Launching Emacs
Jotain supports three launch patterns. Pick the one that matches the
task — they’re complementary, not alternatives.
One-shot
A fresh emacs process every time. Loads the full Jotain config; pays
package-init cost on every launch.
just run # GUI, full config
just debug # GUI with --debug-init and debug-on-error
just tty # -nw, full config
just bench runs. Avoid for day-to-day
editing — the startup cost adds up.
Daemon + client
Start Emacs once as a server; reuse it via lightweight clients. The
first frame is slow; every frame after is instant.
In the repo (development)
just daemon # foreground daemon with --init-directory=<repo>
just client # graphical emacsclient frame
just client-tty # terminal emacsclient frame
just daemon blocks; run it in another terminal (or under tmux) and
connect with just client / just client-tty from elsewhere. Each
client passes an --alternate-editor fallback that spawns a fresh
Emacs with --init-directory=<repo>, so isolation from ~/.emacs.d
is preserved even when the daemon isn’t running yet.
Stop the daemon with C-c in its terminal, or from any client:
emacsclient -e '(kill-emacs)'
As an installed user (home-manager)
The services.jotain module ships:
- A systemd user service (Linux) or launchd agent (macOS) that runs
emacs --fg-daemon. Enabled via services.jotain.startWithUserSession.
jotain-editor — emacsclient --tty with a -nw fallback. Set as
$EDITOR when services.jotain.defaultEditor = true.jotain-visual — emacsclient --create-frame. Set as $VISUAL.- A
.desktop entry (jotain-client.desktop) for launching a GUI
client from your application menu, enabled by
services.jotain.client.enable.
See Module Options in the appendix for the full option reference.
Shell aliases
Inspired by Rahul Juliato’s launching-emacs-terminal post,
the module can install short aliases for the daemon and clients:
services.jotain = {
enable = true;
shellAliases.enable = true;
# shellAliases.prefix = "j"; # for "jemd"/"jem"/"jemg"
};
| Alias | Expands to |
|---|
emd | emacs --fg-daemon (wrapped) |
em | jotain-editor (emacsclient --tty) |
emg | jotain-visual (emacsclient -c) |
programs.bash.shellAliases,
programs.zsh.shellAliases, and programs.fish.shellAliases — pick
up whichever shell home-manager already manages.
Quick edit (-Q -nw)
When you need a stripped-down Emacs — editing /etc/hosts over SSH,
fixing a typo in a 200 MB log file, demonstrating something with no
muscle-memory key bindings — bypass Jotain entirely:
just quick # emacs -Q -nw with the wombat theme
-Q skips early-init.el, init.el, site-lisp, and ~/.emacs.d/;
-nw keeps it in the current terminal; the wombat theme line is the
one concession to readability on dark terminals.
To get the same effect outside the repo, add an alias to your shell:
alias eq='emacs -Q -nw --eval "(load-theme '\''wombat t)"'
Which one to use
| Situation | Use |
|---|
| First-time setup, CI, benchmarking | just run |
| Day-to-day editing, fast frame opens | daemon + em/emg |
| Sysadmin SSH session, ad-hoc edit | just quick |
| Debugging a config regression | just debug |
Last modified on May 17, 2026
