Item — HN Reader

I have to agree, if only because when I hear "the emacs keybindings" I wonder, does that mean the defaults that nobody uses, or the ones I've carried around for 20+ years?

As a quick example "M-g" ("Esc" [pause] "g") has been bound to "goto-line" in my emacs startup file for at least 20 years, and is something I press without even really thinking about.

There are many default keys (such as C-x C-f for finding a file), but even core functionality gets rebound to suit my preferences.

1 comments

I use default keybindings, FWIW. But I agree that my ability to shape Emacs into exactly the tool I want with lisp is the main draw for me.

I agree that extensibility is one of the core charms of Emacs!

That said, when it comes to keybindings, I’ve actually stuck with about 95% of the defaults. The only exception I can’t live without is exactly what you mentioned:

(global-set-key "\M-g" 'goto-line)

I've used that for so long that my fingers just do it automatically. It’s funny how even a "minimal" user like me has that one specific rule that feels essential.