Emacs 30.2

Emacs for Mac is an amazing, extensible, customizable, free/libre text editor for macOS and much more! At its core is an interpreter for the tool Lisp, a dialect of the Lisp programming language with extensions to support text editing.

The Emacs for macOS distribution includes the full source code for the manuals, as well as several the tool Reference Cards in various languages.

The features of GNU Emacs include:

• Content-aware editing modes, including syntax coloring, for many file types.
• Complete built-in documentation, including a tutorial for new users.
• Full Unicode support for nearly all human scripts.
• Highly customizable, using the tool Lisp code or a graphical interface.
• An entire ecosystem of functionality beyond text editing, including a project planner, mail and news reader, debugger interface, calendar, and more.
• A packaging system for downloading and installing extensions.

Emacs has a wide variety of new features, including:

• Limited form of concurrency with Lisp threads
• Support for optional display of line numbers in the buffer
• It now uses double buffering to reduce flicker on the X Window System
• Flymake has been completely redesigned
• TRAMP has a new connection method for Google Drive
• New single-line horizontal scrolling mode
• A system user unit file is provided
• Support for 24-bit colors on capable text terminals

How to Use

• Install using drag-and-drop or Homebrew cask
• Launch Emacs from Applications or Terminal
• Use C-x C-f to open or create a file
• Use M-x to run Emacs commands
• Customize using .emacs or init.el
• Install packages via M-x package-list-packages
• Navigate with keyboard shortcuts (e.g., C-x, C-c)
• Save files with C-x C-s and exit with C-x C-c
• Use buffers and windows to manage multiple files

System Requirements

macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later

At least 200 MB of free disk space

2 GB RAM minimum (4 GB recommended)

64-bit Intel or Apple Silicon (via Rosetta or native)

Internet connection for downloading and packages

PROS

• Highly customizable and extensible
• Free and open-source editor
• Powerful keyboard shortcuts
• Built-in support for many languages
• Large library of plugins and tools

CONS

• UI feels outdated to some users
• Not optimized for macOS visuals
• Can be complex to configure
• Plugin conflicts may arise occasionally

Also Available: Download Emacs for Windows

Download Emacs for Mac Latest Version Why is this app published on FileHorse? (More info)