2026 basic emacs config

early-init.el

;; -*- lexical-binding: t; -*-

;; Modernized init.el

;; =============================================================================
;; PERFORMANCE — Keep it fast
;; =============================================================================

;; Defer garbage collection during init.
(setq gc-cons-threshold most-positive-fixnum)
(setq garbage-collection-messages t)
(add-hook 'emacs-startup-hook
  (lambda ()
    (setq gc-cons-threshold (* 16 1024 1024))
    (run-with-idle-timer 1.2 t 'garbage-collect-maybe 2)))  ; Back to 8MB after startup

;; =============================================================================
;; EARLY SETUP
;; =============================================================================

;; Ensure ~/.emacs.d is on the load path
(add-to-list 'load-path (expand-file-name "elpa" user-emacs-directory))

;; Don't make backup files (e.g., foo.txt~). These are noise.
(setq make-backup-files nil)

;; Don't auto-save to #foo.txt# files either.
(setq auto-save-default nil)

;; Default to 2-space indents, no tabs.
(setq-default tab-width 2)
(setq-default indent-tabs-mode nil)

;; Suppress the startup screen — we open files, not dashboards.
(setq inhibit-startup-message t)
(setq inhibit-startup-screen t)
(setq initial-scratch-message nil)

;; Prefer yes/no answers as y/n.
(fset 'yes-or-no-p 'y-or-n-p)

;; =============================================================================
;; UI CLEANUP — Strip the chrome, keep the functionality
;; =============================================================================

;; Disable visual noise that's not useful for coding.
(when (display-graphic-p)
  (scroll-bar-mode -1)      ; No scroll bar
  (tool-bar-mode -1)        ; No toolbar
  (tooltip-mode -1)         ; No tooltips
  (fringe-mode -1))         ; No fringe margins

;; Built-in UI niceties worth keeping.
(when (display-graphic-p)
  (delete-selection-mode t)  ; Typing replaces selected text (muscle memory)
  (blink-cursor-mode t)      ; Cursor blink
  (show-paren-mode t)        ; Highlight matching parens
  (column-number-mode t)     ; Column number in mode line
  (global-display-line-numbers-mode t))  ; Line numbers

;; Compression, font-lock, images — all standard in 2026.
(auto-compression-mode t)
(global-font-lock-mode t)
(auto-image-file-mode t)

;; =============================================================================
;; THEME — Modern built-in themes; no external dependency needed
;; =============================================================================

;; Emacs 28+ has modus-theme which is clean and minimal.
;; If you prefer the old tango feel, replace with (load-theme 'tango t).
;; Using built-in themes means no MELPA dependency for something that should
;; just work. Feel free to add `all-the-icons-completion' + `modalkit' or
;; `doom-themes' later if you want more personality.
(load-theme 'modus-vivendi t)  ; Dark, high-contrast, WCAG AAA friendly

init.el

;; -*- lexical-binding: t; -*-

;; =============================================================================
;; PACKAGE MANAGEMENT — package.el + MELPA + use-package
;; =============================================================================

(require 'package)

;; Set package repositories
(setq package-archives
      '(("melpa" . "https://melpa.org/packages/")
        ("gnu"   . "https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/")
        ("nongnu" . "https://elpa.nongnu.org/nongnu/")))

;; Prefer GNU over MELPA
(setq package-archive-priorities '(("gnu" . 30)("nognu" . 20)("melpa" . 10)))

(unless (package-installed-p 'use-package)
  (package-refresh-contents)
  (package-install 'use-package))

(eval-when-compile
  (require 'use-package))

;; Ensure packages are installed when used
(setq use-package-always-ensure t)

;; =============================================================================
;; COMPLETION — vertico + consult + marginalia + company
;; =============================================================================

(use-package vertico
  :init
  (vertico-mode))

(use-package savehist
  :init
  (savehist-mode))

(use-package emacs
  :custom
  (context-menu-mode t)
  (enable-recursive-minibuffers t)
  (read-extended-command-predicate #'command-completion-default-include-p)
  (minibuffer-prompt-properties
   '(read-only t cursor-intangible t face minibuffer-prompt)))

(use-package consult)

(use-package orderless)

(use-package marginalia
  :init
  (marginalia-mode))

(use-package company
  :hook (after-init . global-company-mode))

;; -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
;; General programming habits
;; -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

;; Auto-indent on RET (like a normal editor).
(define-key global-map (kbd "RET") 'newline-and-indent)

;; Highlight current line (optional, can be noisy — toggle with M-x global-hl-line-mode).
(global-hl-line-mode -1)

;; Matching delimiters.
(setq show-paren-style 'expression)
(setq show-paren-highlight-openparen t)

;; Always show trailing whitespace in programming modes.
(add-hook 'prog-mode-hook
          (lambda ()
            (setq show-trailing-whitespace t)))

;; =============================================================================
;; BUFFER MANAGEMENT — Modern replacement for iswitchb
;; =============================================================================

;; Clean up auto-save file locations (basic version without no-littering).
(setq auto-save-directory
      (expand-file-name "auto-save/" user-emacs-directory))
(unless (file-exists-p auto-save-directory)
  (make-directory auto-save-directory t))

;; Kill buffers that are just scratch/Messages on close.
(setq kill-buffer-query-functions
      (delq 'server-kill-buffer-query-function kill-buffer-query-functions))

;; =============================================================================
;; MISCELLANEOUS — Comfort and compatibility
;; =============================================================================

;; Always auto-revert files changed on disk (e.g., by git).
(global-auto-revert-mode t)

;; No lock files — they cause noise in git repos.
(setq create-lockfiles nil)

;; Save minibuffer history across sessions.
(savehist-mode 1)

;; Remember cursor position in files.
(save-place-mode 1)

;; Better defaults — many of these were manual in the old config.
(setq-default case-fold-search t)
(setq-default fill-column 80)
(setq sentence-end-double-space nil)

;; Electric pair mode — auto-close brackets/parens.
(electric-pair-mode 1)

;; Which-function mode for mode line (useful in large files).
(which-function-mode 1)

;; Disable unresolved UTF-8 warnings on macOS.
(prefer-coding-system 'utf-8)
(setq locale-coding-system 'utf-8)

;; Async byte-compile when possible.
(setq async-byte-compile-running t)

;; Startup time profiling — comment this out after verifying config loads clean.
(add-hook 'emacs-startup-hook
          (lambda ()
            (message "Emacs startup time: %.2f seconds"
                     (float-time (time-subtract after-init-time before-init-time)))))