Emacs Desktop Environment (EDesktop)

EDesktop is an Emacs+Gnome based desktop environment. It uses the EXWM window manager in conjunction with gnome desktop to provide a complete desktop experience from within Emacs.

EDesktop aims to seamlessly extend Emacs windows management to a general desktop environment. In EDesktop application windows are treated a standard Emacs buffers and are controlled using Emacs window management commands (Ex C-x b, C-x 1, winner-undo, windmove-* etc). EDesktop uses EXWM which can be viewed as a tiling window manager.

EDesktop is targeted for developers who work with Emacs as their primary IDE, and would like to a have uniform way of handling Emacs and other desktop windows. A desktop environment where everything runs under the aegis of Emacs.

Other Emacs Goodies:

• ivy
• counsel
• hydra
• pos-frame
• ripgrep,ag,fzf
• lsp (C/C++/Rust/Python/JavaScript),
• git integration (merge,commit,smerge, magit),
• pos-frame,
• dual/large montior support ....

Screenshots better describe EDesktop in concept.

Screenshots:

EDesktop hosting code, browser, terminal, Netflix window (also seen is a system tray with Wireless, Bluetooth and Sound applets)

EDesktop startup screen

EDesktop Language Server Protocol Integration

Installation (Only Single-user installation is supported)

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/farazshaikh/emacsdesktop/master/emacs/installexwm.sh | bash -x

NOTE: Single user installation.

The installation is done by checking out the EDesktop project under ${HOME}/.eos folder. Then necessary sym-links are created to files in the git local repository.

For example, .emacs will be replaced with sym-link to .emacs provided by EDesktop

~/.emacs -> ~/.eos/emacsdesktop/emacs/.emacs

After installation use can log in via GDM greeter and choose EDesktop from the session drop-down list.

Only the user that installed the EDesktop will be able to launch the EDesktop session.

Login Details:

UI Login:

GDM/LigthDM login will include a session entry named EmacsDesktop.

Login from the Terminal:

Also provided is a ~/.xinitrc, using this one can start the desktop under the X server by invoking [#] startx from the command prompt.

Running Applications

[Super+D] Starts a ivy-counsel based Linux application launcher.

Managing application

Applications are treated as Emacs buffers. All commands that are applicable to Emacs buffers are now applicable to application buffers.

For example, C-x k will kill an application in the same way it kills a buffer.

Window Management

EDesktop application windows can be managed as Emacs windows. For example C-x 1 will make an application be the only window visible. C-x 2 will split the window vertically and C-x 3 will split horizontally.

Winner mode is enabled by default which tracks all changes to window. These changes can be cycled (undo/redo) using with winner commands.

In addition to the above commands EDesktop provides a bunch of ergonomic shortcuts like.

Super-t Finds existing or opens a new terminal Super-g Finds existing or opens a new chrome browser

Key binding/EDesktop Hydra

EDesktop specific bindings are invoked using the super key. All key bindings are also accessible using the EDesktop hydra which is bound to [Super+E]

Git/Magit terminal and Language Server Protocol (LSP) integration.

EDesktop comes with some git and terminal integration. For example, invoking # git difftool from a terminal with EDesktop will open a ediff session under EDesktop. Upon completion of the EDiff session the window configuration will be restored.

Similarly running # ec filename from a command line user EDesktop will open the file under Emacs.

Logout

Exit Emacs C-x c