emacs
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Description:
GNU Emacs text editor
Type: Formula  |  Latest Version: 30.2@2  |  Tracked Since: Dec 17, 2025
Links: Homepage  |  @emacs  |  formulae.brew.sh
Category: Developer tools
Tags: editor text-editor ide lisp productivity development
Install: brew install emacs
About:
GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editor that serves as a complete computing environment. It features a powerful Lisp interpreter for deep customization and supports extensive functionality beyond text editing through packages. Its ecosystem provides IDE-like capabilities for numerous programming languages and workflows.
Key Features:
  • Extensible Lisp core for deep customization
  • Comprehensive package ecosystem (MELPA/ELPA)
  • Advanced project management and navigation tools
  • Built-in package manager and mode system
Use Cases:
  • Software development and programming
  • Writing and document preparation (LaTeX, Markdown)
  • System administration and shell scripting
  • Email and news reading (via built-in clients)
Alternatives:
  • Vim/Neovim – Modal editor with different extensibility model; lighter resource footprint
  • VS Code – Modern GUI IDE with built-in features; less customizable but easier learning curve
  • IntelliJ IDEA – Full-featured Java-based IDE; language-specific vs. Emacs' generalist approach
License: GPL-3.0-or-later
Dependencies: gmp, gnutls, tree-sitter@0.25, jpeg-turbo
Bottles available for: arm64_tahoe, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, sonoma, arm64_linux, x86_64_linux
Version History
Detected Version Rev Change Commit
Dec 10, 2025 9:45pm 2 VERSION_BUMP 4ebd3e4c
Nov 5, 2025 6:43am 1 VERSION_BUMP 81acd0c8
Sep 15, 2025 4:44pm 0 VERSION_BUMP 1487f298
Oct 5, 2024 6:23am 1 VERSION_BUMP 516c2f12