Emacs
Spacemacs behaves like in raw Emacs using the Holy mode which configures Evil to
make the =emacs state= the default state everywhere.
Set the =dotspacemacs-editing-style= variable to =emacs= in the dotfile.

In Emacs style the leader is available on ~M-m~. It is possible to toggle it on
and off with ~SPC t E e~ and ~M-m t E e~. When off the =vim= style is enabled.

To bind keys in Emacs editing style (=emacs state=):

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (define-key evil-emacs-state-map (kbd "C-]") 'forward-char)
#+END_SRC

*** Hybrid
The hybrid editing style is like the Vim style except that =insert state= is
replaced by a new state called =hybrid state=. In =hybrid state= all the Emacs
key bindings are available; this is like replacing the =insert state= with the
=emacs state= but provides an isolated key map =evil-hybrid-state-map=.

To bind keys in Hybrid editing style (=hybrid state=):

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (define-key evil-hybrid-state-map (kbd "C-]") 'forward-char)
#+END_SRC

This style can be tweaked to be more like Emacs or more like Vim depending
on the user preferences. The following variables are available to change the
style configuration:

| Variables                             | Description                                                                            |
|---------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| =hybrid-style-visual-feedback=        | If non-nil then objects are briefly highlighted                                        |
| =hybrid-style-default-state=          | The default state when opening a new buffer. Set it to =emacs= for a more emacsy style |
| =hybrid-style-enable-hjkl-bindings=   | If non-nil then packages will configure =h j k l= key bindings for navigation          |
| =hybrid-style-enable-evilified-state= | If non-nil buffer are =evilified= when supported, if nil then =emacs= state is enabled |
| =hybrid-style-use-evil-search-module= | If non-nil then use evil own search module which is closer to Vim search behavior      |

Default configuration is:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-editing-style '(hybrid :variables
                                                    hybrid-style-visual-feedback nil
                                                    hybrid-style-enable-evilified-state t
                                                    hybrid-style-enable-hjkl-bindings nil
                                                    hybrid-style-use-evil-search-module nil
                                                    hybrid-style-default-state 'normal)
#+END_SRC

To toggle the hybrid style on and off use ~SPC t E h~ and ~M-m t E h~. When
off the =vim= style is enabled.

** States
Spacemacs has 10 states:

| State        | Default Color | Description                                                                                                |
|--------------+---------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| normal       | orange        | like the =normal mode of Vim=, used to execute and combine commands                                        |
| insert       | green         | like the =insert mode of Vim=, used to actually insert text                                                |
| visual       | gray          | like the =visual mode of Vim=, used to make text selection                                                 |
| motion       | purple        | exclusive to =Evil=, used to navigate read only buffers                                                    |
| emacs        | blue          | exclusive to =Evil=, using this state is like using a regular Emacs without Vim                            |
| replace      | chocolate     | like =replace mode of Vim=, overwrites the character under point instead of inserting a new one            |
| hybrid       | blue          | exclusive to Spacemacs, this is like the insert state except that all the emacs key bindings are available |
| evilified    | light brown   | exclusive to Spacemacs, this is an =emacs state= modified to bring Vim navigation, selection and search.   |
| lisp         | pink          | exclusive to Spacemacs, used to navigate Lisp code and modify it (more [[#editing-lisp-code][info]])                               |
| iedit        | red           | exclusive to Spacemacs, used to navigate between multiple regions of text using =iedit= (more [[#replacing-text-with-iedit][info]])        |
| iedit-insert | red           | exclusive to Spacemacs, used to replace multiple regions of text using =iedit= (more [[#replacing-text-with-iedit][info]])                 |

*Note*: Technically speaking there is also the =operator= evil state.

** Special mode (and its derived modes) buffers
Special-mode is a [[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/elisp/Basic-Major-Modes.html][basic major mode]] that sets buffers to read-only. Evil
defines an evil-specific (i.e. no vim equivalent) [[https://evil.readthedocs.io/en/latest/overview.html?highlight=motion-state#modes-and-states][motion-state]] for read-only
buffers, and Spacemacs opens special-mode buffers, or buffer with major modes
derived from special-mode, in motion-state by default.

** Evilified modes
Some buffers are not for editing text and provide their own key bindings for
certain operations. These often conflict with Vim bindings. To make such buffers
behave more like Vim in a consistent manner, they use a special state called
/evilified/ state. In evilified state, a handful of keys work as in Evil, namely
=/=, =:=, =h=, =j=, =k=, =l=, =n=, =N=, =v=, =V=, =gg=, =G=, =C-f=, =C-b=,
=C-d=, =C-e=, =C-o=, =C-i=, =C-u=, =C-y= and =C-z=. All other keys work as
intended by the underlying mode.

Shadowed keys are moved according to the pattern: =a= → =A= → =C-a= → =C-A=.
Some other keys are also moved: =SPC= -> ='=, =/= -> =\=, and =:= -> =|=.

For example, if the mode binds a function to =n=, that is found under =C-n= in
evilified state, since both =n= and =N= are reserved, but =C-n= is not. On the
other hand, anything originally bound to =k= will be found on =K=, since =k= is
reserved but =K= is not. If there is a binding on =K=, that will be moved to
=C-k=.

In addition to this, =C-g=, being an important escape key in Emacs, is skipped.
So anything bound to =g= originally will be found on =C-G=, since =g=, =G= and
=C-g= are all reserved.

** Evil leader
Spacemacs uses a leader key to bind almost all its key bindings.

This leader key is commonly set to ~​,​~ by Vim users. In Spacemacs the leader
key is set on ~SPC~ (the space bar, hence the name =spacemacs=). This key is the
most accessible key on a keyboard and it is pressed with the thumb which is a
good choice to lower the risk of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repetitive_strain_injury][RSI]]. It can be customized to any other key
using the variable =dotspacemacs-leader-key= and =dotspacemacs-emacs-leader-key=.

With Spacemacs there is no need to remap your keyboard modifiers to attempt
to reduce the risk of RSI, every command can be executed very easily while you
are in =normal= mode by pressing the ~SPC~ leader key, here are a few examples:
- Save a buffer: ~SPC f s~
- Save all opened buffers: ~SPC f S~
- Open (switch) to a buffer: ~SPC b b~

** Universal argument
The universal argument ~C-u~ is an important command in Emacs but it is also a
very handy Vim key binding to scroll up.

Spacemacs binds ~C-u~ to =scroll-up= and changes the universal argument binding
to ~SPC u~.

** Transient-states
Spacemacs defines a wide variety of =transient states= (temporary overlay maps)
where it makes sense. This prevents one from doing repetitive and tedious
presses on the ~SPC~ key.

When a =transient state= is active, documentation is displayed in the
minibuffer. Additional information may also be displayed in the minibuffer.

Auto-highlight-symbol transient state:
[[file:img/spacemacs-ahs-transient-state.png]]
[[#text][Text scale transient state]]:

[[file:img/spacemacs-scale-transient-state.png]]

** Toggles
Spacemacs tries to unify the interface to handle toggles using a custom macro
called =spacemacs|add-toggle=.

There exists two type of toggles:
- globally available toggles under the key prefixes ~SPC t~ and ~SPC T~
- major mode specific toggles under the key prefix ~SPC m T~

When a toggle is turned on a unicode symbol is displayed in the mode-line, this
symbol is a circled letter for globally available toggles and a plain squared
letter for major mode specific toggles. The letter corresponds to the key
binding for this toggle.

For instance the globally available toggle for =which-key= is under ~SPC t K~
and its corresponding symbol in the mode-line is =Ⓚ=. Also the major mode
specific toggle for =nameless= available only in =emacs-lisp= mode is under
~SPC m T n~ and its corresponding symbol in the mode-line is =🅽=.

All toggles can be browsed via the Spacemacs help system under ~SPC h t~.

*** Configuring toggles in the dotfile
To set the toggle states to your preference you can use a set of functions
that should be called in your =dotspacemacs/user-config= function of your
dotfile.

Globally available toggles can be turned on and off using the functions
=spacemacs/toggle-NAME-on= and =spacemacs/toggle-NAME-off= respectively.
=NAME= corresponds to the name of the toggle, for instance =which-key=
for the toggle to turn on and off the =which-key= minor mode.

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (spacemacs/toggle-which-key-on)
#+END_SRC

Major mode specific toggles can be turned on by registering a hook on them to
call the "toggle on" function automatically whenever a buffer using this major
mode is opened. It can be done conveniently using the function
=spacemacs/toggle-NAME-on-register-hooks=. It also exists variants of this
function for each supported major mode like
=spacemacs/toggle-NAME-on-register-hook-MODE=.

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (spacemacs/toggle-nameless-on-register-hooks)
  ;; or to enable it for emacs-lips buffers only
  (spacemacs/toggle-nameless-on-register-hook-emacs-lisp-mode)
#+END_SRC

* Differences between Vim, Evil and Spacemacs
- The ~​,​~ key does repeat last ~f~, ~t~, ~F~, or ~T~ command in
  opposite direction in =Vim=, but in Spacemacs it is the major mode specific
  leader key by default (which can be set on another key binding in the
  dotfile).

Send a PR to add the differences you found in this section.

** The vim-surround case
There is one obvious visible difference though. It is not between =Evil= and
=Vim= but between Spacemacs and [[https://github.com/tpope/vim-surround][vim-surround]]: in visual mode the =surround=
command is on ~S~ in =vim-surround= whereas it is on ~s~ in Spacemacs.

This is something that can surprise some Vim users so here are some motivations
behind this change:
- ~s~ and ~c~ do the same thing in =visual state=,
- ~s~ is only useful to delete /one/ character and add more than one character
  which is a /very/ narrow use case
- ~c~ accept motions and can do everything ~s~ can do in =normal state=
  (note that this is also true for ~r~ but ~r~ is more useful because it
  stays in =normal state=)
- =surround= command is just a more powerful command than ~s~.

If you are not convinced, then here is the snippet to revert back to the default
=Vim + vim-surround= setup (add it to your =dotspacemacs/user-config=):

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (evil-define-key 'visual evil-surround-mode-map "s" 'evil-substitute)
  (evil-define-key 'visual evil-surround-mode-map "S" 'evil-surround-region)
#+END_SRC

* Evil plugins
Spacemacs ships with the following evil plugins:

| Mode                          | Description                                |
|-------------------------------+--------------------------------------------|
| [[https://github.com/wcsmith/evil-args][evil-args]]                     | motions and text objects for arguments     |
| [[https://github.com/Dewdrops/evil-exchange][evil-exchange]]                 | port of [[https://github.com/tommcdo/vim-exchange][vim-exchange]]                       |
| [[https://github.com/cofi/evil-indent-textobject][evil-indent-textobject]]        | add text object based on indentation level |
| [[https://github.com/redguardtoo/evil-matchit][evil-matchit]]                  | port of [[http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=39][matchit.vim]]                        |
| [[https://github.com/redguardtoo/evil-nerd-commenter][evil-nerd-commenter]]           | port of [[https://github.com/scrooloose/nerdcommenter][nerdcommenter]]                      |
| [[https://github.com/cofi/evil-numbers][evil-numbers]]                  | like ~C-a~ and ~C-x~ in vim                |
| [[https://github.com/juanjux/evil-search-highlight-persist][evil-search-highlight-persist]] | emulation of hlsearch behavior             |
| [[https://github.com/timcharper/evil-surround][evil-surround]]                 | port of [[https://github.com/tpope/vim-surround][vim-surround]]                       |
| [[https://github.com/bling/evil-visualstar][evil-visualstar]]               | search for current selection with ~*~      |
| [[https://github.com/Alexander-Miller/treemacs][Treemacs]]                      | a file explorer like [[https://github.com/scrooloose/nerdtree][NERD Tree]]             |

* Environment variables and PATH
Environment variables are handled by the function =dotspacemacs/user-env= of
your dotfile.

** Default behavior
By default, the function =dotspacemacs/user-env= only calls the function
=spacemacs/load-spacemacs-env= which loads the environment variables from
the file =~/.spacemacs.env=. This file is automatically created for you by
Spacemacs and it is initialized with the environment variables of your
system as well as the environment variables of your default shell.

To open this file use ~SPC f e e~. You can edit it to change or add/remove
environment variables. Use ~SPC f e E~ to reload it.

Some dynamic environment variables are ignored by Spacemacs when it first
creates the =~/.spacemacs.env= file. These ignored variables are listed in
the variable =spacemacs-ignored-environment-variables=.

It is possible to force a new import of system and shell environment variables
with ~SPC f e C-e~. Note that this action will overwrite =~/.spacemacs.env=.

** Managing environment variables by yourself
For full flexibility you can bypass the default behavior simply by removing
the call to =spacemacs/load-spacemacs-env= from your =dotspacemacs/user-env=
function.

From there you can choose to use the popular package =exec-path-from-shell=
or just call built-in functions like =setenv= or =(add-to-list 'exec-path ...)=.

If you choose to handle the environment variables by yourself then ~SPC f e e~
will go to the function =dotspacemacs/user-env= instead of opening the file
=~/.spacemacs.env=. In all cases ~SPC f e E~ calls the function
=dotspacemacs/user-env= so you can update your variables in place.

** Note about the function dotspacemacs/user-env
It's possible that you don't have this function defined if you have an older
dotfile. It is recommended to update your dotfile by adding this function,
see the file =~/.emacs.d/core/template/.spacemacs.template= to copy it.
If you don't create such function then Spacemacs assumes you are using the
default behavior described above.

* Binding keys
To be compatible with all Spacemacs bindings, please refer to [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/blob/master/doc/CONVENTIONS.org#key-bindings-conventions][Conventions]].
In brief, ~SPC o~ is reserved for user custom bindings in =global-map=,
and ~SPC m o~ in major modes.

Key sequences are bound to commands in Emacs in various keymaps. The most basic
map is the =global-map=. Setting a key binding in the =global-map= is achieved
with the function =global-set-key=. Example to bind a key to the command
=forward-char=:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (global-set-key (kbd "C-]") 'forward-char)
#+END_SRC

The =kbd= macro accepts a string describing a key sequence. The =global-map= is
often shadowed by other maps. For example, =evil-mode= defines keymaps that
target states (or modes in vim terminology). Here is an example that creates the
same binding as above but only in =insert state= (=define-key= is a built-in
function. =Evil-mode= has its own functions for defining keys).

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (define-key evil-insert-state-map (kbd "C-]") 'forward-char)
#+END_SRC

Perhaps most importantly for Spacemacs is the use of the bind-map package to
bind keys behind a leader key.
This is where most of the Spacemacs bindings live. Binding keys behind the
leader key is achieved with the functions =spacemacs/set-leader-keys= and
=spacemacs/set-leader-keys-for-major-mode=, example:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (spacemacs/set-leader-keys "C-]" 'forward-char)
  (spacemacs/set-leader-keys-for-major-mode 'emacs-lisp-mode "C-]" 'forward-char)
#+END_SRC

These functions use a macro like =kbd= to translate the key sequences for you.
The second function, =spacemacs/set-leader-keys-for-major-mode=, binds the key
only in the specified mode. The second key binding is active only when the
major mode is =emacs-lisp=.

Finally, one should be aware of prefix keys. Essentially, all keymaps can be
nested. Nested keymaps are used extensively in spacemacs, and in vanilla Emacs
for that matter. For example, ~SPC a~ points to key bindings for "applications",
like ~SPC a c~ for =calc-dispatch=. Nesting bindings is easy.

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (spacemacs/declare-prefix "o" "custom")
  (spacemacs/set-leader-keys "oc" 'my-custom-command)
#+END_SRC

The first line declares ~SPC o~ to be a prefix and the second binds the key
sequence ~SPC oc~ to the corresponding command. The first line is actually
unnecessary to create the prefix, but it will give your new prefix a name that
key-discovery tools can use (e.g., which-key).

Example to create binding in major mode:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (spacemacs/declare-prefix-for-mode 'org-mode "mo" "custom")
  (spacemacs/set-leader-keys-for-major-mode 'org-mode "oi" 'org-id-get-create)
#+END_SRC

This would add binding as ~, oi~ and ~SPC moi~ (note that the "m" in the prefix
declaration must be include).

There is much more to say about bindings keys, but these are the basics. Keys
can be bound in your =~/.spacemacs= file or in individual layers.

* GUI Elements
Spacemacs has a minimalistic and distraction free graphical UI:
- custom [[https://github.com/milkypostman/powerline][powerline]] mode-line [[#flycheck-integration][with color feedback]] according to current [[https://github.com/flycheck/flycheck][Flycheck]] status
- Unicode symbols for minor mode lighters which appear in the mode-line
- [[#errors-handling][custom fringe bitmaps]] and error feedbacks for [[https://github.com/flycheck/flycheck][Flycheck]]

** Color themes
*** Default theme
The official Spacemacs theme is [[https://github.com/nashamri/spacemacs-theme][spacemacs-dark]] and it is the default theme
installed when you first started Spacemacs. There are two variants of the
theme, a dark one and a light one. Some aspects of these themes can be customized
in the function =dotspacemacs/user-init= of your =~/.spacemacs=:
- the comment background with the boolean =spacemacs-theme-comment-bg=
- the height of org section titles with =spacemacs-theme-org-height=

*** Choosing themes
It is possible to define your default themes in your =~/.spacemacs= with the
variable =dotspacemacs-themes=. For instance, to specify =spacemacs-light=,
=leuven= and =zenburn=:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-themes '(spacemacs-light leuven zenburn))
#+END_SRC

=dotspacemacs-themes= entries accept the same properties as packages listed
in layers package lists or in =dotspacemacs-additional-packages=. So it is
possible to fetch a package from a specific location. For example, you could
fetch =zenburn= theme directly from the GitHub repository with the following
declaration:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-themes
                '(spacemacs-light
                  leuven
                  (zenburn :location (recipe :fetcher github
                                             :repo "bbatsov/zenburn-emacs"))
                  ))
#+END_SRC

*Important note:* If you use =:location local= then you have to put your theme
in the directory =private/local/<theme-package-name>/= with =theme-package-name=
being the name of your package suffixed with =-theme= as mentioned in the Emacs
conventions.
 For instance if your theme is =foo= then you have to put our theme
files in the directory =private/local/foo-theme=.

You can cycle between the themes declared in =dotspacemacs-themes= with
~SPC T n~ and select an installed theme with ~SPC T s~.

**** Themes Transient State

| Key binding      | Description                                   |
|------------------+-----------------------------------------------|
| ~n~ or ~<right>~ | change to the next theme                      |
| ~p~ or ~<left>~  | change to the previous theme                  |
| ~t~ or ~<up>~    | open helm-themes to select an installed theme |

*** External theme
For an external theme from a package, please add the theme and its package into
the =dotspacemacs-themes=, then the Spacemacs will install the package and apply
the theme. Here is an example:
#+begin_src emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-themes
                '((humanoid-light :package humanoid-themes)
                  spacemacs-dark))
#+end_src

*** Browsing themes
You can see samples of all themes included in the =themes-megapack= layer
in this [[http://themegallery.robdor.com][theme gallery]] from [[https://twitter.com/robmerrell][Rob Merrell]].

*** Notes
- You don't need to explicitly list in a layer the theme packages you are
  defining in =dotspacemacs-themes=, Spacemacs is smart enough to remove those
  packages from the list of orphans.
- Due to the inner working of themes in Emacs, switching theme during the same
  session may have some weird side effects. Although these side effects should
  be pretty rare.
- In the terminal version of Emacs, color themes will not render correctly as
  colors are rendered by the terminal and not by emacs. You will probably have
  to change your terminal color palette. More explanations can be found on
  [[https://github.com/sellout/emacs-color-theme-solarized#important-note-for-terminal-users][emacs-color-theme-solarized webpage]].

** Font
The default font used by Spacemacs is [[https://github.com/adobe-fonts/source-code-pro][Source Code Pro]] by Adobe. It is
recommended to install it on your system if you wish to use it.

To change the default font set the variable =dotspacemacs-default-font= in your
=.spacemacs= file, this setting will be used for the =default= and =fixed-pitch= faces.
By default its value is:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-default-font '("Source Code Pro"
                                            :size 10.0
                                            :weight normal
                                            :width normal))
#+END_SRC

If the specified font is not found, the fallback one will be used (depends on
your system). Also note that changing this value has no effect if you are
running Emacs in terminal.

The properties should be pretty straightforward, it is possible to set any valid
property of a [[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/elisp/Low_002dLevel-Font.html][font-spec]]:
- =:family= Font family or fontset (a string).
- =:width= Relative character width. This should be one of the symbols:
  - ultra-condensed
  - extra-condensed
  - condensed
  - semi-condensed
  - normal
  - semi-expanded
  - expanded
  - extra-expanded
  - ultra-expanded
- =:height= The height of the font. In the simplest case, this is an integer
  in units of 1/10 point.
- =:weight= Font weight- one of the symbols (from densest to faintest):
  - ultra-bold
  - extra-bold
  - bold
  - semi-bold
  - normal
  - semi-light
  - light
  - extra-light
  - ultra-light
- =:slant= Font slant- one of the symbols:
  - italic
  - oblique
  - normal
  - reverse-italic
  - reverse-oblique
- =:size= The font size- either a non-negative integer that specifies the
  pixel size, or a floating-point number that specifies the point size.
- =:adstyle= Additional typographic style information for the font, such as
  'sans'. The value should be a string or a symbol.
- =:registry= The charset registry and encoding of the font, such as
  'iso8859-1'. The value should be a string or a symbol.
- =:script= The script that the font must support (a symbol).

** GUI Toggles
Some graphical UI indicators can be toggled on and off (toggles start with ~t~
and ~T~):

| Key binding | Description                                                       |
|-------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC t 8~   | highlight any character past the 80th column                      |
| ~SPC t f~   | display the fill column (by default the fill column is set to 80) |
| ~SPC t h h~ | toggle highlight of the current line                              |
| ~SPC t h i~ | toggle highlight indentation levels                               |
| ~SPC t h c~ | toggle highlight indentation current column                       |
| ~SPC t h s~ | toggle syntax highlighting                                        |
| ~SPC t i~   | toggle indentation guide at point                                 |
| ~SPC t l~   | toggle truncate lines                                             |
| ~SPC t L~   | toggle visual lines                                               |
| ~SPC t n~   | toggle line numbers                                               |
| ~SPC t n n~ | toggle line numbers as configured in .spacemacs                   |
| ~SPC t n a~ | toggle absolute line numbers                                      |
| ~SPC t n r~ | toggle relative line numbers                                      |
| ~SPC t n v~ | toggle smooth scrolling                                           |
| ~SPC t V~   | toggle visual line numbers                                        |
| ~SPC t z~   | toggle 0/1 based column indexing                                  |

| Key binding | Description                                                      |
|-------------+------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC T ~~   | display =~= in the fringe on empty lines                         |
| ~SPC T F~   | toggle frame fullscreen                                          |
| ~SPC T f~   | toggle display of the fringe                                     |
| ~SPC T m~   | toggle menu bar                                                  |
| ~SPC T M~   | toggle frame maximize                                            |
| ~SPC T t~   | toggle tool bar                                                  |
| ~SPC T T~   | toggle frame transparency and enter transparency transient state |

*Note*: These toggles are all available via the =spacemacs-help= interfaces
(press ~SPC h SPC~ to display the =spacemacs-help= buffer).

*** Global line numbers
Line numbers can be toggled on in all =prog-mode= and =text-mode= buffers by
setting the =dotspacemacs-line-numbers= variable in your =~/.spacemacs= to =t=.

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-line-numbers t)
#+END_SRC

If it is set to =relative=, line numbers are show in a relative way:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-line-numbers 'relative)
#+END_SRC

If it is set to =visual=, line numbers are shown in a relative way, but wrapped
lines will be treated as multiple lines:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-line-numbers 'visual)
#+END_SRC

=dotspacemacs-line-numbers= can also be set to a property list for finer control
over line numbers activation.

Available properties:

| Property              | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
|-----------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| =:disabled-for-modes= | list of major modes where line numbering is inhibited                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| =:enabled-for-modes=  | disable for all major modes except those listed. Takes precedence over =:disabled-for-modes=                                                                                                                                                    |
| =:relative=           | if non-nil, line numbers are relative to the position of the cursor                                                                                                                                                                             |
| =:visual=             | if non-nil, line numbers are relative to the position of the cursor, but lines are separated by visual state - a wrapped line, for example, will be treated as more than one line. When set to t, this option takes precedence over =:relative= |
| =:size-limit-kb=      | size limit in kilobytes after which line numbers are not activated                                                                                                                                                                              |

Note that if =:enabled-for-modes= is =nil= or not specified, then the default is
to enable line numbers in any =prog-mode= and =text-mode= that wasn't explicitly
disabled via =:disabled-for-modes=. To enable line numbers in a major mode that
doesn't derive from =prog-mode= or =text-mode=, you must specify it directly in
=:enabled-for-modes=. To enable line numbers even in non-prog-mode and
non-text-mode buffers, set =:enabled-for-modes= to =all=.

Examples:

Disable *line numbers* in dired-mode, doc-view-mode, markdown-mode, org-mode,
pdf-view-mode, text-mode as well as buffers over 1Mb:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-line-numbers '(:relative nil
                                             :disabled-for-modes dired-mode
                                                                 doc-view-mode
                                                                 markdown-mode
                                                                 org-mode
                                                                 pdf-view-mode
                                                                 text-mode
                                             :size-limit-kb 1000))
#+END_SRC

Enable *relative line numbers* only in c-mode and c++ mode with a size limit of =dotspacemacs-large-file-size=:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-line-numbers '(:relative t
                                             :enabled-for-modes c-mode
                                                                c++-mode
                                             :size-limit-kb (* dotspacemacs-large-file-size 1000))
#+END_SRC

Enable *line numbers* everywhere, except for buffers over 1Mb:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-line-numbers '(:relative nil
                                             :size-limit-kb 1000))
#+END_SRC

Enable *line numbers* only in programming modes, except for c-mode and c++ mode:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-line-numbers '(:relative nil
                                             :enabled-for-modes prog-mode
                                             :disabled-for-modes c-mode c++-mode
                                             :size-limit-kb (* dotspacemacs-large-file-size 1000))
#+END_SRC

Enable *line numbers* everywhere, even in non-prog-mode and non-text-mode buffers:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-line-numbers '(:enabled-for-modes 'all))
#+END_SRC

** Mode-line
*** Mode-line themes
Spacemacs supports different mode-line themes. The mode-line theme is set in the
dotfile with the variable =dotspacemacs-mode-line-theme=.

Currently supported themes are:
- spaceline themes: =spacemacs=, =all-the-icons=, =custom=
- a powerline theme: =vim-powerline=
- no theme at all: =vanilla=

The default theme is =spacemacs= and this theme is described in more detailed in
the next section.

=all-the-icons= is the theme defined in the package [[https://github.com/domtronn/spaceline-all-the-icons.el][spaceline-all-the-icons]].

=custom= is a user custom spaceline theme, see the guide in the following section.

=vim-powerline= is for the Vim users who are nostalgic of the good old Vim
powerline.

=vanilla= is the stock mode-line that comes with Emacs.

*** Separators
For =spacemacs=, =all-the-icons= and =custom= themes you can specify the type
of separator you want with the property =:separator=.

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq dotspacemacs-mode-line-theme '(all-the-icons :separator slant))
#+END_SRC

Supported separators and preview:

| Separator    | Spacemacs | All-the-icons | Screenshot                        |
|--------------+-----------+---------------+-----------------------------------|
| =alternate=  | X         |               | [[file:img/powerline-alternate.png]]  |
| =arrow=      | X         | X             | [[file:img/powerline-arrow.png]]      |
| =arrow-fade= | X         |               | [[file:img/powerline-arrow-fade.png]] |
| =bar=        | X         |               | [[file:img/powerline-bar.png]]        |
| =box=        | X         |               | [[file:img/powerline-box.png]]        |
| =brace=      | X         |               | [[file:img/powerline-brace.png]]      |
| =butt=       | X         |               | [[file:img/powerline-butt.png]]       |
| =chamfer=    | X         |               | [[file:img/powerline-chamfer.png]]    |
| =contour=    | X         |               | [[file:img/powerline-contour.png]]    |
| =cup=        |           | X             |                                   |
| =curve=      | X         |               | [[file:img/powerline-curve.png]]      |
| =rounded=    | X         |               | [[file:img/powerline-rounded.png]]    |
| =roundstub=  | X         |               | [[file:img/powerline-roundstub.png]]  |
| =slant=      | X         | X             | [[file:img/powerline-slant.png]]      |
| =wave=       | X         | X             | [[file:img/powerline-wave.png]]       |
| =zigzag=     | X         |               | [[file:img/powerline-zigzag.png]]     |
| =nil=        | X         |               | [[file:img/powerline-nil.png]]        |
| =none=       |           | X             |                                   |

A last special separator is supported, it is =utf-8= which uses actual font
glyphs so it can be rendered in a terminal. You'll need a font patched for the
Vim powerline to be able to use it. The default font used by Spacemacs =Source
Code Pro= already contains the glyphs.

*** Separator scale
For =spacemacs=, =all-the-icons= and =custom= themes you can specify the size of
the separator with the property =:separator-scale=. It allows to avoid crappy
rendering of the separators like on the following screenshot.

[[file:img/crappy-powerline-separators.png]]
/Ugly separators/

Example:

#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
  (setq dotspacemacs-mode-line-theme '(all-the-icons :separator-scale 1.5))
#+END_SRC

Note that this setting won't work correctly when the separator is =utf-8=, if
you use this separator then it is recommended to set =:separator-scale= to =1.0=.

*** Spacemacs mode-line theme
This theme is a heavily customized [[https://github.com/milkypostman/powerline][powerline]] using [[https://github.com/TheBB/spaceline][spaceline]].
It has the following capabilities among others:
- show the window number
- color code for current state
- show the number of search occurrences via anzu
- toggle flycheck info
- toggle battery info
- toggle minor mode lighters

Reminder of the color codes for the states:

| Evil State         | Color     |
|--------------------+-----------|
| Normal             | Orange    |
| Insert             | Green     |
| Visual             | Grey      |
| Emacs              | Blue      |
| Motion             | Purple    |
| Replace            | Chocolate |
| Lisp               | Pink      |
| Iedit/Iedit-Insert | Red       |

Some elements can be dynamically toggled:

| Key binding | Description                                                     |
|-------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC t m b~ | toggle the battery status                                       |
| ~SPC t m c~ | toggle the =org= task clock (available in =org= layer)          |
| ~SPC t m m~ | toggle the minor mode lighters                                  |
| ~SPC t m M~ | toggle the major mode                                           |
| ~SPC t m n~ | toggle the cat! (if =colors= layer is declared in your dotfile) |
| ~SPC t m p~ | toggle the point character position                             |
| ~SPC t m r~ | toggle responsivness of the mode-line                           |
| ~SPC t m s~ | toggle system monitor (displayed in the minibuffer)             |
| ~SPC t m t~ | toggle the time                                                 |
| ~SPC t m T~ | toggle the mode line itself                                     |
| ~SPC t m v~ | toggle the version control info                                 |
| ~SPC t m V~ | toggle the new version lighter                                  |

**** Flycheck integration
When [[https://github.com/flycheck/flycheck][Flycheck]] minor mode is enabled, a new element appears showing the number of
errors, warnings and info.

[[file:img/powerline-wave.png]]
/Flycheck integration in mode-line/

**** Anzu integration
[[https://github.com/syohex/emacs-anzu][Anzu]] shows the number of occurrences when performing a search. Spacemacs
integrates the Anzu status nicely by displaying it temporarily when ~n~ or ~N~
are being pressed. See the =5/6= segment on the screenshot below.

[[file:img/powerline-anzu.png]]
/Anzu integration in mode-line/

**** Battery status integration
[[https://github.com/lunaryorn/fancy-battery.el][fancy-battery]] displays the percentage of total charge of the battery as well as
the time remaining to charge or discharge completely the battery.

A color code is used for the battery status:

| Battery State | Color  |
|---------------+--------|
| Charging      | Green  |
| Discharging   | Orange |
| Critical      | Red    |

*Note*: These colors may vary depending on your theme.

*** All-the-Icons theme
If you want to use this theme you need to make sure to install the required
fonts from the package repository, see [[https://github.com/domtronn/all-the-icons.el/tree/master/fonts][all-the-icons fonts directory]].

*** Custom spaceline theme
You can create your own Spaceline theme by setting the variable
=dotspacemacs-mode-line-theme= to =custom= and define a function called
=spaceline-custom-theme= in your =dotspacemacs/user-init= function of your
dotfile. This function must accept a variadic number of arguments which are
additional segments added by Spacemacs (like a segment to notify about available
updates etc...).

Example:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (defun spaceline-custom-theme (&rest additional-segments)
      "My custom spaceline theme."
      (spaceline-compile
        `(major-mode (minor-modes :when active) buffer-id)
        `((line-column :separator " | " :priority 3)
          ,@additional-segments))
      (setq-default mode-line-format '("%e" (:eval (spaceline-ml-main)))))
#+END_SRC

Restart Emacs and enjoy your very own mode-line!

*** Minor Modes
Spacemacs uses [[https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/DiminishedModes][diminish]] mode to reduce the size of minor mode indicators:

The minor mode area can be toggled on and off with ~SPC t m m~

Unicode symbols are displayed by default. Setting the variable
=dotspacemacs-mode-line-unicode-symbols= to =nil= in your =~/.spacemacs= will
display ASCII characters instead (may be useful in terminal if you cannot set an
appropriate font).

The letters displayed in the mode-line correspond to the key bindings used to
toggle them.

Some toggles have two flavors: local and global. The global version of the toggle
can be reached using the =control= key.

Additionally all globally available toggles have a circled unicode symbols like
=ⓟ=. Toggles specific to a major mode under the ~SPC m T~ prefix have plain
squared symbols like =🅿=.

| Key binding   | Unicode | ASCII | Mode                                                                 |
|---------------+---------+-------+----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC t -~     | =⊝=     | -     | [[https://github.com/emacsmirror/centered-cursor-mode][centered-cursor]] mode                                                 |
| ~SPC t 8~     | =⑧=     | 8     | toggle highlight of characters for long lines                        |
| ~SPC t C-8~   | =⑧=     | 8     | global toggle highlight of characters for long lines                 |
| ~SPC t C--~   | =⊝=     | -     | global centered cursor                                               |
| ~SPC t a~     | =ⓐ=     | a     | auto-completion                                                      |
| ~SPC t c~     | =ⓒ=     | c     | camel case motion with subword mode                                  |
| =none=        | =ⓔ=     | e     | [[https://github.com/Somelauw/evil-org-mode][evil-org]] mode                                                        |
| ~SPC t E e~   | =Ⓔe=    | Ee    | emacs editing style (holy mode)                                      |
| ~SPC t E h~   | =Ⓔh=    | Eh    | hybrid editing style (hybrid mode)                                   |
| ~SPC t f~     | =ⓕ=     | f     | fill-column-indicator mode                                           |
| ~SPC t F~     | =Ⓕ=     | F     | auto-fill mode                                                       |
| ~SPC t G~     | =Ⓖ=     | G     | [[https://spacemacs.org/layers/+tags/gtags/README.html][ggtags]] mode                                                          |
| ~SPC t g~     | =ⓖ=     | g     | [[https://github.com/roman/golden-ratio.el][golden-ratio]] mode                                                    |
| ~SPC t h i~   | =ⓗi=    | hi    | toggle highlight indentation levels                                  |
| ~SPC t h c~   | =ⓗc=    | hc    | toggle highlight indentation current column                          |
| ~SPC t i~     | =ⓘ=     | i     | indentation guide                                                    |
| ~SPC t C-i~   | =ⓘ=     | i     | global indentation guide                                             |
| ~SPC t I~     | =Ⓘ=     | I     | aggressive indent mode                                               |
| ~SPC t K~     | =Ⓚ=     | K     | which-key mode                                                       |
| ~SPC t L~     | =Ⓛ=     | L     | visual line navigation                                               |
| ~SPC t C-S-l~ | =Ⓛ=     | L     | visual line navigation globally                                      |
| ~SPC t p~     | =ⓟ=     | p     | [[https://github.com/Fuco1/smartparens][smartparens]] mode                                                     |
| ~SPC t C-p~   | =ⓟ=     | p     | global smartparens                                                   |
| ~SPC t s~     | =ⓢ=     | s     | syntax checking (flycheck)                                           |
| ~SPC t S~     | =Ⓢ=     | S     | enabled in [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/blob/develop/layers/%2Bcheckers/spell-checking/README.org][spell checking layer]] (flyspell)                           |
| ~SPC t w~     | =ⓦ=     | w     | whitespace mode                                                      |
| ~SPC t C-w~   | =ⓦ=     | w     | global whitespace                                                    |
| ~SPC t W~     | =Ⓦ=     | W     | automatic whitespace cleanup (see =dotspacemacs-whitespace-cleanup=) |
| ~SPC t C-W~   | =Ⓦ=     | W     | automatic whitespace cleanup globally                                |
| ~SPC t y~     | =ⓨ=     | y     | [[https://github.com/capitaomorte/yasnippet][yasnippet]] mode                                                       |

** Frame
*** Title
Default frame title displays name of current process and hostname of system. You
can include more information (like name of current file, name of current project
etc) by setting =dotspacemacs-frame-title-format= variable.

Following format short codes are available:

| Code | Description                                                                  |
|------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| =%a= | the =abbreviated-file-name=, or =buffer-name=                                |
| =%t= | =projectile-project-name=                                                    |
| =%I= | =invocation-name=                                                            |
| =%S= | =system-name=                                                                |
| =%U= | contents of $USER                                                            |
| =%b= | buffer name                                                                  |
| =%f= | visited file name                                                            |
| =%F= | frame name                                                                   |
| =%s= | process status                                                               |
| =%p= | percent of buffer above top of window, or Top, Bot or All                    |
| =%P= | percent of buffer above bottom of window, perhaps plus Top, or Bottom or All |
| =%m= | mode name                                                                    |
| =%n= | Narrow if appropriate                                                        |
| =%z= | mnemonics of buffer, terminal, and keyboard coding systems                   |
| =%Z= | like %z, but including the end-of-line format"                               |

**** Iconified (tabified) title
If you are using tiling window manager with tab support you may want to display
different title for inactive tabs with =dotspacemacs-icon-title-format=
variable. Short codes are same as for frame title.

If this variable is set to =nil= (default) its value will be same as
=dotspacemacs-frame-title-format=.

*** Transparency
The Frame transparency can be toggled with: ~SPC T T~

This also opens the Frame Transparency Transient State.

In the transient state:

| Key binding   | Description                    |
|---------------+--------------------------------|
| ~+~, ~=~, ~k~ | increase transparency          |
| ~-~, ~_~, ~j~ | decrease transparency          |
| ~T~           | toggle transparency on and off |
| ~q~           | quit transient state           |

*** Background transparency
The Frame background transparency can be toggled with: ~SPC T B~

This also opens the Frame Background Transparency Transient State.

In the transient state:

| Key binding   | Description                               |
|---------------+-------------------------------------------|
| ~+~, ~=~, ~k~ | increase background transparency          |
| ~-~, ~_~, ~j~ | decrease background transparency          |
| ~T~           | toggle background transparency on and off |
| ~q~           | quit transient state                      |

* Layouts and workspaces
Layouts are window configurations with buffer isolation. Each layout can define
several workspaces (think of them as sub-layouts), sharing the same list of
buffers as their parent layout.

** Layouts
A layout is a window configuration associated with a list of buffers. The list
of buffers can be an arbitrarily chosen set of buffers. Spacemacs provides
some facilities to create meaningful sets of buffers, for instance the buffers
related to a projectile project.

The name of the current layout appears in the mode-line at the far left (first
element of the mode-line).

To create a new layout, type a layout number that does not exist yet.
For instance if you have two layouts currently then type ~SPC l 3~ to create a
third layout.

*** The default layout
The =default= layout (the layout created at the startup of Emacs) is not
displayed in the mode-line but it is possible to display it by setting the
variable =dotspacemacs-display-default-layout= to =t=.

Its name is "default" by default but it can be changed by setting the variable
=dotspacemacs-default-layout-name=.

The =default= layout is special because it has a global scope which means that
all the opened buffers belong to it. So using only the =default= layout feels
like not using layouts at all.

*** Project layouts
A project layout is bound to a projectile project. To create a project layout
use ~SPC p l~.

The name of the layout is the name of the project root directory.

*** Custom Layouts
Custom layouts can be defined using the macro ~spacemacs|define-custom-layout~,
they are accessible via ~SPC l o~.

By convention the name of a custom layout should start with =@=.

Example of custom layout definition for =ERC= buffers:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (spacemacs|define-custom-layout "@ERC"
    :binding "E"
    :body
    (progn
      ;; hook to add all ERC buffers to the layout
      (defun spacemacs-layouts/add-erc-buffer-to-persp ()
        (persp-add-buffer (current-buffer)
                          (persp-get-by-name
                           erc-spacemacs-layout-name)))
      (add-hook 'erc-mode-hook #'spacemacs-layouts/add-erc-buffer-to-persp)
      ;; Start ERC
      (call-interactively 'erc)))
#+END_SRC

Then use ~SPC l o E~ to start ERC inside its own layout. Any new ERC buffer
will be part of the custom layout.

Some custom layouts that ship with Spacemacs:

| Name       | Key binding | Description                                                                     |
|------------+-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| @Spacemacs | ~e~         | Custom perspective containing all buffers of =~/.emacs.d=                       |
| @Mu4e      | ~m~         | Custom perspective containing all mu4e buffers (needs the mu4e layer enabled)   |
| @ERC       | ~E~         | Custom perspective containing all ERC buffers (needs the erc layer enabled)     |
| @RCIRC     | ~i~         | Custom perspective containing all RCIRC buffers (needs the rcirc layer enabled) |
| @Slack     | ~s~         | Custom perspective containing all Slack buffers (needs the slack layer enabled) |
| @Org       | ~o~         | Custom perspective containing all the =org-agenda= buffers                      |

*** Save/Load layouts into a file
With ~SPC l s~ and ~SPC l L~ you can save and load layouts to/from a file.

*Note*: By default, Spacemacs will automatically save the layouts under the name
=persp-auto-save=.

Setting the variable =dotspacemacs-auto-resume-layouts= to =t= will
automatically resume the last saved layouts.

*** Layout key bindings
The key bindings are registered in a transient state. The docstring of the
transient state displays the existing layouts and the currently active
layout has square brackets. Pressing a layout number will activate it (or
create a new one) and exit the transient state. It is possible to just preview a
layout with ~Ctrl-<number>~. Pressing ~TAB~ will activate the previously
selected layout.

Press ~?~ to toggle the full help.

| Key binding         | Description                                                |
|---------------------+------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC l~             | initiate transient state                                   |
| ~?~                 | toggle the documentation                                   |
| ~[0..9]~            | switch to nth layout                                       |
| ~[C-0..C-9]~        | switch to nth layout and keep the transient state active   |
| ~<tab>~             | switch to the latest layout                                |
| ~a~                 | add a buffer to the current layout                         |
| ~A~                 | add all the buffers from another layout in the current one |
| ~b~                 | select a buffer in the current layout                      |
| ~d~                 | delete the current layout and keep its buffers             |
| ~D~                 | delete the other layouts and keep their buffers            |
| ~h~                 | go to default layout                                       |
| ~l~                 | select/create a layout                                     |
| ~L~                 | load layouts from file                                     |
| ~n~ or ~C-l~        | next layout in list                                        |
| ~N~ or ~p~ or ~C-h~ | previous layout in list                                    |
| ~o~                 | open a custom layout                                       |
| ~r~                 | remove current buffer from layout                          |
| ~R~                 | rename current layout                                      |
| ~s~                 | save layouts                                               |
| ~t~                 | display a buffer without adding it to the current layout   |
| ~w~                 | workspaces transient state (needs eyebrowse layer enabled) |
| ~x~                 | kill current layout with its buffers                       |
| ~X~                 | kill other layouts with their buffers                      |

*** Behavior of SPC TAB with layouts
By default ~SPC TAB~ which switches to last opened buffer is restricted to the
current layout. If there is only one opened buffer for a given layout then
~SPC TAB~ won't do anything and the following message is displayed in the
minibuffer:

#+BEGIN_QUOTE
  Last buffer not found.
#+END_QUOTE

To allow ~SPC TAB~ to switch to the last opened buffer from another layout set
this variable =spacemacs-layouts-restrict-spc-tab= to =nil=. For instance in
your used layer list with layer variables:

#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
  (spacemacs-layouts :variables spacemacs-layouts-restrict-spc-tab t)
#+END_EXAMPLE

*** Restrict a given function to the current layout
You can make any function "layout aware" by adding it to the list
=spacemacs-layouts-restricted-functions=. This needs to be done by
redefining the complete list either as a layer variable or using
=setopt= or =customize-set-variable=.

The default value for this variable is:

#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
  '(switch-to-next-buffer
    switch-to-prev-buffer
    spacemacs/window-split-double-columns
    spacemacs/window-split-triple-columns
    spacemacs/window-split-grid)
#+END_EXAMPLE

If you want to add the function =my-func= to this list you need to redefine
the complete list, for example using layer variables:

#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
  (spacemacs-layouts :variables
                     spacemacs-layouts-restricted-functions
                     '(switch-to-next-buffer
                       switch-to-prev-buffer
                       spacemacs/window-split-double-columns
                       spacemacs/window-split-triple-columns
                       spacemacs/window-split-grid
                       my-func))
#+END_EXAMPLE

The changes apply after reloading your configuration with ~SPC f e R~
or after restarting Spacemacs.

** Workspaces
Workspaces are sub-layouts, they allow to define multiple layouts into a given
layout, those layouts share the same buffers as the parent layout.

The currently active workspace number is displayed before the window number,
for instance "➊|➍" or "1|4" means the fourth window of the first workspace.

Any new layout comes with a default workspace which is the workspace 1.

Switching to a workspace that does not exist in the current layout will create a
new one. For instance at startup you can press ~SPC l w 2~ to create the
workspace 2 in the =default= layout.

When created a workspace is anonymous, you can give them a name with
~SPC l w R~.

*** Workspace key bindings
The key bindings are registered in a transient state. The docstring of the
transient state displays the existing workspaces and the currently active
workspace has square brackets. Pressing a workspace number will activate it (or
create a new one) and exit the transient state. It is possible to just preview a
workspace with ~Ctrl-<number>~. Pressing ~TAB~ will activate the previously
selected workspace.

Press ~?~ to toggle the full help.

| Key binding       | Description                                                 |
|-------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC l w~         | initiate transient state                                    |
| ~?~               | toggle the documentation                                    |
| ~[0..9]~          | switch to nth workspace                                     |
| ~[C-0..C-9]~      | switch to nth workspace and keep the transient state active |
| ~TAB~             | switch to last active workspace                             |
| ~d~               | close current workspace                                     |
| ~n~ or ~l~        | switch to next workspace                                    |
| ~N~ or ~p~ or ~h~ | switch to previous workspace                                |
| ~R~               | set a tag to the current workspace                          |
| ~w~               | switched to tagged workspace                                |

There are also some handy globally available key bindings related to workspaces:

| Key binding | Description                          |
|-------------+--------------------------------------|
| ~gt~        | go to next workspace                 |
| ~gT~        | go to previous workspace             |
| ~SPC b W~   | go to workspace and window by buffer |

* Commands
** Vim key bindings
Spacemacs is based on the =Vim= modal user interface to navigate and edit text.
If you are not familiar with the =Vim= way of editing text, then you can try the
[[https://github.com/syl20bnr/evil-tutor][evil-tutor]] lessons by pressing ~SPC h T v~ at any time.

*** Escaping
Spacemacs uses [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/evil-escape][evil-escape]] to
easily switch between =insert state= and =normal state= by quickly pressing the
~fd~ keys.

The choice of ~fd~ was made to be able to use the same sequence to escape from
"everything" in Emacs:
- escape from all stock evil states to normal state
- escape from evil-lisp-state to normal state
- escape from evil-iedit-state to normal state
- abort evil ex command
- quit minibuffer
- abort isearch
- quit magit buffers
- quit help buffers
- quit apropos buffers
- quit ert buffers
- quit undo-tree buffer
- quit paradox
- quit gist-list menu
- quit helm-ag-edit
- hide neotree buffer

If you find yourself in a buffer where the Spacemacs (~SPC~) or Vim keybindings
don't work you can use this to get back to =normal state= (for example in ~SPC
SPC customize~ press ~fd~ to make ~SPC b b~ work again).

This sequence can be customized in your =~/.spacemacs=.
Example to set it to ~jj~:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (defun dotspacemacs/user-config ()
    (setq-default evil-escape-key-sequence "jj"))
#+END_SRC

*Note*: Although ~jj~ or ~jk~ are popular choices of vim users, these key
sequences are not optimal for Spacemacs. Indeed it is very easy in =visual
state= to press quickly ~jj~ and inadvertently escape to =normal state=.

*** Executing Vim and Emacs ex/M-x commands

| Command          | Key binding |
|------------------+-------------|
| Vim (ex-command) | ~:~         |
| Emacs (M-x)      | ~SPC SPC~   |

The emacs command key ~SPC~ (executed after the leader key) can be changed
with the variable =dotspacemacs-emacs-command-key= of your =~/.spacemacs=.

*** Leader key
On top of =Vim= modes (modes are called states in Spacemacs) there is a
special key called the leader key which once pressed gives a whole new keyboard
layer. The leader key is by default ~SPC~ (space). It is possible to change this
key with the variable =dotspacemacs-leader-key=.

*** Major Mode leader key
Key bindings specific to the current =major mode= start with ~SPC m~. For
convenience a shortcut key called the major mode leader key is set by default on
~​,​~ which saves one precious keystroke.

It is possible to change the major mode leader key by defining the variable
=dotspacemacs-major-mode-leader-key= in your =~/.spacemacs=. For example to
setup the key on tabulation:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-major-mode-leader-key "<tab>")
#+END_SRC

*** Additional text objects
Additional text objects are defined in Spacemacs:

| Object  | Description                |
|---------+----------------------------|
| ~a~     | an argument                |
| ~g~     | the entire buffer          |
| ~l~     | a line                     |
| ~$~     | text between =$=           |
| ~*~     | text between =*=           |
| ~8~     | text between =/*= and =*/= |
| ~%~     | text between =%=           |
| ~\vert~ | text between =\vert=       |

** Reserved prefix command for user
~SPC o~ and ~SPC m o~ are reserved for the user. Setting key bindings behind
these is *guaranteed* to never conflict with Spacemacs default key bindings.

*Example:* Put =(spacemacs/set-leader-keys "oc" 'org-capture)= inside
=dotspacemacs/user-config= in your =~/.spacemacs= file, to be able to use
~SPC o c~ to run org mode capture.

** Completion
Spacemacs is powered by one of two incremental completion and selection
narrowing frameworks: [[https://github.com/emacs-helm/helm][Helm]] (default) or [[https://github.com/abo-abo/swiper][Ivy]]. To use Ivy, add the =ivy= layer to
your list of enabled layers. If the =ivy= layer is not enabled, Helm will be
enabled automatically. (Please note that, as Helm is the more mature of the two,
some functions may be unavailable if you choose Ivy.)

These completion systems are the central control towers of Spacemacs, they are
used to manage buffers, projects, search results, configuration layers, toggles
and more...

Mastering your choice of completion system will make you a Spacemacs power user.

For more information go to the layers documentation for [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/blob/master/layers/+completion/helm/README.org][Helm]] and [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/blob/master/layers/+completion/ivy/README.org][Ivy]].

*Note*: To open the Spacemacs documentation for Helm of Ivy in Emacs, open the
=spacemacs-help= menu with ~SPC h SPC~ and type ~helm~ or ~ivy~ then ~return~.

** Discovering
*** Key bindings
**** Which-key
A help buffer is displayed each time the ~SPC~ key is pressed in normal mode.
It lists the available key bindings and their associated commands.

By default the [[https://github.com/justbur/emacs-which-key][which-key]] buffer will be displayed quickly after the key has been
pressed. You can change the delay by setting the variable
=dotspacemacs-which-key-delay= to your liking (the value is in seconds).

**** Which-key persistent
Sometimes it can be handy to show some keymap persistently with which-key,
especially in buffers with merely evilified key bindings or using Emacs state,
e.g. Info buffers, gnus, eww etc. The persistent =which-key= state can be
toggled with ~SPC t k k~. For some specific keymaps, dedicated key bindings are
also available behind the ~SPC t k~ prefix:

| Key binding | Description                                                         |
|-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC t k k~ | toggle which-key persistent state                                   |
| ~SPC t k m~ | show persistent major-mode keymap. Toggle off with ~SPC t k k~      |
| ~SPC t k M~ | show persistent full-major-mode keymap. Toggle off with ~SPC t k k~ |
| ~SPC t k t~ | show persistent top-level keymap. Toggle off with ~SPC t k k~       |

The key bindings just set the =which-key-persistent-popup= to ~t~, hence the
which-key buffer will keep updating. Therefore the latter 3 key bindings (~SPC t
k m/M/t~) can be used to return focus to their respective keymaps, while only
the first key binding ~SPC t k k~ can be used for toggling off the persistent
state.

**** Describe key bindings
It is possible to search for specific key bindings by pressing ~SPC ?~.

To narrow the list to some key bindings, use the leader key to type a pattern like
this regular expression: ~SPC\ b~ which would list all =buffer= related
bindings.

*** Getting help
=Describe functions= are powerful Emacs introspection commands to get
information about functions, variables, modes etc. These commands are bound
thusly:

| Key binding | Description                                               |
|-------------+-----------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC h d a~ | describe current expression under point                   |
| ~SPC h d b~ | describe bindings                                         |
| ~SPC h d c~ | describe current character under point                    |
| ~SPC h d f~ | describe a function                                       |
| ~SPC h d F~ | describe a face                                           |
| ~SPC h d k~ | describe a key                                            |
| ~SPC h d K~ | describe a keymap                                         |
| ~SPC h d l~ | copy last pressed keys that you can paste in gitter chat  |
| ~SPC h d m~ | describe current modes                                    |
| ~SPC h d p~ | describe a package (Emacs built-in function)              |
| ~SPC h d P~ | describe a package (Spacemacs layer information)          |
| ~SPC h d s~ | copy system information that you can paste in gitter chat |
| ~SPC h d t~ | describe text properties                                  |
| ~SPC h d T~ | describe a theme                                          |
| ~SPC h d v~ | describe a variable                                       |
| ~SPC h d x~ | describe an evil ex-command                               |

Other help key bindings:

| Key binding | Description                                           |
|-------------+-------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC h SPC~ | discover Spacemacs documentation, layers and packages |
| ~SPC h .~   | search dotfile variables                              |
| ~SPC h f~   | discover the =FAQ=                                    |
| ~SPC h i~   | search in info pages with the symbol at point         |
| ~SPC h k~   | show top-level bindings with =which-key=              |
| ~SPC h l~   | search layers                                         |
| ~SPC h m~   | search available man pages                            |
| ~SPC h n~   | browse emacs news                                     |
| ~SPC h p~   | search packages                                       |
| ~SPC h r~   | search documentation files                            |
| ~SPC h t~   | search toggles                                        |

The =Profiler= is a tool that helps you identify why your editor is running
slowly or consumes a lot of memory. Here are key bindings relate to it:

| Key binding | Description                 |
|-------------+-----------------------------|
| ~SPC h P k~ | stop the profiler           |
| ~SPC h P r~ | display the profiler report |
| ~SPC h P s~ | start the profiler          |
| ~SPC h P w~ | write the report to file    |

Navigation key bindings in =help-mode=:

| Key binding  | Description                                         |
|--------------+-----------------------------------------------------|
| ~J~          | scroll up (or next node)                            |
| ~K~          | scroll down (or next node)                          |
| ~g b~ or ~[~ | go back (same as clicking on =[back]= button)       |
| ~g f~ or ~]~ | go forward (same as clicking on =[forward]= button) |
| ~g h~        | go to help for symbol under point                   |

Reporting an issue:

| Key binding     | Description                                                                              |
|-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC h I~       | Open Spacemacs GitHub issue page with pre-filled information                             |
| ~SPC u SPC h I~ | Open Spacemacs GitHub issue page with pre-filled information - include last pressed keys |

*Note*: To be able to report an issue you need to be logged into GitHub

*Note*: If these two bindings are used with the =*Backtrace*= buffer open, the
backtrace is automatically included

*** Available layers
All layers can be easily discovered via =spacemacs-help= accessible with
 ~SPC h SPC~.

The following actions on the selected candidate are available:
- default: open the layer =README.org=
- 2nd: open the layer =packages.el=

**** Available packages in Spacemacs
=spacemacs-help= also lists all the packages available in Spacemacs. The
entry format is =(layer) packages=. If you type =flycheck= you'll be able to see
all the layers where =flycheck= is used.

The following actions are available on selected package:
- default: go the package init function

**** New packages from ELPA repositories
=package-list-packages= is where you can browse for all available packages in the
different Elpa repositories. It is possible to upgrade packages from there but
it is not recommended, use the =[Update Packages]= link on the Spacemacs startup
page instead.

Spacemacs uses [[https://github.com/Bruce-Connor/paradox][Paradox]] instead of =package-list-packages= to list available
ELPA packages. Paradox enhances the package list buffer with better feedbacks,
new filters and GitHub information like the number of stars. Optionally you can
also star packages directly in the buffer.

*Important Note 1*: Installing a new package from =Paradox= won't make it
persistent. To install a package persistently you have to add it explicitly to a
configuration layer.

*Important Note 2*: Don't /update/ your packages from =Paradox= or
=package-list-packages= because they don't support the rollback feature of
Spacemacs.

| Key binding | Description                                           |
|-------------+-------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC a k~   | launch =paradox=                                      |
| ~/~         | evil-search                                           |
| ~f k~       | filter by keywords                                    |
| ~f r~       | filter by regexp                                      |
| ~f u~       | display only installed package with updates available |
| ~h~         | go left                                               |
| ~H~         | show help (not accurate)                              |
| ~j~         | go down                                               |
| ~k~         | go up                                                 |
| ~l~         | go right                                              |
| ~L~         | show last commits                                     |
| ~n~         | next search occurrence                                |
| ~N~         | previous search occurrence                            |
| ~o~         | open package homepage                                 |
| ~r~         | refresh                                               |
| ~S P~       | sort by package name                                  |
| ~S S~       | sort by status (installed, available, etc...)         |
| ~S *~       | sort by GitHub stars                                  |
| ~v~         | =visual state=                                        |
| ~V~         | =visual-line state=                                   |
| ~x~         | execute (action flags)                                |

*** Toggles
=spacemacs-help= is also a central place to discover the available toggles.
To display only the toggles source press ~C-l~.

The following actions are available on selected toggle:
- default: toggle on/off

** Navigating
*** Point/Cursor
Navigation is performed using the Vi key bindings ~hjkl~.

| Key binding | Description                                                                       |
|-------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~h~         | move cursor left                                                                  |
| ~j~         | move cursor down                                                                  |
| ~k~         | move cursor up                                                                    |
| ~l~         | move cursor right                                                                 |
| ~H~         | move cursor to the top of the screen                                              |
| ~L~         | move cursor to the bottom of the screen                                           |
| ~SPC j 0~   | go to the beginning of line (and set a mark at the previous location in the line) |
| ~SPC j $~   | go to the end of line (and set a mark at the previous location in the line)       |
| ~SPC t -~   | lock the cursor at the center of the screen                                       |

**** Smooth scrolling
[[https://github.com/aspiers/smooth-scrolling][smooth-scrolling]] prevent the point to jump when it reaches the top or
bottom of the screen. It is enabled by default.

On Windows, you may want to disable it. To disable the smooth scrolling set the
=dotspacemacs-smooth-scrolling= variable in your =~/.spacemacs= to =nil=:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-smooth-scrolling nil)
#+END_SRC

You can also toggle smooth scrolling with ~SPC t v~.

*** Vim motions with avy
Spacemacs uses the =evil= integration of [[https://github.com/abo-abo/avy][avy]] which enables the
invocation of =avy= during motions.

For instance, it is useful for deleting a set of visual lines from the current line.
Try the following sequence in a buffer containing some text: ~d SPC j l~, followed by
selecting an avy candidate.

| Key binding | Description                                        |
|-------------+----------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC j b~   | go back to the previous location (before the jump) |
| ~SPC j j~   | initiate avy jump char                             |
| ~SPC j w~   | initiate avy jump word                             |
| ~SPC j l~   | initiate avy jump line                             |

**** ace-link mode
Similar to =avy=, [[https://github.com/abo-abo/ace-link][ace-link]] allows one to jump to any link in
=help-mode=, =woman-mode= and =info-mode=.

| Key binding | Description                                               |
|-------------+-----------------------------------------------------------|
| ~o~         | initiate ace link mode in =help=, =info= and =woman-mode= |

*** Unimpaired bindings
Spacemacs comes with a built-in port of [[https://github.com/tpope/vim-unimpaired][tpope's vim-unimpaired]].

This plugin provides several pairs of bracket maps using ~[~ to denote
previous, and ~]~ as next.

| Key bindings | Description                      |
|--------------+----------------------------------|
| ~[ SPC~      | Insert space above               |
| ~] SPC~      | Insert space below               |
| ~[ b~        | Go to previous buffer            |
| ~] b~        | Go to next buffer                |
| ~[ f~        | Go to previous file in directory |
| ~] f~        | Go to next file in directory     |
| ~[ l~        | Go to the previous error         |
| ~] l~        | Go to the next error             |
| ~[ h~        | Go to the previous vcs hunk      |
| ~] h~        | Go to the next vcs hunk          |
| ~[ q~        | Go to the previous error         |
| ~] q~        | Go to the next error             |
| ~[ t~        | Go to the previous frame         |
| ~] t~        | Go to the next frame             |
| ~[ w~        | Go to the previous window        |
| ~] w~        | Go to the next window            |
| ~[ e~        | Move line up                     |
| ~] e~        | Move line down                   |
| ~[ p~        | Paste above current line         |
| ~] p~        | Paste below current line         |
| ~g p~        | Select pasted text               |

*** Jumping, Joining and Splitting
The ~SPC j~ prefix is for jumping, joining and splitting.

**** Jumping

| Key binding | Description                                                                       |
|-------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC j 0~   | go to the beginning of line (and set a mark at the previous location in the line) |
| ~SPC j (~   | jump to first unbalanced parentheses                                              |
| ~SPC j $~   | go to the end of line (and set a mark at the previous location in the line)       |
| ~SPC j b~   | undo a jump (go back to previous location)                                        |
| ~SPC j c~   | go to last change                                                                 |
| ~SPC j d~   | jump to a listing of the current directory                                        |
| ~SPC j D~   | jump to a listing of the current directory (other window)                         |
| ~SPC j f~   | jump to the definition of an Emacs Lisp function                                  |
| ~SPC j i~   | jump to a definition in buffer (imenu)                                            |
| ~SPC j I~   | jump to a definition in any buffer (imenu)                                        |
| ~SPC j j~   | jump to one or more characters in the buffer (works as an evil motion)            |
| ~SPC j k~   | jump to next line and indent it using auto-indent rules                           |
| ~SPC j l~   | jump to a line with avy (works as an evil motion)                                 |
| ~SPC j u~   | jump to a URL in the current buffer                                               |
| ~SPC j U~   | select a URL in the current buffer and follow it                                  |
| ~SPC j v~   | jump to the definition/declaration of an Emacs Lisp variable                      |
| ~SPC j w~   | jump to a word in the current buffer (works as an evil motion)                    |

**** Joining and splitting

| Key binding | Description                                                              |
|-------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~J~         | join the current line with the next line                                 |
| ~SPC j k~   | go to next line and indent it using auto-indent rules                    |
| ~SPC j n~   | split the current line at point, insert a new line and auto-indent       |
| ~SPC j o~   | split the current line at point but let point on current line            |
| ~SPC j s~   | split a quoted string or s-expression in place                           |
| ~SPC j S~   | split a quoted string or s-expression, insert a new line and auto-indent |
| ~SPC j =~   | format the marked region or entire buffer                                |
| ~SPC j +~   | format the marked region or entire buffer also cleanup whitespace        |

*** Window manipulation
**** Window manipulation key bindings
Every window has a number displayed at the start of the mode-line and
can be quickly accessed using =SPC number=.

| Key binding | Description           |
|-------------+-----------------------|
| ~SPC 1~     | go to window number 1 |
| ~SPC 2~     | go to window number 2 |
| ~SPC 3~     | go to window number 3 |
| ~SPC 4~     | go to window number 4 |
| ~SPC 5~     | go to window number 5 |
| ~SPC 6~     | go to window number 6 |
| ~SPC 7~     | go to window number 7 |
| ~SPC 8~     | go to window number 8 |
| ~SPC 9~     | go to window number 9 |

Window number 0 is a special case and selects sidebar windows, like treemacs. If there is no window
number 0, =SPC 0= attempts to select window number 10.

Windows manipulation commands (start with ~w~):

| Key binding            | Description                                                              |
|------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC w TAB~            | switch to alternate window in the current frame (switch back and forth)  |
| ~SPC w =~              | balance split windows                                                    |
| ~SPC w _~              | maximize window horizontally                                             |
| ~SPC w \vert~          | maximize window vertically                                               |
| ~SPC w b~              | force the focus back to the minibuffer                                   |
| ~SPC w c c~            | toggle visual centering of the current buffer                            |
| ~SPC w c C~            | toggle visual distraction free mode                                      |
| ~SPC w c .~            | center buffer and enable centering transient state                       |
| ~SPC w d~              | delete a window                                                          |
| ~SPC u SPC w d~        | delete a window and its current buffer (does not delete the file)        |
| ~SPC w D~              | delete another window using [[https://github.com/abo-abo/ace-window][ace-window]]                                   |
| ~SPC u SPC w D~        | delete another window and its current buffer using [[https://github.com/abo-abo/ace-window][ace-window]]            |
| ~SPC w t~              | toggle window dedication (dedicated window cannot be reused by a mode)   |
| ~SPC w f~              | toggle follow mode                                                       |
| ~SPC w F~              | create new frame                                                         |
| ~SPC w h~              | move to window on the left                                               |
| ~SPC w H~              | move window to the left                                                  |
| ~SPC w j~              | move to window below                                                     |
| ~SPC w J~              | move window to the bottom                                                |
| ~SPC w k~              | move to window above                                                     |
| ~SPC w K~              | move window to the top                                                   |
| ~SPC w l~              | move to window on the right                                              |
| ~SPC w L~              | move window to the right                                                 |
| ~SPC w m~              | maximize/minimize a window (maximize is similar to delete-other-windows) |
| ~SPC w M~              | swap windows using [[https://github.com/abo-abo/ace-window][ace-window]]                                            |
| ~SPC w o~              | cycle and focus between frames                                           |
| ~SPC w p m~            | open messages buffer in a popup window                                   |
| ~SPC w p p~            | close the current sticky popup window                                    |
| ~SPC w r~              | rotate windows forward                                                   |
| ~SPC w R~              | rotate windows backward                                                  |
| ~SPC w s~ or ~SPC w -~ | horizontal split                                                         |
| ~SPC w S~              | horizontal split and focus new window                                    |
| ~SPC w u~              | undo window layout (used to effectively undo a closed window)            |
| ~SPC w v~ or ~SPC w /~ | vertical split                                                           |
| ~SPC w V~              | vertical split and focus new window                                      |
| ~SPC w w~              | cycle and focus between windows                                          |
| ~SPC w W~              | select window using [[https://github.com/abo-abo/ace-window][ace-window]]                                           |
| ~SPC w x~              | delete a window and its current buffer (does not delete the file)        |
| ~SPC w [~              | shrink window horizontally (enter transient state)                       |
| ~SPC w ]~              | enlarge window horizontally (enter transient state)                      |
| ~SPC w {~              | shrink window vertically (enter transient state)                         |
| ~SPC w }~              | enlarge window vertically (enter transient state)                        |

Note that by default, ~SPC w m~ will not delete side windows such as those
created by treemacs or neotree. If you would like side windows to get minimized
too, you can set the variable
=dotspacemacs-maximize-window-keep-side-windows= to =nil=.

Split the current window into multiple ones, deleting all others using the
following commands:

| Key binding | Description                               |
|-------------+-------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC w 1~   | make 1 window layout                      |
| ~SPC w 2~   | make 2 windows layout (split vertically)  |
| ~SPC w 3~   | make 3 windows layout (split vertically)  |
| ~SPC w 4~   | make 4 windows layout (split in 2x2 grid) |

By default, the commands above ignore some windows, like the filetrees (treemacs
and neotree) but you can use a prefix argument to force delete them.

| Key binding     | Description                                                 |
|-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC u SPC w 1~ | make 1 window layout with force delete                      |
| ~SPC u SPC w 2~ | make 2 windows layout (split vertically) with force delete  |
| ~SPC u SPC w 3~ | make 3 windows layout (split vertically) with force delete  |
| ~SPC u SPC w 4~ | make 4 windows layout (split in 2x2 grid) with force delete |

You can also configure which windows get ignored when executing the above
commands by adding a prefix to the =spacemacs-window-split-ignore-prefixes=
list:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (add-to-list 'spacemacs-window-split-ignore-prefixes "My Favourite Window")
#+END_SRC

Or if you want a certain ignored window to always be deleted you can remote it
from the list:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq spacemacs-window-split-ignore-prefixes
    (remove treemacs--buffer-name-prefix spacemacs-window-split-ignore-prefixes))
#+END_SRC

And if you want even more control over the way windows are removed you can
define your own deletion function:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (defun my-delete-other-windows () (delete-other-windows))
  (setq spacemacs-window-split-delete-function 'my-delete-other-windows)
#+END_SRC

**** Window transient state
A convenient window transient state allows for performing most of the actions
listed above. For example window resizing.

| Key binding     | Description                                                   |
|-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC w .~       | initiate transient state                                      |
| ~?~             | display the full documentation in minibuffer                  |
| ~0~             | go to window number 0                                         |
| ~1~             | go to window number 1                                         |
| ~2~             | go to window number 2                                         |
| ~3~             | go to window number 3                                         |
| ~4~             | go to window number 4                                         |
| ~5~             | go to window number 5                                         |
| ~6~             | go to window number 6                                         |
| ~7~             | go to window number 7                                         |
| ~8~             | go to window number 8                                         |
| ~9~             | go to window number 9                                         |
| ~/~             | vertical split                                                |
| ~-~             | horizontal split                                              |
| ~\vert~         | maximize window vertically                                    |
| ~_~             | maximize window horizontally                                  |
| ~[~             | shrink window horizontally                                    |
| ~]~             | enlarge window horizontally                                   |
| ~{~             | shrink window vertically                                      |
| ~}~             | enlarge window vertically                                     |
| ~d~             | delete window                                                 |
| ~D~             | delete other windows                                          |
| ~g~             | toggle =golden-ratio= on and off                              |
| ~h~ ~<left>~    | go to window on the left                                      |
| ~j~ ~<down>~    | go to window below                                            |
| ~k~ ~<up>~      | go to window above                                            |
| ~l~ ~<right>~   | go to window on the right                                     |
| ~H~ ~<S-left>~  | move window to the left                                       |
| ~J~ ~<S-down>~  | move window to the bottom                                     |
| ~K~ ~<S-up>~    | move bottom to the top                                        |
| ~L~ ~<S-right>~ | move window to the right                                      |
| ~m~             | toggle maximization of current window                         |
| ~o~             | focus other frame                                             |
| ~a~             | call ace window mode                                          |
| ~r~             | rotate windows forward                                        |
| ~R~             | rotate windows backward                                       |
| ~s~             | horizontal split                                              |
| ~S~             | horizontal split and focus new window                         |
| ~u~             | undo window layout (used to effectively undo a closed window) |
| ~U~             | redo window layout                                            |
| ~v~             | vertical split                                                |
| ~V~             | vertical split and focus new window                           |
| ~w~             | focus other window                                            |
| ~x~             | delete window and kill buffer                                 |

**** Golden ratio
If you resize windows like crazy you may want to give a try to [[https://github.com/roman/golden-ratio.el][golden-ratio]].

=golden-ratio= resizes windows dynamically depending on whether they are
selected or not. By default =golden-ratio= is off.

The mode can be toggled on and off with ~SPC t g~.

*** Buffers and Files
**** Buffers manipulation key bindings
With few exceptions, buffer manipulation commands (start with ~b~):

| Key binding     | Description                                                                            |
|-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC TAB~       | switch to alternate buffer in the current window (switch back and forth)               |
| ~C-TAB/C-S tab~ | cycle backward/forward through previous visited buffers (i.e. scroll helm buffer list) |
| ~SPC b b~       | switch to a buffer                                                                     |
| ~SPC b d~       | kill the current buffer (does not delete the visited file)                             |
| ~SPC u SPC b d~ | kill the current buffer and window (does not delete the visited file)                  |
| ~SPC b D~       | kill a visible buffer using [[https://github.com/abo-abo/ace-window][ace-window]]                                                 |
| ~SPC u SPC b D~ | kill a visible buffer and its window using [[https://github.com/abo-abo/ace-window][ace-window]]                                  |
| ~SPC b C-d~     | kill other buffers                                                                     |
| ~SPC b C-D~     | kill buffers using a regular expression                                                |
| ~SPC b e~       | erase the content of the buffer (ask for confirmation)                                 |
| ~SPC b h~       | open =*spacemacs*= home buffer                                                         |
| ~SPC b H~       | open or select the =*Help*= buffer                                                     |
| ~SPC b n~       | switch to next buffer avoiding buffers matching =spacemacs-useless-buffers-regexp=     |
| ~SPC b m~       | open =*Messages*= buffer                                                               |
| ~SPC u SPC b m~ | kill all buffers and windows except the current one                                    |
| ~SPC b M~       | kill all buffers matching the regexp                                                   |
| ~SPC b p~       | switch to previous buffer avoiding buffers matching =spacemacs-useless-buffers-regexp= |
| ~SPC b P~       | copy clipboard and replace buffer (useful when pasting from a browser)                 |
| ~SPC b R~       | revert the current buffer (reload from disk)                                           |
| ~SPC b s~       | switch to the =*scratch*= buffer (create it if needed)                                 |
| ~SPC b u~       | reopen the most recently killed file buffer                                            |
| ~SPC b w~       | toggle read-only (writable state)                                                      |
| ~SPC b x~       | kill the current buffer and window (does not delete the visited file)                  |
| ~SPC b Y~       | copy whole buffer to clipboard (useful when copying to a browser)                      |
| ~z f~           | Make current function or comments visible in buffer as much as possible                |

**** Create a new empty buffer

| Key binding   | Description                                                                                     |
|---------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC b N h~   | create new empty buffer in a new window on the left                                             |
| ~SPC b N C-i~ | create an indirect buffer from an existing opened buffer                                        |
| ~SPC b N i~   | create an indirect buffer that is clone of currently opened buffer                              |
| ~SPC b N I~   | create an indirect buffer that is clone of currently opened buffer, and open it in other window |
| ~SPC b N j~   | create new empty buffer in a new window at the bottom                                           |
| ~SPC b N k~   | create new empty buffer in a new window above                                                   |
| ~SPC b N l~   | create new empty buffer in a new window below                                                   |
| ~SPC b N n~   | create new empty buffer in current window                                                       |

**** Buffers transient state
A convenient buffer transient state allows for quickly cycling through the
open buffers and closing them.

| Key binding            | Description                                                                                |
|------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~?~                    | toggle displaying the full documentation in minibuffer                                     |
| ~SPC b .~              | initiate transient state                                                                   |
| ~[1..9]~               | move current buffer to nth window                                                          |
| ~[C-1..C-9]~           | switch focus to nth window                                                                 |
| ~[M-1..M-9]~           | swap current buffer with nth window                                                        |
| ~b~                    | list all buffers with helm/ivy (avoid buffers matching =spacemacs-useless-buffers-regexp=) |
| ~d~                    | kill current buffer                                                                        |
| ~C-d~                  | bury current buffer                                                                        |
| ~n~ or ~<right>~       | go to next buffer (avoid buffers matching =spacemacs-useless-buffers-regexp=)              |
| ~N~ or ~p~ or ~<left>~ | go to previous buffer (avoid buffers matching =spacemacs-useless-buffers-regexp=)          |
| ~o~                    | switch focus to other window                                                               |
| ~x~                    | kill buffer and window                                                                     |
| ~z~                    | recenter buffer in window                                                                  |
| ~q~                    | quit transient state                                                                       |

Unlike vim, emacs creates many buffers that most people do not need to see. Some
examples are the =*Messages*= and =*Compile-Log*= buffers. Spacemacs tries to
automatically ignore buffers that are not useful. However, you may want to
change the way Spacemacs marks buffers as useful. For instructions, see the
[[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/blob/develop/doc/FAQ.org#change-special-buffer-rules][special buffer howto]].

**** File manipulation key bindings
File manipulation commands (start with ~f~):

| Key binding | Description                                                                                            |
|-------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC f A~   | open a file and replace the current buffer with the new file                                           |
| ~SPC f b~   | go to file bookmarks                                                                                   |
| ~SPC f c~   | copy current file to a different location                                                              |
| ~SPC f C d~ | convert file from unix to dos encoding                                                                 |
| ~SPC f C u~ | convert file from dos to unix encoding                                                                 |
| ~SPC f d~   | delete a file and the associated buffer (ask for confirmation)                                         |
| ~SPC f D~   | delete a file and the associated buffer without confirmation                                           |
| ~SPC f E~   | open a file with elevated privileges (sudo edit)                                                       |
| ~SPC f f~   | open file                                                                                              |
| ~SPC f F~   | try to open the file under point                                                                       |
| ~SPC f h~   | open binary file with =hexl= (a hex editor)                                                            |
| ~SPC f j~   | jump to the current buffer file in dired                                                               |
| ~SPC f J~   | open a junk file, in mode determined by the file extension provided (defaulting to =fundamental mode=) |
| ~SPC f l~   | open file literally in =fundamental mode=                                                              |
| ~SPC f L~   | Locate a file (using =locate=)                                                                         |
| ~SPC f o~   | open a file using the default external program                                                         |
| ~SPC f R~   | rename the current file                                                                                |
| ~SPC f s~   | save a file                                                                                            |
| ~SPC f S~   | save all files                                                                                         |
| ~SPC f r~   | open a recent file                                                                                     |
| ~SPC f t~   | toggle file tree side bar using [[https://github.com/Alexander-Miller/treemacs][Treemacs]]                                                               |
| ~SPC f v d~ | add a directory variable                                                                               |
| ~SPC f v f~ | add a local variable to the current file                                                               |
| ~SPC f v p~ | add a local variable to the first line of the current file                                             |
| ~SPC f y c~ | show and copy current file absolute path with line and column number in the minibuffer                 |
| ~SPC f y d~ | show and copy current directory absolute path in the minibuffer                                        |
| ~SPC f y l~ | show and copy current file absolute path with line number in the minibuffer                            |
| ~SPC f y n~ | show and copy current file name with extension in the minibuffer                                       |
| ~SPC f y N~ | show and copy current file name without extension in the minibuffer                                    |
| ~SPC f y y~ | show and copy current file absolute path in the minibuffer                                             |

**** Frame manipulation key bindings
Frame manipulation commands (start with ~F~):

| Key binding | Description                                         |
|-------------+-----------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC F f~   | open a file in another frame                        |
| ~SPC F d~   | delete the current frame (unless it's the only one) |
| ~SPC F D~   | delete all other frames                             |
| ~SPC F b~   | open a buffer in another frame                      |
| ~SPC F B~   | open a buffer in another frame (but don't switch)   |
| ~SPC F o~   | cycle focus between frames                          |
| ~SPC F O~   | open a dired buffer in another frame                |
| ~SPC F n~   | create a new frame                                  |

**** Emacs and Spacemacs files
Convenient key bindings are located under the prefix ~SPC f e~ to quickly
navigate between =Emacs= and Spacemacs specific files.

| Key binding   | Description                                                                                             |
|---------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC f e d~   | open the spacemacs dotfile (=~/.spacemacs=)                                                             |
| ~SPC f e D~   | open =ediff= buffer of =~/.spacemacs= and =.spacemacs.template=                                         |
| ~SPC f e e~   | open the =~/.spacemacs.env= file where environment variables are set or goes to =dotspacemacs/user-env= |
| ~SPC f e E~   | reload the environment variables by executing the function =dotspacemacs/user-env=                      |
| ~SPC f e C-e~ | reinitialize the =~/.spacemacs.env= file by importing system and shell environment variables            |
| ~SPC f e i~   | open the all mighty =init.el=                                                                           |
| ~SPC f e I~   | open the =early-init.el=                                                                                |
| ~SPC f e l~   | locate an Emacs library                                                                                 |
| ~SPC f e R~   | resync the dotfile with spacemacs                                                                       |
| ~SPC f e U~   | update packages                                                                                         |
| ~SPC f e v~   | display and copy the spacemacs version                                                                  |
| ~SPC f e c~   | recompile all elpa packages                                                                             |

**** Browsing files in completion buffer
In =vim= style and =hybrid= style with the variable
=hybrid-mode-enable-hjkl-bindings= set to =t=, you can navigate with ~hjkl~.

| Key binding | Description                       |
|-------------+-----------------------------------|
| ~C-h~       | go up one level (parent directory |
| ~C-H~       | describe key (replace ~C-h~)      |
| ~C-j~       | go to previous candidate          |
| ~C-k~       | go to next candidate              |
| ~C-l~       | enter current directory           |
| ~C-o~       | go to next source                 |

**** Popup buffers
=popwin= is used to manage buffers such as ~*Help*~, ~*Completions*~,
~*compilation*~, and etc. Use =C-g= to close them or most of the time you can
close them with =q= also. Use ~SPC-r-w~ to view the last closed popup buffer.

*** Ido
Spacemacs displays the =ido= minibuffer vertically thanks to the
[[https://github.com/gempesaw/ido-vertical-mode.el][ido-vertical-mode]].

Basic =ido= operations can be done with ~Ctrl~ key:

| Key binding        | Description                                       |
|--------------------+---------------------------------------------------|
| ~C-RET~            | open a =dired buffer=                             |
| ~M-RET~            | select the buffer or file named by the prompt     |
| ~C-d~              | delete selected file (ask for confirmation)       |
| ~C-h~              | go to parent directory                            |
| ~C-j~              | select next file or directory                     |
| ~C-k~              | select previous file or directory                 |
| ~C-l~              | open the selected file                            |
| ~C-n~              | select next file or directory                     |
| ~C-o~              | open selected file in other window                |
| ~C-p~              | select previous file or directory                 |
| ~C-s~              | open selected file in a vertically split window   |
| ~C-t~              | open selected file in a new frame                 |
| ~C-v~              | open selected file in a horizontally split window |
| ~C-S-h~            | go to previous directory                          |
| ~C-S-j~ or ~C-S-n~ | next history element                              |
| ~C-S-k~ or ~C-S-p~ | previous history element                          |
| ~C-S-l~            | go to next directory                              |

*** Ido transient state
Spacemacs defines a [[#transient-states][transient state]] for =ido=.

Initiate the transient state with ~M-SPC~ or ~s-M-SPC~ while in an =ido= buffer.

| Key binding          | Description                           |
|----------------------+---------------------------------------|
| ~M-SPC~ or ~s-M-SPC~ | initiate or leave the transient state |
| ~?~                  | display help                          |
| ~e~                  | open dired                            |
| ~h~                  | delete backward or parent directory   |
| ~j~                  | next match                            |
| ~J~                  | sub directory                         |
| ~k~                  | previous match                        |
| ~K~                  | parent directory                      |
| ~l~                  | select match                          |
| ~n~                  | next directory in history             |
| ~o~                  | open in other window                  |
| ~p~                  | previous directory in history         |
| ~q~                  | quit transient state                  |
| ~s~                  | open in a new horizontal split        |
| ~t~                  | open in other frame                   |
| ~v~                  | open in a new vertical split          |

*** Bookmarks
Bookmarks can be set anywhere in a file. Bookmarks are persistent. They are very
useful to jump to/open a known project.

Open the bookmark completion window by pressing= ~SPC f b~

| Key binding | Description                                  |
|-------------+----------------------------------------------|
| ~C-d~       | delete the selected bookmark                 |
| ~C-e~       | edit the selected bookmark                   |
| ~C-f~       | toggle filename location                     |
| ~C-o~       | open the selected bookmark in another window |

To save a new bookmark, just type the name of the bookmark and press ~RET~.

*** DocView mode
=doc-view-mode= is a built-in major mode to view DVI, PostScript (PS), PDF,
OpenDocument, and Microsoft Office documents.

| Key binding | Description                              |
|-------------+------------------------------------------|
| ~/~         | search forward                           |
| ~?~         | search backward                          |
| ~+~         | enlarge                                  |
| ~-~         | shrink                                   |
| ~gg~        | go to first page                         |
| ~G~         | go to last page                          |
| ~gt~        | go to page number                        |
| ~h~         | previous page                            |
| ~H~         | adjust to height                         |
| ~j~         | next line                                |
| ~k~         | previous line                            |
| ~K~         | kill proc and buffer                     |
| ~l~         | next page                                |
| ~n~         | go to next search occurrence             |
| ~N~         | go to previous search occurrence         |
| ~P~         | fit page to window                       |
| ~r~         | revert                                   |
| ~W~         | adjust to width                          |
| ~C-d~       | scroll down                              |
| ~C-k~       | kill proc                                |
| ~C-u~       | scroll up                                |
| ~C-c C-c~   | toggle display text and image display    |
| ~C-c C-t~   | open new buffer with doc's text contents |

** Auto-saving
*** Frequency of auto-saving
By default auto-saving of files is performed every 300 characters and
every 30 seconds of idle time which can be changed by setting to a
new value the variables =auto-save-interval= and =auto-save-timeout=
respectively.

*** Location of auto-saved files
Auto-save of modified files can be performed in-place on the original file
itself /or/ in the cache directory (in this case the original file will remain
unsaved). By default Spacemacs auto-save the file in the cache directory.

To modify the location set the variable =dotspacemacs-auto-save-file-location=
to =original= or =cache=.

Local files are auto-saved in a sub-directory called =site= in the =cache=
directory whereas remote files (i.e. files edited over TRAMP) are auto-saved
in a sub-directory called =dist=.

*** Disable auto-save
To disable auto-saving set the variable =dotspacemacs-auto-save-file-location=
to =nil=.

You can toggle auto-save in a buffer by calling the command =auto-save-mode=.

** Searching
*** With an external tool
Spacemacs can be interfaced with different search utilities like:
- [[https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep][rg]]
- [[https://github.com/ggreer/the_silver_searcher][ag]]
- [[https://github.com/monochromegane/the_platinum_searcher][pt]]
- [[https://beyondgrep.com/][ack]]
- grep

The search commands in Spacemacs are organized under the ~SPC s~ prefix with the
next key is the tool to use and the last key is the scope. For instance
~SPC s a b~ will search in all opened buffers using =ag=.

If the last key (determining the scope) is uppercase then the current region or
symbol under point is used as default input for the search. For instance
~SPC s a B~ will search with symbol under point (if there is no active region).

If the tool key is omitted then a default tool will be automatically selected
for the search. This tool corresponds to the first tool found on the system of
the list =dotspacemacs-search-tools=, the default order is =rg=, =ag=, =pt=,
=ack= then =grep=. For instance ~SPC s b~ will search in the opened buffers
using =pt= if =rg= and =ag= have not been found on the system.

The tool keys are:

| Tool | Key |
|------+-----|
| ag   | a   |
| grep | g   |
| ack  | k   |
| rg   | r   |
| pt   | t   |

The available scopes and corresponding keys are:

| Scope                      | Key |
|----------------------------+-----|
| opened buffers             | b   |
| files in a given directory | f   |
| current project            | p   |

It is possible to search in the current file by double tapping the second key
of the sequence, for instance ~SPC s a a~ will search in the current
file with =ag=.

*Notes*:
- =rg=, =ag= and =pt= are optimized to be used in a source control repository but
  they can be used in an arbitrary directory as well.
- It is also possible to search in several directories at once by marking
  them in the Helm buffer (not available in Ivy).

*Beware* if you use =pt=, [[https://core.tcl.tk/tcllib/doc/tcllib-1-17/embedded/www/tcllib/files/apps/pt.html][TCL parser tools]] also install a command line tool
called =pt=.

**** Useful key bindings

| Key binding            | Description                                                  |
|------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~F3~                   | in a completion buffer, save results to a regular buffer     |
| ~SPC r l~              | resume the last =completion= buffer                          |
| ~SPC r s~ or ~SPC s l~ | resume search buffer (completion or converted search buffer) |
| ~SPC s `~              | go back to the previous place before jump                    |
| Prefix argument        | will ask for file extensions                                 |

When results have been saved in a regular buffer with ~F3~, that buffer supports
browsing through the matches with Spacemacs' =next-error= and =previous-error=
bindings (~SPC e n~ and ~SPC e p~) as well as the error transient state (~SPC e .~).

**** Searching in current file

| Key binding | Description                                         |
|-------------+-----------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC s s~   | search with the first found tool                    |
| ~SPC s S~   | search with the first found tool with default input |
| ~SPC s a a~ | =ag=                                                |
| ~SPC s a A~ | =ag= with default input                             |
| ~SPC s g g~ | =grep=                                              |
| ~SPC s g G~ | =grep= with default input                           |
| ~SPC s r r~ | =rg=                                                |
| ~SPC s r R~ | =rg= with default input                             |

**** Searching in all open buffers visiting files

| Key binding | Description                                         |
|-------------+-----------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC s b~   | search with the first found tool                    |
| ~SPC s B~   | search with the first found tool with default input |
| ~SPC s a b~ | =ag=                                                |
| ~SPC s a B~ | =ag= with default text                              |
| ~SPC s g b~ | =grep=                                              |
| ~SPC s g B~ | =grep= with default text                            |
| ~SPC s k b~ | =ack=                                               |
| ~SPC s k B~ | =ack= with default text                             |
| ~SPC s r b~ | =rg=                                                |
| ~SPC s r B~ | =rg= with default text                              |
| ~SPC s t b~ | =pt=                                                |
| ~SPC s t B~ | =pt= with default text                              |

**** Searching in files in an arbitrary directory

| Key binding | Description                                         |
|-------------+-----------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC s f~   | search with the first found tool                    |
| ~SPC s F~   | search with the first found tool with default input |
| ~SPC s a f~ | =ag=                                                |
| ~SPC s a F~ | =ag= with default text                              |
| ~SPC s g f~ | =grep=                                              |
| ~SPC s g F~ | =grep= with default text                            |
| ~SPC s k f~ | =ack=                                               |
| ~SPC s k F~ | =ack= with default text                             |
| ~SPC s r f~ | =rg=                                                |
| ~SPC s r F~ | =rg= with default text                              |
| ~SPC s t f~ | =pt=                                                |
| ~SPC s t F~ | =pt= with default text                              |

**** Searching in current directory

| Key binding          | Description                                         |
|----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC /~ or ~SPC s d~ | search with the first found tool                    |
| ~SPC *~ or ~SPC s D~ | search with the first found tool with default input |
| ~SPC s a d~          | =ag=                                                |
| ~SPC s a D~          | =ag= with default text                              |
| ~SPC s g d~          | =grep= with default text                            |
| ~SPC s k d~          | =ack=                                               |
| ~SPC s k D~          | =ack= with default text                             |
| ~SPC s t d~          | =pt=                                                |
| ~SPC s t D~          | =pt= with default text                              |
| ~SPC s r d~          | =rg=                                                |
| ~SPC s r D~          | =rg= with default text                              |

**** Searching in a project

| Key binding          | Description                                         |
|----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC /~ or ~SPC s p~ | search with the first found tool                    |
| ~SPC *~ or ~SPC s P~ | search with the first found tool with default input |
| ~SPC s a p~          | =ag=                                                |
| ~SPC s a P~          | =ag= with default text                              |
| ~SPC s g p~          | =grep= with default text                            |
| ~SPC s k p~          | =ack=                                               |
| ~SPC s k P~          | =ack= with default text                             |
| ~SPC s t p~          | =pt=                                                |
| ~SPC s t P~          | =pt= with default text                              |
| ~SPC s r p~          | =rg=                                                |
| ~SPC s r P~          | =rg= with default text                              |

*Hint*: It is also possible to search in a project without needing to open a
file beforehand. To do so use ~SPC p p~ and then ~C-s~ on a given project to
directly search into it like with ~SPC s p~.

**** Searching the web

| Key binding | Description                                                       |
|-------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC s w g~ | Get Google suggestions in emacs. Opens Google results in Browser. |

*** Persistent highlighting
Spacemacs uses =evil-search-highlight-persist= to keep the searched expression
highlighted until the next search. It is also possible to clear the highlighting
by pressing ~SPC s c~ or executing the ex command =:noh=.

*** Highlight current symbol
Spacemacs supports highlighting of the current symbol on demand (provided by
[[https://github.com/emacsmirror/auto-highlight-symbol][auto-highlight-symbol]] mode) and adds a transient state to easily navigate and rename
this symbol.

It is also possible to change the range of the navigation on the fly to:
- buffer
- function
- visible area

To initiate the highlighting of the current symbol under point press ~SPC s h~.

Navigation between the highlighted symbols can be done with the commands:

| Key binding | Description                                                                        |
|-------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~*~         | initiate navigation transient state on current symbol and jump forwards            |
| ~#~         | initiate navigation transient state on current symbol and jump backwards           |
| ~SPC s e~   | edit all occurrences of the current symbol(/)                                      |
| ~SPC s h~   | highlight the current symbol and all its occurrence within the current range       |
| ~SPC s H~   | go to the last searched occurrence of the last highlighted symbol                  |
| ~SPC t h a~ | toggle automatic highlight of symbol under point after =ahs-idle-interval= seconds |

During the symbol highlight transient state, the following bindings are active:

| Key binding | Description                                                   |
|-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~e~         | edit occurrences (*)                                          |
| ~n~         | go to next occurrence                                         |
| ~N~ or ~p~  | go to previous occurrence                                     |
| ~d~         | go to next definition occurrence                              |
| ~D~         | go to previous definition occurrence                          |
| ~r~         | change range (=function=, =display area=, =whole buffer=)     |
| ~R~         | go to home occurrence (reset position to starting occurrence) |
| ~s~         | search current buffer for symbol using ivy / helm             |
| ~b~         | search all open buffers for symbol using ivy / helm           |
| ~f~         | search files for symbol                                       |
| ~/~         | search current project for symbol                             |
| ~z~         | recenter buffer in window                                     |

(*) using [[https://github.com/tsdh/iedit][iedit]] or the default implementation of =auto-highlight-symbol=

The minibuffer displays the following information during the transient state:

#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
  Buffer [6/11]*
#+END_EXAMPLE

Where =M [x/y]*= indicates:
- =M=: the current search scope, which is one of the following:
  - =Buffer=: whole buffer range
  - =Display=: current display range
  - =Function=: current function range (dependent on the programming language major mode)
- =x=: the index of the current highlighted occurrence
- =y=: the total number of occurrences
- =*=: appears if there is at least one occurrence which is not currently visible.

*** Visual Star
With [[https://github.com/bling/evil-visualstar][evil-visualstar]] you can search for the next occurrence of the current
selection.

It is pretty useful combined with the [[#expand-region][expand-region]] bindings.

*Note*: If the current state is not the =visual state= then pressing ~*~ uses
auto-highlight-symbol and its transient state.

*** Listing symbols by semantic
To list all the symbols of a buffer press ~SPC s j~

** Editing
*** Paste text
**** Paste transient state
The paste transient state can be enabled by setting the variable
=dotspacemacs-enable-paste-transient-state= to =t=. By default it is disabled.

When the transient state is enabled, after you paste something, pressing ~C-j~
or ~C-k~ will replace the pasted text with the previous or next yanked (copied)
text on the kill ring.

For example if you copy =foo= and =bar= then press ~p~ the text =bar= will
be pasted, pressing ~C-j~ will replace =bar= with =foo=.

| Key binding | Description                                                                   |
|-------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~p~ or ~P~  | paste the text before or after point and initiate the =paste= transient state |
| ~C-j~       | in transient state: replace paste text with the previously copied one         |
| ~C-k~       | in transient state: replace paste text with the next copied one               |

**** Auto-indent pasted text
By default any pasted text will be auto-indented. To paste text un-indented use
the universal argument.

It is possible to disable the auto-indentation for specific major-modes by
adding a major-mode to the variable =spacemacs-indent-sensitive-modes= in your
=dotspacemacs/user-config= function.

*** Text manipulation commands
Text related commands (start with ~x~):

| Key binding   | Description                                                   |
|---------------+---------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC x .~     | enter the drag stuff transient state                          |
| ~SPC x TAB~   | indent or dedent a region rigidly                             |
| ~SPC x a &~   | align region at &                                             |
| ~SPC x a (~   | align region at (                                             |
| ~SPC x a )~   | align region at )                                             |
| ~SPC x a [~   | align region at [                                             |
| ~SPC x a ]~   | align region at ]                                             |
| ~SPC x a {~   | align region at {                                             |
| ~SPC x a }~   | align region at }                                             |
| ~SPC x a ​,​~   | align region at ,                                             |
| ~SPC x a .~   | align region at . (for numeric tables)                        |
| ~SPC x a :~   | align region at :                                             |
| ~SPC x a ;~   | align region at ;                                             |
| ~SPC x a =~   | align region at =                                             |
| ~SPC x a a~   | align region (or guessed section) using default rules         |
| ~SPC x a c~   | align current indentation region using default rules          |
| ~SPC x a l~   | left-align with evil-lion                                     |
| ~SPC x a L~   | right-align with evil-lion                                    |
| ~SPC x a r~   | align region using user-specified regexp                      |
| ~SPC x a m~   | align region at arithmetic operators (+-*/)                   |
| ~SPC x a ¦~   | align region at ¦                                             |
| ~SPC x A~     | Open all visible links                                        |
| ~SPC x c~     | count the number of chars/words/lines in the selection region |
| ~SPC x d l~   | delete blank lines but one or the single blank line           |
| ~SPC x d w~   | delete trailing whitespaces                                   |
| ~SPC x d SPC~ | Delete all spaces and tabs around point, leaving one space    |
| ~SPC x e~     | Edit strings in place                                         |
| ~SPC x g l~   | set languages used by translate commands                      |
| ~SPC x g t~   | translate current word using Google Translate                 |
| ~SPC x g T~   | reverse source and target languages                           |
| ~SPC x i c~   | change symbol style to =lowerCamelCase=                       |
| ~SPC x i C~   | change symbol style to =UpperCamelCase=                       |
| ~SPC x i i~   | cycle symbol naming styles (~i~ to keep cycling)              |
| ~SPC x i -~   | change symbol style to =kebab-case=                           |
| ~SPC x i k~   | change symbol style to =kebab-case=                           |
| ~SPC x i _~   | change symbol style to =under_score=                          |
| ~SPC x i u~   | change symbol style to =under_score=                          |
| ~SPC x i U~   | change symbol style to =UP_CASE=                              |
| ~SPC x j c~   | set the justification to center                               |
| ~SPC x j f~   | set the justification to full                                 |
| ~SPC x j l~   | set the justification to left                                 |
| ~SPC x j n~   | set the justification to none                                 |
| ~SPC x j r~   | set the justification to right                                |
| ~SPC x J~     | drag down a line of text (enter drag stuff transient state)   |
| ~SPC x K~     | drag up a line of text (enter drag stuff transient state)     |
| ~SPC x l d~   | duplicate line or region                                      |
| ~SPC x l r~   | randomize lines in region                                     |
| ~SPC x l s~   | sort lines                                                    |
| ~SPC x l u~   | uniquify lines                                                |
| ~SPC x o~     | use avy to select a link in the frame and open it             |
| ~SPC x O~     | use avy to select multiple links in the frame and open them   |
| ~SPC x t c~   | swap (transpose) the current character with the previous one  |
| ~SPC x t e~   | swap (transpose) the current sexp with the previous one       |
| ~SPC x t l~   | swap (transpose) the current line with the previous one       |
| ~SPC x t p~   | swap (transpose) the current paragraph with the previous one  |
| ~SPC x t s~   | swap (transpose) the current sentence with the previous one   |
| ~SPC x t w~   | swap (transpose) the current word with the previous one       |
| ~SPC x u~     | set the selected text to lower case                           |
| ~SPC x U~     | set the selected text to upper case                           |
| ~SPC x w c~   | count the number of occurrences per word in the select region |
| ~SPC x w d~   | show dictionary entry of word from wordnik.com                |
| ~SPC x w r~   | randomize words in region                                     |
| ~SPC x y~     | use avy to copy a link in the frame                           |
| ~SPC x Y~     | use avy to copy multiple links in the frame                   |

**** Drag stuff transient state
The drag stuff transient state is opened with ~SPC x .~:

| Key binding       | Description                 |
|-------------------+-----------------------------|
| ~k~, ~K~, ~Up~    | drag up                     |
| ~j~, ~J~, ~Down~  | drag down                   |
| ~h~, ~H~, ~Left~  | drag left (word or region)  |
| ~l~, ~L~, ~Right~ | drag right (word or region) |
| ~q~               | quit transient state        |

*** Text insertion commands
Text insertion commands (start with ~i~):

| Key binding | Description                                                           |
|-------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC i l l~ | insert lorem-ipsum list                                               |
| ~SPC i l p~ | insert lorem-ipsum paragraph                                          |
| ~SPC i l s~ | insert lorem-ipsum sentence                                           |
| ~SPC i p 1~ | insert simple password                                                |
| ~SPC i p 2~ | insert stronger password                                              |
| ~SPC i p 3~ | insert password for paranoids                                         |
| ~SPC i p p~ | insert a phonetically easy password                                   |
| ~SPC i p n~ | insert a numerical password                                           |
| ~SPC i u~   | Search for Unicode characters and insert them into the active buffer. |
| ~SPC i U 1~ | insert UUIDv1 (use universal argument to insert with CID format)      |
| ~SPC i U 4~ | insert UUIDv4 (use universal argument to insert with CID format)      |
| ~SPC i U U~ | insert UUIDv4 (use universal argument to insert with CID format)      |

*Hint:* You can change the length of the inserted password with a numerical
prefix argument, for instance ~24 SPC i p p~ will insert a password
with 24 characters.

*** Smartparens Strict mode
[[https://github.com/Fuco1/smartparens][Smartparens]] comes with a strict mode which prevents deletion of parenthesis if
the result is unbalanced.

This mode can be frustrating for novices, this is why it is not enabled by
default.

It is possible to enable it easily for /all programming modes/ with the variable
=dotspacemacs-smartparens-strict-mode= of you =~/.spacemacs=.

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-smartparens-strict-mode t)
#+END_SRC

*** Zooming
**** Text
The font size of the current buffer can be adjusted with the commands:

| Key binding                           | Description                                                                    |
|---------------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC z x +~, ~SPC z x =~, ~SPC z x k~ | scale up the font and initiate the font scaling transient state                |
| ~SPC z x -~, ~SPC z x _~, ~SPC z x j~ | scale down the font and initiate the font scaling transient state              |
| ~SPC z x 0~                           | reset the font size (no scaling) and initiate the font scaling transient state |

In the transient state:

| Key binding   | Description            |
|---------------+------------------------|
| ~+~, ~=~, ~k~ | increase the font size |
| ~-~, ~_~, ~j~ | decrease the font size |
| ~0~           | reset the font size    |
| ~q~           | quit transient state   |

Note that /only/ the text of the current buffer is scaled, the other buffers,
the mode-line and the minibuffer are not affected. To zoom the whole content of
a frame use the =zoom frame= bindings (see next section).

**** Frame
You can zoom in and out the whole content of the frame with the commands:

| Key binding                           | Description                                                                 |
|---------------------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC z f +~, ~SPC z f =~, ~SPC z f k~ | zoom in the frame content and initiate the frame scaling transient state    |
| ~SPC z f -~, ~SPC z f _~, ~SPC z f j~ | zoom out the frame content and initiate the frame scaling transient state   |
| ~SPC z f 0~                           | reset the frame content size and initiate the frame scaling transient state |

In the transient state:

| Key binding   | Description          |
|---------------+----------------------|
| ~+~, ~=~, ~k~ | zoom frame in        |
| ~-~, ~_~, ~j~ | zoom frame out       |
| ~0~           | reset frame zoom     |
| ~q~           | quit transient state |

*** Increase/Decrease numbers
Spacemacs uses [[https://github.com/cofi/evil-numbers][evil-numbers]] to easily increase or decrease numbers.

| Key binding          | Description                                                         |
|----------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC n +~, ~SPC n =~ | increase the number under point by one and initiate transient state |
| ~SPC n -~, ~SPC n _~ | decrease the number under point by one and initiate transient state |

In the transient state:

| Key binding   | Description                            |
|---------------+----------------------------------------|
| ~+~, ~=~, ~k~ | increase the number under point by one |
| ~-~, ~_~, ~j~ | decrease the number under point by one |
| ~0..9~        | add a number prefix argument           |
| ~q~           | quit transient state                   |

*Tips:* You can increase or decrease a number by more than one at a time, by
using a prefix argument (i.e. ~10 SPC n +~ will add =10= to the number under
point).

*** Spell checking
Spell checking is enabled by including the [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/blob/develop/layers/%2Bcheckers/spell-checking/README.org][spell
checking]] layer in your dotfile.

Key bindings are listed in the layer documentation.

*** Region selection
Vi =Visual= modes are all supported by =evil=.

**** Expand-region
Spacemacs adds another =Visual= mode via the [[https://github.com/magnars/expand-region.el][expand-region]] mode.

| Key binding | Description                              |
|-------------+------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC v~     | initiate expand-region mode then...      |
| ~v~         | expand the region by one semantic unit   |
| ~V~         | contract the region by one semantic unit |
| ~r~         | reset the region to initial selection    |
| ~ESC~       | leave expand-region mode                 |

**** Indent text object
With [[https://github.com/TheBB/evil-indent-plus][evil-indent-plus]] the following text objects are available:
- ~ii~ - Inner Indentation: the surrounding textblock with the same indentation
- ~iI~ - Above and Indentation: ~ii~ + the line above with a different indentation
- ~iJ~ - Above, Below and Indentation+: ~iI~ + the line below with a different indentation
- There are also ~a~ variants that include whitespace. Example (=|= indicates point):

  #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
    (while (not done)
      (messa|ge "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."))
    (1+ 41)
  #+END_SRC

- ~vii~ will select the line with message
- ~viI~ will select the whole while loop
- ~viJ~ will select the whole fragment

*** Region narrowing
The displayed text of a buffer can be narrowed with the commands (start with
~n~):

| Key binding | Description                                          |
|-------------+------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC n f~   | narrow the buffer to the current function            |
| ~SPC n p~   | narrow the buffer to the visible page                |
| ~SPC n r~   | narrow the buffer to the selected text               |
| ~SPC n w~   | widen, i.e. show the whole buffer again              |
| ~SPC n F~   | narrow to the current function in an indirect buffer |
| ~SPC n P~   | narrow to the visible page in an indirect buffer     |
| ~SPC n R~   | narrow to the selected text in an indirect buffer    |

Narrowing in an indirect buffer overcomes the problem that a buffer can only be
narrowed in one place at a given time.

*** Replacing text with iedit
Spacemacs uses the powerful [[https://github.com/tsdh/iedit][iedit]] mode through [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/evil-iedit-state][evil-iedit-state]] to quickly
edit multiple occurrences of a symbol or selection.

=evil-iedit-state= defines two new evil states:
- =iedit state=
- =iedit-insert state=

The color code for these states is =red=.

=evil-iedit-state= has also a nice integration with [[https://github.com/magnars/expand-region.el][expand-region]] for quick
editing of the currently selected text by pressing ~e~.

**** iedit states key bindings
***** State transitions

| Key binding | From             | To     |
|-------------+------------------+--------|
| ~SPC s e~   | normal or visual | iedit  |
| ~e~         | expand-region    | iedit  |
| ~ESC~       | iedit            | normal |
| ~C-g~       | iedit            | normal |
| ~fd~        | iedit            | normal |
| ~ESC~       | iedit-insert     | iedit  |
| ~C-g~       | iedit-insert     | normal |
| ~fd~        | iedit-insert     | normal |

To sum-up, in =iedit-insert state= you have to press ESC twice to go back to the
=normal state=. You can also at any time press ~C-g~ or ~fd~ to return to =normal
state=.

*Note*: evil commands which switch to =insert state= will switch in
=iedit-insert state=.

***** In iedit state
=iedit state= inherits from =normal state=, the following key bindings are
specific to =iedit state=.

| Key binding | Description                                                                             |
|-------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~ESC~       | go back to =normal state=                                                               |
| ~TAB~       | toggle current occurrence                                                               |
| ~0~         | go to the beginning of the current occurrence                                           |
| ~$~         | go to the end of the current occurrence                                                 |
| ~#~         | prefix all occurrences with an increasing number (SPC u to choose the starting number). |
| ~A~         | go to the end of the current occurrence and switch to =iedit-insert state=              |
| ~D~         | delete the occurrences                                                                  |
| ~F~         | restrict the scope to the function                                                      |
| ~gg~        | go to first occurrence                                                                  |
| ~G~         | go to last occurrence                                                                   |
| ~I~         | go to the beginning of the current occurrence and switch to =iedit-insert state=        |
| ~J~         | increase the editing scope by one line below                                            |
| ~K~         | increase the editing scope by one line above                                            |
| ~L~         | restrict the scope to the current line                                                  |
| ~n~         | go to next occurrence                                                                   |
| ~N~         | go to previous occurrence                                                               |
| ~p~         | replace occurrences with last yanked (copied) text                                      |
| ~S~         | (substitute) delete the occurrences and switch to =iedit-insert state=                  |
| ~V~         | toggle visibility of lines with no occurrence                                           |
| ~U~         | Up-case the occurrences                                                                 |
| ~C-U~       | down-case the occurrences                                                               |

*Note*: ~0~, ~$~, ~A~ and ~I~ have the default Vim behavior when used outside of
an ~occurrence~.

***** In iedit-insert state

| Key binding | Description               |
|-------------+---------------------------|
| ~ESC~       | go back to =iedit state=  |
| ~C-g~       | go back to =normal state= |

**** Examples
- manual selection of several words then replace: ~v w w SPC s e S "toto" ESC ESC~
- append text to a word on two lines: ~v i w SPC s e J i "toto" ESC ESC~
- substitute symbol /with expand-region/: ~SPC v v e S "toto" ESC ESC~
- replace symbol with yanked (copied) text /with expand region/:
  ~SPC v e p ESC ESC~

*** Replacing text in several files
**** Helm
If you have =rg=, =ag=, =pt= or =ack= installed, replacing an occurrence of text
in several files can be performed via [[https://github.com/syohex/emacs-helm-ag][helm-ag]].

Say you want to replace all =foo= occurrences by =bar= in your current
project:
- initiate a search with ~SPC /~
- enter in edit mode with ~C-c C-e~
- go to the occurrence and enter in =iedit state= with ~SPC s e~
- edit the occurrences then leave the =iedit state=
- press ~C-c C-c~

*Note*: In Spacemacs, =helm-ag= despite its name works with =rg=, =pt= and =ack=
as well (but not with =grep=).

**** Compleseus
The same above steps as with the =helm= layer work with the =compleseus= layer.
Spacemacs provides functions to be able to keep the same workflow as with
=helm-ag=.

For reference here are the steps to do it with plain =consult= and =embark=:
- initiate a search with =SPC s f=
- open =embark-act= with =M-o e=
- go in edit mode with =SPC m w=
- do the changes you want (pro tip: use =iedit state= with ~SPC s e~)
- save changes in all affected files with =C-x C-s=
- or cancel all changes with =C-c C-k=

*** Renaming files in a directory
It is possible to batch rename files in a directory using =wdired= from an
=helm= session:
- browse for a directory using ~SPC f f~
- enter =wdired= with ~C-c C-e~
- edit the file names and use ~C-c C-c~ to confirm the changes
- use ~C-c C-k~ to abort any changes

*** Commenting
Comments are handled by [[https://github.com/redguardtoo/evil-nerd-commenter][evil-nerd-commenter]], it's bound to the following keys.

| Key binding | Description               |
|-------------+---------------------------|
| ~SPC ;~     | comment operator          |
| ~SPC c h~   | hide/show comments        |
| ~SPC c l~   | comment lines             |
| ~SPC c L~   | invert comment lines      |
| ~SPC c p~   | comment paragraphs        |
| ~SPC c P~   | invert comment paragraphs |
| ~SPC c t~   | comment to line           |
| ~SPC c T~   | invert comment to line    |
| ~SPC c y~   | comment and yank          |
| ~SPC c Y~   | invert comment and yank   |

*Tips:* To comment efficiently a block of line use the combo ~SPC ; SPC j l~

*** Regular expressions
Spacemacs uses the packages [[https://github.com/joddie/pcre2el][pcre2el]] to manipulate regular expressions. It is
useful when working with =Emacs Lisp= buffers since it allows to easily converts
=PCRE= (Perl Compatible RegExp) to Emacs RegExp or =rx=. It can also be used to
"explain" a PCRE RegExp around point in =rx= form.

The key bindings start with ~SPC x r~ and have the following mnemonic structure:
- ~SPC x r <source> <target>~ convert from source to target
- ~SPC x r~ do what I mean

| Key binding   | Description                                                                            |
|---------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC x r /~   | Explain the regexp around point with =rx=                                              |
| ~SPC x r '​~   | Generate strings given by a regexp given this list is finite                           |
| ~SPC x r t~   | Replace regexp around point by the =rx= form or vice versa                             |
| ~SPC x r x~   | Convert regexp around point in =rx= form and display the result in the minibuffer      |
| ~SPC x r c~   | Convert regexp around point to the other form and display the result in the minibuffer |
| ~SPC x r e /~ | Explain Emacs Lisp regexp                                                              |
| ~SPC x r e '​~ | Generate strings from Emacs Lisp regexp                                                |
| ~SPC x r e p~ | Convert Emacs Lisp regexp to PCRE                                                      |
| ~SPC x r e t~ | Replace Emacs Lisp regexp by =rx= form or vice versa                                   |
| ~SPC x r e x~ | Convert Emacs Lisp regexp to =rx= form                                                 |
| ~SPC x r p /~ | Explain PCRE regexp                                                                    |
| ~SPC x r p '​~ | Generate strings from PCRE regexp                                                      |
| ~SPC x r p e~ | Convert PCRE regexp to Emacs Lisp                                                      |
| ~SPC x r p x~ | Convert PCRE to =rx= form                                                              |

*** Deleting files
Deletion is configured to send deleted files to system trash.

On macOS the =trash= program is required. It can be installed with [[https://brew.sh/][homebrew]] with
the following command:

#+BEGIN_SRC sh
  $ brew install trash
#+END_SRC

To disable the trash you can set the variable =delete-by-moving-to-trash= to
=nil= in your =~/.spacemacs=.

*** Editing Lisp code
Editing of lisp code is provided by [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/evil-lisp-state][evil-lisp-state]].

Commands will set the current state to =lisp state= where different commands
combo can be repeated without pressing on ~SPC k~.

When in =lisp state= the color of the mode-line changes to pink.

Examples:
- to slurp three times while in normal state: ~SPC k 3 s~
- to wrap a symbol in parentheses then slurp two times: ~SPC k w 2 s~

*Note*: The =lisp state= commands are available in /any/ modes! Try it out.

**** Lisp Key bindings
***** Lisp state key bindings
These commands automatically switch to =lisp state=.

Navigation:

| Key binding | Description                                                             |
|-------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|             | Forward + Backward pairs                                                |
|-------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC k j~   | go forward to next closing parenthesis                                  |
| ~SPC k k~   | go backward to previous opening parenthesis                             |
| ~SPC k l~   | go forward to next symbol                                               |
| ~SPC k h~   | go backward to previous symbol                                          |
| ~SPC k L~   | go forward to next sexp                                                 |
| ~SPC k H~   | go backward to previous sexp                                            |
| ~SPC k $~   | go forward to the end of current sexp                                   |
| ~SPC k 0~   | go backward to the beginning of current sexp                            |
|-------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|             | Other                                                                   |
|-------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC k U~   | go "up": to parent sexp backward                                        |
| ~SPC k %~   | go to other paren of the same pair                                      |
| ~SPC k I~   | go back to beginning of current expression and switch to =insert= state |

Manipulation:

| Key binding | Description                                                  |
|-------------+--------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC k s~   | slurp forward: ~a (bs) c~ -> ~a (bs c)~                      |
| ~SPC k S~   | slurp backward: ~a (bs) c~ -> ~(a bs) c~                     |
| ~SPC k b~   | barf forward: ~(a bs c)~ -> ~(a bs) c~                       |
| ~SPC k B~   | barf backward: ~(a bs c)~ -> ~a (bs c)~                      |
| ~SPC k a~   | absorb: ~(a (bs <point> ..))~ -> ~((bs a <point> ..))~       |
| ~SPC k c~   | convolute: ~(as (bs <point> ..))~ -> ~(bs (as <point> ..))~  |
| ~SPC k t~   | transpose: ~(as <point> bs)~ -> ~(bs <point> as)~            |
| ~SPC k J~   | join: ~(as) <point> (bs)~ -> ~(as <point> bs)~               |
|-------------+--------------------------------------------------------------|
|             | Hybrid (= better for non-Lisp languages) commands            |
|-------------+--------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC k ` s~ | hybrid slurp forward                                         |
| ~SPC k ` p~ | hybrid push: ~<point>as bs~ -> ~<point>bs as~                |
| ~SPC k ` t~ | hybrid transpose: ~as <point> bs~ -> ~bs <point> as~         |
|-------------+--------------------------------------------------------------|
| Note 1:     | ~xs~ is one or multiple sexp, ~x~ is a single sexp           |
| Note 2:     | point is at <point> when presented, or in the list otherwise |

Insertion:

| Key binding | Description                    |
|-------------+--------------------------------|
| ~SPC k (~   | insert sexp before current one |
| ~SPC k )~   | insert sexp after current one  |
| ~SPC k w~   | wrap a symbol with parenthesis |

Deletion:

| Key binding | Description                                                         |
|-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC k ds~  | delete symbol                                                       |
| ~SPC k Ds~  | delete symbol backward                                              |
| ~SPC k dw~  | delete word                                                         |
| ~SPC k Dw~  | delete word backward                                                |
| ~SPC k dx~  | delete sexp: ~(as <point> a ..)~ -> ~(as <point> ..)~               |
| ~SPC k Dx~  | delete sexp backward: ~(as a <point> ..)~ -> ~(as <point> ..)~      |
| ~SPC k e~   | splice, killing forward: ~(as (bs <point> cs) ds)~ -> ~(as bs ds)~  |
| ~SPC k E~   | splice, killing backward: ~(as (bs <point> cs) ds)~ -> ~(as cs ds)~ |
| ~SPC k r~   | raise: ~(as <point> b ..)~ -> ~<point>b~                            |
| ~SPC k W~   | unwrap sexp: ~(as)~ -> ~as~                                         |
|-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|             | Hybrid (= better for non-Lisp languages) commands                   |
|-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC k ` k~ | hybrid delete sexp                                                  |
|-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Note 1:     | ~xs~ is one or multiple sexp, ~x~ is a single sexp                  |
| Note 2:     | point is at ~<point>~ when presented, or in the list otherwise      |

Bindings from normal state:

For convenience, a number of normal state evil binding are available in lisp state as well:

| Key binding | Description                                                 |
|-------------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC k :~   | ex command                                                  |
| ~SPC k i~   | switch to =insert= state                                    |
| ~SPC k I~   | switch to =insert= state at beginning of current line       |
| ~SPC k v~   | switch to =visual= state and begin character-wise selection |
| ~SPC k V~   | switch to =visual= state and begin line-wise selection      |
| ~SPC k C-v~ | switch to =visual= state and begin block-wise selection     |
| ~SPC k u~   | undo                                                        |
| ~SPC k C-r~ | redo                                                        |
| ~SPC k y~   | copy expression                                             |
| ~SPC k p~   | paste after                                                 |
| ~SPC k P~   | paste before                                                |

***** Emacs lisp specific key bindings

| Key binding | Description                                        |
|-------------+----------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC m e $~ | go to end of line and evaluate last sexp           |
| ~SPC m e b~ | evaluate buffer                                    |
| ~SPC m e c~ | evaluate current form (a =def= or a =set=)         |
| ~SPC m e e~ | evaluate last sexp                                 |
| ~SPC m e f~ | evaluate current defun                             |
| ~SPC m e l~ | go to end of line and evaluate last sexp           |
| ~SPC m e r~ | evaluate region                                    |
| ~SPC m g g~ | go to definition                                   |
| ~SPC m g G~ | go to definition in another window                 |
| ~SPC m h h~ | describe elisp thing at point (show documentation) |
| ~SPC m t b~ | execute buffer tests                               |
| ~SPC m t q~ | ask for test function to execute                   |

*** Keyboard macros
Keyboard macros are a powerful feature of Emacs. A keyboard macro is a record of
keystrokes that can be replayed at any time.

*Important note:* When creating a macro, do not use the =evil-escape= key
sequence (by default press ~fd~ quickly), instead press the ~ESC~ key
explicitly. Currently =evil-escape= does not support being replayed in macros.

**** Vim keyboard macros
Spacemacs supports the VIM interface for creating macros in normal state using
~q~ to start a macro and ~@~ to play a macro.

To record a keyboard macro:
- Press ~q~ (there's no visual indicator, but it's waiting for a letter key to
  be pressed).
- Press a letter key to start recording to that letter register.
  (the minibuffer shows: Defining kbd macro...)
- Perform the actions that will be recorded.
- Press ~q~ to stop recording the macro.
  (the minibuffer shows: Keyboard macro defined).

To execute a recorded macro:
(A macro can be played back multiple times, by typing a number before starting
the macro)
- Press ~@~ (the minibuffer shows: ~@-~, and it waits for a letter register key
  to be pressed).
- Press a letter key for a register where a previous macro has been recorded.
- The macro can be repeated by pressing the repeat last editing command key:
  ~.~ (period).

**** Emacs keyboard macros
The Emacs way to define macros is available behind the prefix: ~SPC K~

To start recording a keyboard macro:
- Press ~SPC K k~ (uppercase then lowercase) to start recording a macro.
- Perform the actions that should be recorded.
- Press ~SPC K K~ (uppercase twice) to stop recording the macro.

To execute the last recorded macro press: ~SPC K K~
The macro can be executed again by pressing ~K~ one or more times.
The single character replay works until another key than ~K~ is pressed.

***** Macro counter
Emacs has an interesting concept: The macro counter.

When starting to record a macro, the counter starts at 0 (you can also set it to
a specific value), then each time the counter is inserted, it is incremented
by 1 afterwards.

When recording a macro it's possible to insert the current value by pressing:
~SPC K k~

***** Key bindings

| Key binding | Description                                                               |
|-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC K c a~ | increment macro counter                                                   |
| ~SPC K c c~ | insert the current value of the macro counter                             |
| ~SPC K c C~ | set the macro counter                                                     |
| ~SPC K c f~ | set the display format for the macro counter                              |
| ~SPC K e b~ | assign a key binding to the last macro                                    |
| ~SPC K e e~ | edit last macro in a buffer                                               |
| ~SPC K e l~ | edit a macro from lossage information (last 300 executed commands)        |
| ~SPC K e n~ | give a name to the last macro                                             |
| ~SPC K e r~ | write the last macro to a register (use ~SPC r r~ to call it)             |
| ~SPC K e s~ | step by step edit of the last macro                                       |
| ~SPC K k~   | start recording macro, if already recording then insert the macro counter |
| ~SPC K K~   | stop recording macro, if no macro is recording then run last macro        |
| ~SPC K r L~ | view head macro in ring                                                   |
| ~SPC K r d~ | delete head macro in ring                                                 |
| ~SPC K r l~ | run second macro in ring                                                  |
| ~SPC K r n~ | cycle to next macro in ring                                               |
| ~SPC K r p~ | cycle to previous macro in ring                                           |
| ~SPC K r s~ | swap the first two macros in ring                                         |
| ~SPC K v~   | view last macro string in minibuffer                                      |

*** Scratch buffer
Some features which could improve editing experience in =*scratch*= buffer.

**** Persistent scratch
Make your =*scratch*= buffer persistent. Everything you write down in =*scratch*= buffer will be automatically saved and restored.
You can set variable =dotspacemacs-scratch-buffer-persistent= with a non-nil value in your =.spacemacs= file to enable this feature.

**** Unkillable scratch
Make your =*scratch*= buffer not killable (bury instead).
You can set variable =dotspacemacs-scratch-buffer-unkillable= with a non-nil value in your =.spacemacs= file to enable this feature.

*** Mouse usage
There are some added mouse features set for the line number margin (if shown):
- single click in line number margin visually selects the entire line
- drag across line number margin visually selects the region
- double click in line number margin visually select the current code block

** Comparing (diff)
To compare buffers, files, directories or even windows use the prefix ~SPC D~.
Spacemacs uses the powerful embedded =ediff= to do comparisons, help for =ediff=
can be opened using ~SPC D h~.

All =ediff= commands starts with D:

| Key binding   | Description                                                                                                                       |
|---------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC D b 3~   | ask for 3 opened buffers and start an ediff session with them                                                                     |
| ~SPC D b b~   | ask for 2 opened buffers and start an ediff session with them                                                                     |
| ~SPC D b p~   | ask for a buffer or file that contains a patch to apply to a buffer and start an ediff session with the result                    |
| ~SPC D B~     | ask for a file and run ediff with its backup file                                                                                 |
| ~SPC D d 3~   | ask for 3 directories and run ediff on them comparing files that have the same name in all of them                                |
| ~SPC D d d~   | ask for 2 directories and run ediff on them comparing files that have the same name in both                                       |
| ~SPC D d r~   | run ediff on a directory comparing its files with their revisions if under version control                                        |
| ~SPC D f .~   | start an ediff session between your =.spacemacs= and its default template in Spacemacs =core=                                     |
| ~SPC D f 3~   | ask for 3 files and start an ediff session with them                                                                              |
| ~SPC D f f~   | ask for 2 files and start an ediff session with them                                                                              |
| ~SPC D f p~   | ask for a buffer or file that contains a patch to apply to a file and start an ediff session with the result                      |
| ~SPC D f v~   | start ediff between versions of a file                                                                                            |
| ~SPC D h~     | open ediff documentation within Emacs                                                                                             |
| ~SPC D m b 3~ | start an ediff merge session between 2 buffers and their ancestor                                                                 |
| ~SPC D m b b~ | start an ediff merge session between 2 buffers                                                                                    |
| ~SPC D m d 3~ | start an ediff merge session between files with the same name in 2 directories and with a 3rd directory containing their ancestor |
| ~SPC D m d d~ | start an ediff merge session between files with the same name in 2 directories                                                    |
| ~SPC D m f 3~ | start an ediff merge session between 2 files and their ancestor                                                                   |
| ~SPC D m f f~ | start an ediff merge session between 2 files                                                                                      |
| ~SPC D m r 3~ | start an ediff merge session between two revisions of a file with a common ancestor                                               |
| ~SPC D m r r~ | start an ediff merge session between two revisions of a file                                                                      |
| ~SPC D r l~   | start an ediff session between two regions to perform a linewise diff (use this for large regions)                                |
| ~SPC D r w~   | start an ediff session between two regions to perform a wordwise diff (use this for small regions)                                |
| ~SPC D s~     | display ediff registries                                                                                                          |
| ~SPC D w l~   | compare linewise the portions of visible text of 2 windows which are selected by clicking                                         |
| ~SPC D w w~   | compare wordwise the portions of visible text of 2 windows which are selected by clicking                                         |

** Managing projects
Projects in Spacemacs are managed with [[https://github.com/bbatsov/projectile][projectile]]. In =projectile= projects
are defined implicitly, for instance the root of a project is found when a
=.git= repository or =.projectile= file is encountered in the file tree.

To search in a project see [[#searching-in-a-project][project searching]].

=projectile= commands start with p:

| Key binding | Description                                                                              |
|-------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC p '​~   | open a shell in project's root (with the =shell= layer)                                  |
| ~SPC p !~   | run shell command in project's root                                                      |
| ~SPC p &~   | run async shell command in project's root                                                |
| ~SPC p %~   | replace a regexp                                                                         |
| ~SPC p a~   | toggle between implementation and test                                                   |
| ~SPC p b~   | switch to project buffer                                                                 |
| ~SPC p c~   | compile project using =projectile=                                                       |
| ~SPC p u~   | run project using =projectile=                                                           |
| ~SPC p d~   | find directory                                                                           |
| ~SPC p D~   | open project root in =dired=                                                             |
| ~SPC p e~   | edit dir-locals.el                                                                       |
| ~SPC p f~   | find file                                                                                |
| ~SPC p F~   | find file based on path around point                                                     |
| ~SPC p E~   | find references                                                                          |
| ~SPC p g~   | find tags                                                                                |
| ~SPC p G~   | regenerate the project's =etags= / =gtags=                                               |
| ~SPC p h~   | find file                                                                                |
| ~SPC p i~   | install the project                                                                      |
| ~SPC p I~   | invalidate the projectile cache                                                          |
| ~SPC p k~   | kill all project buffers                                                                 |
| ~SPC p o~   | run =multi-occur=                                                                        |
| ~SPC p p~   | switch project                                                                           |
| ~SPC p r~   | open a recent file                                                                       |
| ~SPC p R~   | replace a string                                                                         |
| ~SPC p t~   | open =Treemacs= and add current =projectile= root to its list of projects                |
| ~SPC p T~   | test project                                                                             |
| ~SPC p v~   | open project root in =vc-dir= or =magit=                                                 |
| ~SPC /~     | search in project with the best search tool available                                    |
| ~SPC s p~   | see [[#searching-in-a-project][searching in a project]]                                                               |
| ~SPC s a p~ | run =ag=                                                                                 |
| ~SPC s g p~ | run =grep=                                                                               |
| ~SPC s k p~ | run =ack=                                                                                |
| ~SPC s t p~ | run =pt=                                                                                 |
| ~SPC s r p~ | run =rg=                                                                                 |
| ~SPC f y C~ | show and copy current file path relative to the project root with line and column number |
| ~SPC f y D~ | show and copy current directory path relative to the project root                        |
| ~SPC f y L~ | show and copy current file path relative to the project root with line number            |
| ~SPC f y Y~ | show and copy current file path relative to the project root                             |

*Note for Windows Users*: To enable fast indexing the GNU ~find~ or
Cygwin ~find~ must be in your ~PATH~.

** Registers
Access commands to the various registers start with =r=:

| Key binding | Description                        |
|-------------+------------------------------------|
| ~SPC r e~   | show evil yank and named registers |
| ~SPC r m~   | show marks register                |
| ~SPC r r~   | show helm register                 |
| ~SPC r y~   | show kill ring                     |

** Errors handling
Spacemacs uses [[https://github.com/flycheck/flycheck][Flycheck]] to gives error feedback on the fly. The checks are
only performed at save time by default.

Errors management commands (start with ~e~):

| Key binding | Description                                                           |
|-------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC t s~   | toggle flycheck                                                       |
| ~SPC e c~   | clear all errors                                                      |
| ~SPC e h~   | describe a flycheck checker                                           |
| ~SPC e l~   | toggle the display of the =flycheck= list of errors/warnings          |
| ~SPC e n~   | go to the next error                                                  |
| ~SPC e p~   | go to the previous error                                              |
| ~SPC e y~   | copy each error at cursor position into kill ring                     |
| ~SPC e v~   | verify flycheck setup (useful to debug 3rd party tools configuration) |
| ~SPC e .~   | error transient state                                                 |

The next/previous error bindings and the error transient state can be used to
browse errors from flycheck as well as errors from compilation buffers, and
indeed anything that supports Emacs' =next-error= API. This includes for example
search results that have been saved to a separate buffer.

*** Error transient state
The following key bindings are active in the error transient state:

| Key binding | Description               |
|-------------+---------------------------|
| ~n~         | jump to next error        |
| ~N~ or ~p~  | jump to previous error    |
| ~z~         | recenter buffer in window |

*** Custom fringe bitmaps

| Symbol                   | Description |
|--------------------------+-------------|
| [[file:img/dot-error.png]]   | Error       |
| [[file:img/dot-warning.png]] | warning     |
| [[file:img/dot-info.png]]    | Info        |

** Compiling
Spacemacs binds a few commands to support compiling a project.

| Key binding | Description                    |
|-------------+--------------------------------|
| ~SPC c c~   | use =helm-make= via projectile |
| ~SPC c C~   | compile                        |
| ~SPC c d~   | close compilation window       |
| ~SPC c k~   | kill compilation               |
| ~SPC c m~   | =helm-make=                    |
| ~SPC c r~   | recompile                      |

** Quickrun
Spacemacs can execute current buffer or region.

| Key binding | Description                                       |
|-------------+---------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC x x~   | smart =quickrun= or =quickrun-region=             |
| ~C-g~       | to dismiss a quickrun buffer without selecting it |

* EditorConfig
Spacemacs has support for [[http://editorconfig.org/][EditorConfig]], a configuration file to "define and
maintain consistent coding styles between different editors and IDEs."

To enable this feature, [[https://github.com/editorconfig/editorconfig-core-c/blob/master/INSTALL.md][install the editorconfig command]].

To customize your editorconfig experience, read [[https://github.com/editorconfig/editorconfig-emacs/blob/master/README.md#customize][the editorconfig-emacs package's
documentation]].

* Emacs Server
Spacemacs provides the ability to start a server at launch, and to kill that
server whenever you close your Emacs windows. This can be enabled by setting the
variable =dotspacemacs-enable-server= to =t= in your =~./spacemacs=.

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-enable-server t)
#+END_SRC

** Connecting to the Emacs server
You can open a file in Emacs from the terminal using =emacsclient=. Use
=emacsclient -c= to open the file in Emacs GUI. Use =emacsclient -t= to open the
file in Emacs within the terminal. If you set Emacs server socket by setting =dotspacemacs-server-socket-dir=,
then pass its location as =-s ~/.emacs.d/server/server= additionally.

If you want your Linux or macOS system to use Emacs by default for any prompt,
you need to set it in your shell configuration, e.g. =~/.bashrc= or =~/.zshrc=:

#+BEGIN_SRC sh-mode
  export EDITOR="emacsclient -c"
#+END_SRC

Note that if you're using macOS, you may have to refer to the emacsclient that
comes with your GUI Emacs, e.g.:

#+BEGIN_SRC sh-mode
  export EDITOR="/Applications/Emacs.app/Contents/MacOS/bin/emacsclient -c"
#+END_SRC

Tip: Remember to use ~:wq~ or ~C-x #~ after you are done editing the file in
Emacs.

You can set the location of the Emacs server socket by setting =dotspacemacs-server-socket-dir= in your =~./spacemacs=:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-server-socket-dir "~/.emacs/server")
#+END_SRC

See [[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Emacs-Server.html][Emacs as a Server]] in the official Emacs manual for more details.

** Keeping the server alive
It is possible to keep the server alive when you close Emacs by setting the
variable =dotspacemacs-persistent-server= to =t= in your =~/.spacemacs=.

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (setq-default dotspacemacs-persistent-server t)
#+END_SRC

When this variable is set to =t=, the only way to quit Emacs /and/ kill the
server is to use the following bindings:

| Key binding | Description                                                              |
|-------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| ~SPC q q~   | Quit Emacs and kill the server, prompt for changed buffers to save       |
| ~SPC q Q~   | Quit Emacs and kill the server, lose all unsaved changes.                |
| ~SPC q r~   | Restart both Emacs and the server, prompting to save any changed buffers |
| ~SPC q s~   | Save the buffers, quit Emacs and kill the server                         |
| ~SPC q f~   | Kill the current frame                                                   |
| ~SPC q t~   | Restart Emacs and debug with --with-timed-requires                       |
| ~SPC q T~   | Restart Emacs and debug with --adv-timers                                |

* Troubleshoot
** Loading fails
If any errors happen during the loading the mode-line will turn red and the
errors should appear inline in the startup buffer. Spacemacs should still be
usable; if it is not then restart Emacs with =emacs --debug-init= and open a
[[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/issues][GitHub issue]] with the backtrace.

** Upgrading/Downgrading Emacs version
To ensure that packages are correctly compiled for the new Emacs version you
installed, be sure to run the interactive command =spacemacs/recompile-elpa=
with ~SPC u SPC SPC spacemacs/recompile-elpa~.

** General layer errors
It happens from time to time that some of the layers go stale and stop
working properly for some commands. If this happens stay calm and try
to produce a minimal bug report on the [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/issues][GitHub issue page]].

*** Step by step instructions for minimal layer bug reports
- Load the standard dotfile. You can get it with ~SPC f e D~.
- Add the malfunctioning layer.
- Use ~SPC t D~ to enable debug on error, this will
  produce a backtrace when encountering a lisp error.
- Reproduce the error. Note down the steps and backtrace.
- Press ~SPC h I~ and fill in the place holders
  enclosed in ~<<~ and ~>>~ signs. Don't forget the
  reproduction guide and backtrace.
- Press ~C-c C-c~ or ~, ,~ to transfer your buffers
  content to the github issue creation page.
- Enter a meaningfull title for your issue, stating
  in short words what the issue is.
- When everything has been filled in submit the bug
  report.
- When someone answers to your issue or ask questions
  it goes without saying that you should answer him
  politely and assist in testing a possible fix.

** General emacs package errors
It can also happen that your issue is not related to any layer but
rather to a specific package in the emacs universe. In this case
you should provide a minimalistic emacs only reproduction guide for the
respective package and open an issue upstream. If there is already
a spacemacs issue for your problem your upstream bug report should
mention its ticket number so it is clear when this issue can be
retested.

*** Step by step instructions for minimal emacs package bug reports
- Start emacs with ~emacs -q~, this will load a vanilla
  emacs without any non-system packages loaded.
- There open a scratch buffer with ~C-x b *scratch* RET~
- Add initialization code for your package there

  #+BEGIN_SRC elisp
    ;; Load the package
    (require 'package)

    ;; Mention all packages you wish to have loaded
    (setq package-load-list
          '((package1 t)
            (package2 t)
            (package3 t)))

    ;; Do package specific configuration if required
    ;; (package-local-init)

    ;; Intialize your package list
    (package-initialize)
  #+END_SRC

- Now press ~M-x eval-buffer~ to evaluate the code.
- Reproduce your issue. Note down step by step instructions.
- With this information open an upstream issue following
  their issue templates. If they have non its a good idea
  to start with the infos required in the spacemacs issue
  template and add missing information when required from
  the package maintainers.

* Achievements
** Issues

| Achievements                   | Account      |
|--------------------------------+--------------|
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/100][100th issue (PR)]]               | [[https://github.com/danielwuz][danielwuz]]    |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/issues/200][200th issue (question)]]         | [[https://github.com/justrajdeep][justrajdeep]]  |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/300][300th issue (PR)]]               | [[https://github.com/danielwuz][danielwuz]]    |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/400][400th issue (PR)]]               | [[https://github.com/CestDiego][CestDiego]]    |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/500][500th issue (PR)]]               | [[https://github.com/bjarkevad][bjarkevad]]    |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/600][600th issue (PR)]]               | [[https://github.com/bjarkevad][bjarkevad]]    |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/700][700th issue (enhancement)]]      | [[https://github.com/jcpetkovich][jcpetkovich]]  |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/800][800th issue (PR)]]               | [[https://github.com/laat][ryansroberts]] |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/900][900th issue (PR)]]               | [[https://github.com/jcpetkovich][jcpetkovich]]  |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/1000][1000th issue (PR)]]              | [[https://github.com/tuhdo][tuhdo]]        |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/2000][2000th issue (PR)]]              | [[https://github.com/IvanMalison][IvanMalison]]  |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/issues/3000][3000th issue (bug)]]             | [[https://github.com/malchmih][malchmih]]     |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/issues/4000][4000th issue (bug)]]             | [[https://github.com/icymist][icymist]]      |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/issues/5000][5000th issue (too many issues)]] | [[https://github.com/justbur][justbur]]      |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/6000][6000th issue (PR)]]              | [[https://github.com/d12frosted][d12frosted]]   |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/7000][7000th issue (PR)]]              | [[https://github.com/deb0ch][deb0ch]]       |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/issues/8000][8000th issue (bug)]]             | jonbash      |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/issues/9000][9000th issue (bug)]]             | [[https://github.com/shaunpatel][shaunpatel]]   |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/10000][10000th issue (PR)]]             | [[https://github.com/nikital][nikital]]      |

** Merged Pull Requests

| Achievements        | Account        |
|---------------------+----------------|
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/228][100th pull request]]  | [[https://github.com/bru][bru]]            |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/418][200th pull request]]  | [[https://github.com/smt][smt]]            |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/617][300th pull request]]  | [[https://github.com/BrianHicks][BrianHicks]]     |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/806][400th pull request]]  | [[https://github.com/cpaulik][cpaulik]]        |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/993][500th pull request]]  | [[https://github.com/tuhdo][tuhdo]]          |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/1205][600th pull request]]  | [[https://github.com/trishume][trishume]]       |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/1995][1000th pull request]] | [[https://github.com/justbur][justbur]]        |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/4089][2000th pull request]] | [[https://github.com/channingwalton][channingwalton]] |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/6338][3000th pull request]] | [[https://github.com/darkfeline][darkfeline]]     |

** Stars, forks and watchers

| Achievements               | Account         |
|----------------------------+-----------------|
| 100th watcher              | [[https://github.com/adouzzy][adouzzy]]         |
| 100th fork                 | [[https://github.com/balajisivaraman][balajisivaraman]] |
| 200th fork                 | [[https://github.com/alcol80][alcol80]]         |
| 300th fork                 | [[https://github.com/mlopes][mlopes]]          |
| 2000th fork                | [[https://github.com/Gameguykiler][Gameguykiler]]    |
| 100th star                 | [[https://github.com/Jackneill][Jackneill]]       |
| 200th star                 | [[https://github.com/jb55][jb55]]            |
| 400th star                 | [[https://github.com/dbohdan][dbohdan]]         |
| 600th star                 | [[https://github.com/laat][laat]]            |
| 700th star                 | [[https://github.com/kendall][kendall]]         |
| 800th star                 | [[https://github.com/urso][urso]]            |
| 900th star                 | [[https://github.com/luisgerhorst][luisgerhorst]]    |
| 1000th star!               | [[https://github.com/rashly][rashly]]          |
| 2000th star!!              | [[https://github.com/stshine][stshine]]         |
| 3000th star!!!             | [[https://github.com/TheBB][TheBB]]           |
| 4000th star!!!!            | [[https://github.com/nixmaniack][nixmaniack]]      |
| 5000th star!!!!!           | [[https://github.com/StreakyCobra][StreakyCobra]]    |
| 6000th star!!!!!!          | [[https://github.com/NJBS][NJBS]]            |
| 7000th star!!!!!!!         | [[https://github.com/mukhali][mukhali]]         |
| 8000th star!!!!!!!!        | [[https://github.com/shsteven][shsteven]]        |
| 9000th star!!!!!!!!!       | [[https://github.com/deb0ch][deb0ch]]          |
| 10000th star :star:        | [[https://github.com/colt365][colt365]]         |
| 15000th star :star: :star: | [[https://github.com/missingfaktor][missingfaktor]]   |
| 20000th star! :scream_cat: | [[https://github.com/davehorner][davehorner]]      |

** Gitter chat

| Achievements                    | Account     |
|---------------------------------+-------------|
| First joiner on the Gitter Chat | [[https://github.com/trishume][trishume]]    |
| 1000th joiner                   | [[https://github.com/gabrielpoca][gabrielpoca]] |

** First times

| Achievements                    | Account      |
|---------------------------------+--------------|
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/19][First contribution]]              | [[https://github.com/trishume][trishume]]     |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/commit/e802027d75d0c0aed55539b0da2dfa0df94dfd39][First contributed layer]]         | [[https://github.com/trishume][trishume]]     |
| [[http://oli.me.uk/2014/11/06/spacemacs-emacs-vim/][First blog article on Spacemacs]] | Wolfy87      |
| [[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/commit/7b44a56263049482ed540ed6815a295633ffe9d1][First contributed banner]]        | [[https://github.com/chrisbarrett][chrisbarrett]] |

** Special Mentions

| Reason                                                              | Account         |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------+-----------------|
| Autumnal Cleanup 2015 ([[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/wiki/Autumnal-Cleanup-2015][wiki]])                                        | [[https://github.com/StreakyCobra][StreakyCobra]]    |
| Test and debug tools                                                | [[https://github.com/justbur][justbur]]         |
| Integration of Ivy                                                  | [[https://github.com/justbur][justbur]]         |
| Transient States                                                    | [[https://github.com/justbur][justbur]]         |
| Integration of Persp-mode                                           | [[https://github.com/CestDiego][CestDiego]]       |
| Cleanest PR ([[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/5545][PR #5545]])                                              | [[https://github.com/JAremko][JAremko]]         |
| Documentation tools and GitHub support                              | [[https://github.com/JAremko][JAremko]]         |
| Code navigation improvement (jump handlers, generalized next error) | [[https://github.com/TheBB][TheBB]]           |
| Better support for GUI using an Emacs daemon (after-display macro)  | [[https://github.com/travisbhartwell][travisbhartwell]] |

** Special Titles

| Achievements                                    | Account       |
|-------------------------------------------------+---------------|
| The Gunner (18 PRs in a row)                    | [[https://github.com/ralesi][ralesi]]        |
| The Saint (unlocked the holy-mode)              | [[https://github.com/trishume][trishume]]      |
| The Artist ([[https://github.com/nashamri/spacemacs-logo][logo]] and [[https://github.com/nashamri/spacemacs-theme][theme]])                     | [[https://github.com/nashamri][nashamri]]      |
| The Meme Master (doge banner)                   | [[https://github.com/chrisbarrett][chrisbarrett]]  |
| The Helm captain ([[https://tuhdo.github.io/helm-intro.html][helm guide]])                   | [[https://github.com/tuhdo][tuhdo]]         |
| The Master of the Keys ([[https://github.com/justbur/emacs-which-key][which-key]] and [[https://github.com/justbur/emacs-bind-map][bind-map]]) | [[https://github.com/justbur][justbur]]       |
| The PR Patrol Officer                           | [[https://github.com/robbyoconnor][robbyoconnor]]  |
| The Expert in Latin Language ([[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/4043][PR]])               | [[https://github.com/vijaykiran][vijaykiran]]    |
| The Tiler ([[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/4068][eyebrowse integration]])               | [[https://github.com/bmag][bmag]]          |
| The Geometer ([[https://github.com/TheBB/spaceline][spaceline]])                        | [[https://github.com/TheBB][TheBB]]         |
| The Librarian (doc-fmt tool and space-doc mode) | [[https://github.com/JAremko][JAremko]]       |
| The Orgonaut ([[https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/issues/9476][fixed most of the Org READMEs]])    | [[https://github.com/smile13241324][smile13241324]] |
| The Ticketmaster                                | [[https://github.com/StreakyCobra][StreakyCobra]]  |
| The ASCII Scribe                                | [[https://github.com/JAremko][JAremko]]       |

* Thank you
Thank you Richard for this great piece of software.

Thank you to all the contributors and the whole Emacs community from core
developers to elisp hackers!