One of the problems—perhaps the major problem—that a new Emacs user faces is building an initial configuration. One would think that a vanilla install would be a good starting point for a new user but we all know that that initial install is not going to deliver a very good experience. Mostly that’s because even if you’re interested in Emacs strictly as an editor, it’s most usefully thought of as an editor construction kit. Even at the start, you need to do a bit of customization.
Huy Tran has a post that can help the n00b out. His post, Emacs from scratch, outlines a minimal configuration to get the new user going. It’s oriented towards a Spacemacs-like setup but even a relative new user should be able to include or exclude those parts as desired.
The major parts of the configuration are:
- Getting rid of the menu bar, tool bar, scroll bar, and tool tips.
- Setting up the package manager including making sure that the
use-packagemacro is loaded. - Enabling evil mode and other basic Vim comfort settings.
- Installing a theme.
- Installing Helm.
- Installing
which-key. - Setting custom key settings.
- Installing and configuring
projectile. - Installing
neotreeand icons.
He also configures a bit of macOS specific data that a new user probably shouldn’t worry about.
I disagree with the Helm installation, not because there’s anything wrong with Helm (although I prefer Ivy) but because it’s not something a n00b should be worrying about initially. I also don’t care for neotree but perhaps it’s helpful for n00bs and it probably doesn’t hurt to install it.
If you know someone who’s new to Emacs and looking for an initial configuration to get started, this is a good resource.