How can I quit Emacs without stopping Emacs servers started with M-x
start-server RET?
reddit / emacs

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eminent101 · 2022-08-14 14:46

I start Emacs and run Emacs server like this -

    emacs -q
    M-x start-server RET

Can I now quit Emacs without stopping the start-server?

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flexibeast · 2022-08-14 14:55

Well, you can close the frame with `M-x delete-frame` / `C-x 5 0`. But
keep in mind what's in the Emacs manual:

> Run the command ‘server-start’ in an existing Emacs process: either
type ‘M-x server-start’, or put the expression ‘(server-start)’ in
your init file (*note Init File::).  The existing Emacs process is the
server; when you exit Emacs, the server dies with the Emacs process.

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[deleted] · 2022-08-14 16:47

[deleted]

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eminent101 · 2022-08-14 22:48

Didn't work. I got thi error `Attempt to delete the sole visible or
iconified frame`

what did you do to make it work?

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Atemu12 · 2022-08-15 00:38

Might be better to run the server as a headless daemon and only let
clients create frames.

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flexibeast · 2022-08-15 00:53

Ah okay, sorry that didn't work .... In my own case, i don't start the
server by `start-server` from an existing Emacs process, but instead
start it as a daemon, as [mentioned](https://old.reddit.com/r/emacs/co
mments/wo8295/how_can_i_quit_emacs_without_stopping_emacs/ikbmopu/) by
u/Atemu12.

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JohnathanDee · 2022-08-15 01:41

This is the way.

If you install from source, keep that latest source directory after
`make` and `make install` ... It's still useful until you upgrade!

Edit the included `systemd` config file in the `etc` directory, and
save it into your user's or system's `systemd` config directory.

Then you can do one of:

    sudo systemctl enable emacs    # system service
    systemctl --user enable emacs   # user service

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flexibeast · 2022-08-15 08:19

As an aside, and since the OP didn't mention that they were on a
systemd-based system, not all systems on which Emacs can run are
systemd-based: apart from Windows and macOS (on which, admittedly, a
user is perhaps less likely to be installing from source), there's the
BSD OSes (e.g. OpenBSD, FreeBSD) and various Linux distros (e.g. Void,
Alpine, Gentoo unless systemd is chosen specifically).

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plm314 · 2022-08-17 11:36

I start emacs -daemon followed by an appropriate emacsclient command.
The server stays running for weeks to months typically.  I rarely need
to start a short emacs session without a server (for testing).