Best way (and examples) to make a tidy config with multiple files?
reddit / emacs

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cidra_ · 2022-06-11 14:49

Hi all. As title says, I'd like to make a config using multiple files
to make it more readable (at least for me). I don't want to do a
literate config nor using use-package: just package and simple stuff
like require and load.

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I've seen [this config repo](https://github.com/bling/dotemacs) which
is really cool and easy to read and basically works this way: the init
files does some preliminary stuff, then loads all the files in the
/core and /config directory. I've seen that if i compile the byte code
of the scripts in /config by themselves, there are some warnings of
variables and functions not defined. The included files do not have
explicit dependencies because everything is automatically included by
the init file.

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So the question is: is there a better approach on structuring an emacs
config among multiple files?

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X7and7 · 2022-06-11 15:47

I feel your pain, my config is so messed up right now :(

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nv-elisp · 2022-06-11 16:21

In what way does the number of files impact readability?

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cidra_ · 2022-06-11 16:34

Having everything in one file certainly does

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nv-elisp · 2022-06-11 16:38

How?

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cidra_ · 2022-06-11 16:45

Because It's too cluttered. I'd like to distinguish between default
settings and specific mode settings (that could override some of the
default settings) for example

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Hastrack · 2022-06-11 18:17

I write my entire config in a org file that gets tangled to various
.el modules that get loaded by the init.el file. I've been using Emacs
for 2 years and that's the approach I liked the most.

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onetom · 2022-06-12 09:14

I simply.add a lib/ directory to the load-path and require my other
config files like that.

to make this work, u have to put a (provide 'package-name) to the end
of your required files:
https://github.com/onetom/onetomacs/blob/main/lib/init-visuals.el#L57

I don't care about before/after-load functionality, since I don't load
many order-sensitive packages, so I can just order them manually.

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colemaker360 · 2022-06-12 13:44

Have a look at Purcell’s (extremely popular) config:
https://github.com/purcell/emacs.d

I don’t use it anymore, but I use the model of a lisp directory for
includes and it works great. You just have to provide each include
with `(provide 'init-git)`, and then you can require it in init.el
`(require 'init-git)`. It’s a very elegant solution.

The System Crafters Rational Emacs distro takes the same approach as
Purcell too: https://github.com/SystemCrafters/rational-
emacs/tree/master/modules

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theMachine0094 · 2022-06-14 18:29

I have a lisp folder with several .el files. They all "provide"
various packages and features. I "require"  them in the main init
file.

This also allows me to control what's included. For example on my
laptop I skip some of the .El files because I don't need them (as
opposed to my workstation or the work computer).