A lightweight, terminal-optimized Doom Emacs configuration for practical use

한국어 문서

dotdoom-starter is a streamlined Doom Emacs configuration optimized for terminal (-nw) usage. It works consistently across Ubuntu 24.04, NixOS 25.05, and Termux (Android) environments.

• Terminal-first design: Optimized for -nw mode
• Cross-platform: Identical setup for laptop, server, and Android
• Lightweight: ~2000 lines of focused configuration
• Simple setup: Uses DOOMDIR environment variable instead of Doom's profile system

• Platforms: Ubuntu 24.04, NixOS 25.05, Termux
• Emacs version: 30.2
• Terminal: Ghostty recommended (works with others)

Ubuntu 24.04

snap install emacs --classic

NixOS 25.05

environment.systemPackages = [ pkgs.emacs ];

Termux

pkg install emacs-nox
bash install-termux-pkgs-for-emacs.sh  # Additional packages

# Clone Doom Emacs
git clone https://github.com/doomemacs/doomemacs.git ~/doomemacs-starter

# Clone dotdoom-starter
mkdir -p ~/repos/gh/
git clone https://github.com/junghan0611/dotdoom-starter.git ~/repos/gh/dotdoom-starter

# Initial sync
DOOMDIR="$HOME/repos/gh/dotdoom-starter" ~/doomemacs-starter/bin/doom sync

# Aliases
alias esync='DOOMDIR="$HOME/repos/gh/dotdoom-starter" $HOME/doomemacs-starter/bin/doom sync'
alias esyncenv='DOOMDIR="$HOME/repos/gh/dotdoom-starter" $HOME/doomemacs-starter/bin/doom env'
alias esyncf='DOOMDIR="$HOME/repos/gh/dotdoom-starter" $HOME/doomemacs-starter/bin/doom sync -u -j 4'
alias e='env GTK_IM_MODULE=emacs XMODIFIERS=@im=emacs EMACS=emacs DOOMDIR=$HOME/repos/gh/dotdoom-starter $HOME/doomemacs-starter/bin/doom run -nw'

# Copy and modify paths in dotdoom-starter.desktop
cp dotdoom-starter.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/
# Edit the file to match your paths

# Basic launch
e

# Open file
e ~/document.org

# GUI mode (rarely used)
DOOMDIR="$HOME/repos/gh/dotdoom-starter" ~/doomemacs-starter/bin/doom run

# Normal sync (after init.el, packages.el changes)
esync

# Environment sync
esyncenv

# Force sync with package updates
esyncf

dotdoom-starter/
├── init.el              # Doom module declarations
├── config.el            # Main configuration
├── packages.el          # Package declarations
├── +user-info.el        # User information
├── +gptel.el            # AI/LLM integration
├── +functions.el        # Custom functions
├── per-machine.el       # Machine-specific config (git-ignored)
├── user-keys.el         # Custom keybindings (git-ignored)
├── custom.el            # Emacs customize (git-ignored)
├── snippets/            # Custom snippets
├── var/                 # Runtime data
└── docs/                # Project documentation

• init.el: Doom module activation (~160 lines)
• config.el: Core settings and package configuration (~1850 lines)
• packages.el: Package additions/disables (~140 lines)
• per-machine.el: Machine-specific customization (auto-loaded, git-ignored)

• Evil mode: Vim keybindings (+everywhere)
• Completion: Corfu + Orderless + Vertico
• Snippets: YASnippet + Tempel
• File templates: Auto-templates for empty files

• Git: Magit
• Tree-sitter: Enhanced syntax highlighting
• Direnv: Project-specific environments
• Docker: Container management
• LLM: GPTel + Claude Code integration

Python, Nix, JavaScript/TypeScript, Web (HTML/CSS), YAML, Zig, Janet, Emacs Lisp

• Denote: Note-taking system (with silo, sequence)
• Org-roam: Knowledge graph
• Org-journal: Journaling
• Org-contacts: Contact management
• Export: Hugo, Pandoc

Integrated export system - Convert Denote notes to Hugo markdown with parallel processing

Key features:

• Denote links → Hugo relref automatic conversion
• Security filtering: ROT13, sensitive strings
• Parallel processing: Process 1,400+ files in 2-3 minutes with 8 cores
• Sequential/parallel modes supported

Usage:

;; Sequential mode
(my/update-dblock-export-garden-all)

;; Parallel mode (recommended)
(my/update-dblock-export-garden-all-parallel)

Documentation: docs/20251027T092900--denote-export-system__denote_export_hugo_guide.org

These packages are intentionally disabled:

• LSP-mode (prefer eglot when needed)
• Flycheck (using flymake)

See packages.el for complete list.

Create per-machine.el for machine-specific configuration:

;;; per-machine.el -*- lexical-binding: t; -*-

;; Font settings
(setq doom-font (font-spec :family "JetBrains Mono" :size 14))

;; Theme
(setq doom-theme 'doom-one)

Create user-keys.el for personal keybindings.

1. Add package declaration to packages.el
2. Add configuration to config.el
3. Run esync

# Full rebuild
DOOMDIR="$HOME/repos/gh/dotdoom-starter" ~/doomemacs-starter/bin/doom sync -u -j 4

# Clean byte-compiled files
DOOMDIR="$HOME/repos/gh/dotdoom-starter" ~/doomemacs-starter/bin/doom clean

DOOMDIR="$HOME/repos/gh/dotdoom-starter" ~/doomemacs-starter/bin/doom doctor

Terminal mode auto-starts an Emacs server named starter:

# Stop server
emacsclient -s starter -e '(kill-emacs)'

# Restart
e

This project was born from the realization that my personal Emacs configuration had become too complex to serve as a starter kit. After evaluating Doom's profiles feature and finding it problematic, I opted for a simpler approach using the DOOMDIR environment variable.

The goal is to create a practical Emacs environment that can serve as an alternative to CLI tools like Claude Code, covering diverse functionality in a terminal setting. While packages and configurations continue to grow, the focus remains on maintaining only essential features through continuous refinement.

MIT License

Issues and PRs welcome.

• Doom Emacs
• Ghostty Terminal
• 힣' Digital Garden: Dotfiles Emacs StarterKit