Emacs Lisp

The homepage for GNU Emacs is at https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/. For information on using Emacs, refer to the Emacs Manual. To view this manual in other formats, click here.

This is the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual corresponding to Emacs version 27.2.


Introduction	Introduction and conventions used.
Lisp Data Types	Data types of objects in Emacs Lisp.
Numbers	Numbers and arithmetic functions.
Strings and Characters	Strings, and functions that work on them.
Lists	Lists, cons cells, and related functions.
Sequences Arrays Vectors	Lists, strings and vectors are called sequences. Certain functions act on any kind of sequence. The description of vectors is here as well.
Records	Compound objects with programmer-defined types.
Hash Tables	Very fast lookup-tables.
Symbols	Symbols represent names, uniquely.

Evaluation	How Lisp expressions are evaluated.
Control Structures	Conditionals, loops, nonlocal exits.
Variables	Using symbols in programs to stand for values.
Functions	A function is a Lisp program that can be invoked from other functions.
Macros	Macros are a way to extend the Lisp language.
Customization	Making variables and faces customizable.

Loading	Reading files of Lisp code into Lisp.
Byte Compilation	Compilation makes programs run faster.
Debugging	Tools and tips for debugging Lisp programs.

Read and Print	Converting Lisp objects to text and back.
Minibuffers	Using the minibuffer to read input.
Command Loop	How the editor command loop works, and how you can call its subroutines.
Keymaps	Defining the bindings from keys to commands.
Modes	Defining major and minor modes.
Documentation	Writing and using documentation strings.

Files	Accessing files.
Backups and Auto-Saving	Controlling how backups and auto-save files are made.
Buffers	Creating and using buffer objects.
Windows	Manipulating windows and displaying buffers.
Frames	Making multiple system-level windows.
Positions	Buffer positions and motion functions.
Markers	Markers represent positions and update automatically when the text is changed.

Text	Examining and changing text in buffers.
Non-ASCII Characters	Non-ASCII text in buffers and strings.
Searching and Matching	Searching buffers for strings or regexps.
Syntax Tables	The syntax table controls word and list parsing.
Abbrevs	How Abbrev mode works, and its data structures.

Threads	Concurrency in Emacs Lisp.
Processes	Running and communicating with subprocesses.
Display	Features for controlling the screen display.
System Interface	Getting the user id, system type, environment variables, and other such things.

Packaging	Preparing Lisp code for distribution.
Appendices
Antinews	Info for users downgrading to Emacs 26.
GNU Free Documentation License	The license for this documentation.
GPL	Conditions for copying and changing GNU Emacs.
Tips	Advice and coding conventions for Emacs Lisp.
GNU Emacs Internals	Building and dumping Emacs; internal data structures.
Standard Errors	List of some standard error symbols.
Standard Keymaps	List of some standard keymaps.
Standard Hooks	List of some standard hook variables.

Index	Index including concepts, functions, variables, and other terms.