NAME

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

+line[

:column

]

Go to the specified line, and optionally column (do not insert a space between the ‘+’ sign and the line number, or around the colon). If a negative number is specified, the line number counts backwards from the end of the file i.e. +-1 will be the last line of the file, +-2 will be second last, and so on.

-b file

Turn on batch mode and execute the mg commands found in the specified file and then terminate.

-f mode

Run the mode command for all buffers created from arguments on the command line, including the scratch buffer and all files.

-h

Show usage text and exit.

-n

Turn off backup file generation.

-R

Files specified on the command line will be opened read-only.

-s

Single-file mode: only the files named on the command line can be visited, inserted, or written; anything else is refused. The startup file is not read, backups are off as with -n, and -b and -u are refused. Combine with -S for the editor of a restricted shell.

-S

Secure mode, for use as the editor of a restricted shell. Commands that run other programs are disabled: suspend-emacs, shell-command, shell-command-on-region, compile, grep, diff-buffer-with-file, all of dired, and the cscope commands. The startup file is not read and -b and -u are refused. Files ending in .gz are opened as-is instead of being decompressed.

-u file

Use file as the startup file, instead of the default ~/.mg.

MINIBUFFER

WINDOWS AND BUFFERS

POINT AND MARK

BACKUP FILES

TAGS

CSCOPE

GZIP

DEFAULT KEY BINDINGS

MG COMMANDS

apply-macro-to-region-lines

Applies the keyboard macro to each line in the region.

apropos

Help Apropos. Prompt the user for a string, open the *help* buffer, and list all mg commands that contain that string.

audible-bell

Toggle the audible system bell.

auto-execute

Register an auto-execute hook; that is, specify a filename pattern (conforming to the shell's filename globbing rules) and an associated function to execute when a file matching the specified pattern is read into a buffer. The pattern is tried against both the full path and the last path component, so ‘.bashrc’ matches that file in any directory. Every matching hook runs, with one exception among the built-in ones: a mode's pattern that names the file, like ‘CMakeLists.txt’, outranks the built-in patterns it only matches by wildcard, like ‘*.txt’. The hooks from the startup file run after the built-in ones, and a buffer has one major mode, so the mode a pattern of the user's names is the one the buffer gets. The settings a mode makes, such as the tab width, stay when another takes its place. Unless the user's patterns set the major mode, the text of the file may decide instead: a #! line picks the mode of its interpreter, and a file that would otherwise open in conf-mode or fundamental mode, but starts with a ‘{’ or a JSON array, opens in json-mode.

auto-fill-mode

Toggle auto-fill mode (sometimes called mail-mode) in the current buffer, where text inserted past the fill column is automatically wrapped to a new line. Can be set globally with set-default-mode. Naming it in the startup file does the same, since there is no buffer there yet to toggle it in.

auto-indent-mode

Toggle indent mode in the current buffer, where indentation is preserved after a newline. Can be set globally with set-default-mode. Naming it in the startup file does the same, since there is no buffer there yet to toggle it in.

auto-revert-mode

Toggle auto revert mode, enabled by default. While waiting for a key, mg checks every five seconds whether a file has changed on disk and reloads the buffer, as long as it has no unsaved edits. Each window showing the buffer keeps its line. A buffer with unsaved edits is left alone, and asks before the next edit as before. auto-revert-mode 0 in the startup file disables it, and set-auto-revert-interval changes how often to check.

auto-revert-tail-mode

Toggle tail mode in the current buffer, for following a log file like ‘tail -f’. What is added to the file is appended to the buffer, and each window with dot at the end of the buffer follows the new end, while a window scrolled up stays where it is. Turning the mode on moves to the end of the buffer. A file that shrinks or is replaced, as when a log is rotated, is read again and shown from the end. Tail mode works without auto-revert-mode, on read-only buffers too, and checks as often. Everything under /var/log gets the mode automatically. To follow every log file as well:

auto-execute *.log auto-revert-tail-mode
    

back-to-indentation

Move the dot to the first non-whitespace character on the current line.

backup-to-home-directory

Save backup copies to a ~/.mg.d directory instead of working directory. Requires make-backup-files to be on.

backward-char

Move cursor backwards one character.

backward-kill-sentence

Kill back to the start of the sentence, n times.

backward-kill-word

Kill text backwards by n words.

backward-paragraph

Move cursor backwards n paragraphs. Paragraphs are delimited by <NL><NL> or <NL><TAB> or <NL><SPACE>.

backward-sentence

Move cursor back to the start of the sentence, or of the one before when already there, n times. A sentence ends with a period, question mark or exclamation mark, and any closing quotes or brackets, followed by the end of the line or two spaces; see sentence-end-double-space. The end of a paragraph ends one too.

backward-word

Move cursor backwards by the specified number of words.

balance-windows

Even out the sizes of all windows, heights and widths alike. The quick help pop-up keeps its height.

beginning-of-buffer

Move cursor to the top of the buffer. If set, keep mark's position, otherwise set at current position. A numeric argument n will move n/10th of the way from the top.

beginning-of-line

Move cursor to the beginning of the line.

blink-and-insert

Self-insert a character, then search backwards and blink its matching delimiter. For delimiters other than parenthesis, brackets, and braces, the character itself is used as its own match. Can be used in the startup file with the global-set-key command.

bsmap-mode

Toggle bsmap mode, where DEL and C-h are swapped. This may be needed on some systems if the backspace key doesn't work correctly.

c-mode

Toggle a KNF-compliant mode for editing C program files. TAB indents the current line, or every line in the region when the mark is active. Files named *.c and *.h get the mode automatically, as do C++ sources and headers.

call-last-kbd-macro

Invoke the keyboard macro.

capitalize-word

Capitalize n words; i.e. convert the first character of the word to upper case, and subsequent letters to lower case.

cd

Change the global working directory. See also global-wd-mode.

cmake-mode

Toggle cmake mode, which selects the cmake rules for syntax highlighting: comments, both # and #[[ ]], strings, the common commands, the upper case argument keywords like PUBLIC and REQUIRED, and ${VAR} references. Commands are recognized in lower case only. Files named CMakeLists.txt and *.cmake get the mode automatically.

column-number-mode

Toggle whether the column number is displayed in the modeline. Enabled by default.

comment-dwim

Do what a comment key should here. With the mark set, comment the region out, or back in when every line of code in it is already commented. On a line with a comment, move into it; with a numeric argument, kill the comment instead. Otherwise start a comment: after the code on the line, at the comment column, or at dot on an empty line. The delimiters come from the buffer's mode; a mode without comment syntax refuses. Bound to M-;.

comment-line

Comment the current line out, or back in when it is, and move to the next line. With the mark set, the region, as comment-dwim does.

comment-region

Comment out every line of code in the region, at its indentation.

conf-mode

Toggle configuration file mode, which selects the conf rules for syntax highlighting: comments started by # or ;, or by the ! of X resources, [section] headers, the key of a key = value pair, quoted strings, numbers, and words like yes, no and off. Enabling it also sets the tab width to eight, which is what /etc is written for. Files named *.conf, *.cfg, *.ini and *.toml get the mode automatically, as do systemd units, .desktop entries, fstab, ssh_config, sshd_config, ~/.ssh/config, ~/.gitconfig, ~/.editorconfig, ~/.Xresources, ~/.Xdefaults, and the .config and *defconfig files written by kconfig.

clear-rectangle

Replace the rectangle with blanks, so the text to its right keeps its place. A line that ends inside the rectangle loses its tail instead. See rectangle-mark-mode for what the rectangle is.

copy-rectangle-as-kill

Save the rectangle, as kill-rectangle does, without deleting it.

copy-region-as-kill

Copy all of the characters in the region to the kill buffer, clearing the mark afterwards. This is a bit like a kill-region followed by a yank.

copy-to-register

Save the text of the region in a register, named by the next key typed, for insert-register. A register holds a place or a piece of text, whichever was saved last.

count-matches

Count the number of lines matching the supplied regular expression.

count-non-matches

Count the number of lines not matching the supplied regular expression.

cscope-find-this-symbol

List the matches for the given symbol.

cscope-find-global-definition

List global definitions for the given literal.

cscope-find-called-functions

List functions called from the given function.

cscope-find-functions-calling-this-function

List functions calling the given function.

cscope-find-this-text-string

List locations matching the given text string.

cscope-find-egrep-pattern

List locations matching the given extended regular expression pattern.

cscope-find-this-file

List filenames matching the given filename.

cscope-find-files-including-file

List files that #include the given filename.

cscope-next-symbol

Navigate to the next match.

cscope-prev-symbol

Navigate to the previous match.

cscope-next-file

Navigate to the next file.

cscope-prev-file

Navigate to the previous file.

cscope-create-list-of-files-to-index

Create cscope's List and Index in the given directory.

define-key

Prompts the user for a named keymap (mode), a key, and an mg command, then creates a keybinding in the appropriate map.

delete-backward-char

Delete backwards n characters. Like delete-char, this actually does a kill if presented with an argument.

delete-blank-lines

Delete blank lines around dot. If dot is sitting on a blank line, this command deletes all the blank lines above and below the current line. Otherwise, it deletes all of the blank lines after the current line.

delete-char

Delete n characters forward. If any argument is present, it kills rather than deletes, saving the result in the kill buffer.

delete-duplicate-lines

Delete every line in the region that repeats an earlier line in it. The region grows to whole lines; a last line it only touches in column zero is left out.

delete-horizontal-space

Delete any whitespace around the dot.

delete-leading-space

Delete leading whitespace on the current line.

delete-trailing-space

Delete trailing whitespace on the current line.

delete-trailing-whitespace

Delete trailing whitespace on every line, and the empty lines at the end of the buffer. With the region active, only on the lines of the region.

delete-matching-lines

Delete all lines after dot that contain a string matching the supplied regular expression.

delete-non-matching-lines

Delete all lines after dot that don't contain a string matching the supplied regular expression.

delete-other-windows

Make the current window the only window visible on the screen.

delete-rectangle

Delete the rectangle without saving it.

delete-selection-mode

Toggle delete selection mode, enabled by default. When enabled, typing, yanking, or inserting a newline with the mark active replaces the region with the inserted text, and delete-char or delete-backward-char deletes the region instead of a character. The region is not saved in the kill buffer. Undo restores the region and removes the inserted text in one step. Deactivate the mark with C-g, or set it without activating it with C-SPC C-SPC, to edit next to the region instead.

delete-window

Delete current window.

describe-bindings

List all global and local keybindings, putting the result in the *help* buffer.

describe-key

Read a key and show the command it runs, and every key that command is on, in the *help* buffer. The cursor moves to the *help* window, as after apropos and describe-bindings, and q there closes it.

describe-key-briefly

Read a key from the keyboard, and look it up in the keymap. Display the name of the function currently bound to the key.

diff-buffer-with-file

View the differences between buffer and its associated file.

diff-mode

Toggle diff mode, which selects the diff rules for syntax highlighting: the lines that head a file, hunk headers, and the removed and added lines within a hunk. Lines outside a hunk are left alone, so the message of a mailed patch keeps its own dashes. In a patch from git format-patch the mail header is colored as well, and the ‘*** SUBJECT HERE ***’ and ‘*** BLURB HERE ***’ a cover letter is created with are shown in red, so that they do not go out. Enabling it also sets the tab width to eight, which is what a diff quotes its source at. Neither fill-paragraph nor auto-fill-mode wraps a line of the diff, only the message. A cover letter opens with its ‘*** SUBJECT HERE ***’ selected, so that typing replaces it, and C-c C-n runs diff-next-placeholder. Files named *.diff, *.patch and *.rej get the mode automatically.

diff-next-placeholder

Select the next placeholder of a cover letter from git format-patch, the ‘*** SUBJECT HERE ***’ or ‘*** BLURB HERE ***’ at or after dot, with the mark at its start and dot at its end, so that typing replaces it.

digit-argument

Process a numerical argument for keyboard-invoked functions.

dired-jump

Open a dired buffer containing the current buffer's directory location.

display-help-mode

Toggle permanent display of short help text in status area. By default the text is only shown at startup, until the first key press or for at most ten seconds. Keep it with “display-help-mode 1” in ~/.mg; a bare “display-help-mode” there toggles the default off.

display-line-numbers-mode

Toggle line numbers in a gutter at the left of the text. The mode belongs to the buffer, so every window showing it gets the gutter. It is as wide as the number of lines in the buffer needs, plus a space, and a row a long line wraps onto is left blank. Can be set globally with set-default-mode, or by naming it in the startup file.

display-time-mode

Toggle whether the current time is displayed in the modeline. The clock is kept current while mg waits for a key.

downcase-region

Set all characters in the region to lower case.

downcase-word

Set characters to lower case, starting at the dot, and ending n words away.

emacs-version

Return an mg version string.

end-kbd-macro

Stop defining a keyboard macro.

end-of-buffer

Move cursor to the end of the buffer. If set, keep mark's position, otherwise set at current position. A numeric argument n will move n/10th of the way from the end.

end-of-line

Move cursor to the end of the line.

end-or-call-last-kbd-macro

Stop defining a keyboard macro, or if macro definition is not in progress, call the last keyboard macro.

enlarge-window

Enlarge the current window by shrinking either the window above or below it.

enlarge-window-horizontally

Widen the current window by taking columns from the window beside it.

eval-current-buffer

Evaluate the current buffer as a series of mg commands. Useful for testing mg startup files.

eval-expression

Get one line from the user, and run it. Useful for testing expressions in mg startup files.

exchange-point-and-mark

Swap the values of "dot" and "mark" in the current window. Return an error if no mark is set.

execute-extended-command

Invoke an extended command; i.e. M-x. Call the message line routine to read in the command name and apply autocompletion to it. When it comes back, look the name up in the symbol table and run the command if it is found, passing arguments as necessary. Print an error if there is anything wrong.

fill-paragraph

Justify a paragraph, wrapping text at the current fill column. A list item is filled by itself with the continuation lines aligned under its text, and a block quote keeps its > prefix on every line. In diff-mode and git-commit-mode the diff is left as it is, since a fill would break it: the mail header and the diffstat of a patch, the lines that head a file, and the hunks. A paragraph ends where they begin, so the message right above the ‘---’ of a patch fills as any other.

fill-region

Fill each paragraph in the region, as fill-paragraph does.

find-file

Select a file for editing. First check if the file can be found in another buffer; if it is there, just switch to that buffer. If the file cannot be found, create a new buffer, read in the file from disk, and switch to the new buffer.

find-file-read-only

Same as find-file, except the new buffer is set to read-only.

find-alternate-file

Replace the current file with an alternate one. Semantics for finding the replacement file are the same as find-file, except the current buffer is killed before the switch. If the kill fails, or is aborted, revert to the original file.

find-file-other-window

Opens the specified file in a second buffer. Splits the current window if necessary.

find-tag

Jump to definition of tag at dot.

font-lock-mode

Toggle syntax highlighting, enabled by default. Comments, strings, keywords, types, numbers, and preprocessor directives are colored in buffers with a language mode, such as c-mode. Language modes are typically enabled per file type with auto-execute. Terminals without color support show plain text.

forward-char

Move cursor forwards (or backwards, if n is negative) n characters. Returns an error if the end of buffer is reached.

forward-paragraph

Move forward n paragraphs. Paragraphs are delimited by <NL><NL> or <NL><TAB> or <NL><SPACE>.

forward-sentence

Move cursor forward to the end of the sentence, n times. See backward-sentence for where sentences end.

forward-word

Move the cursor forward by the specified number of words.

git-commit-mode

Toggle git commit message mode, which selects the git-commit rules for syntax highlighting: the lines git comments out below the message, the trailers at the end of it, and the diff that git commit -v appends, on the same rules as diff-mode. It also binds the keys Magit's git-commit mode made standard, named in the echo line when the mode comes on:

C-c C-c

Hand the message back to git: save the buffer and exit.

C-c C-k

Abort, after a confirmation. The buffer is emptied before it is saved, which is how git, and git tag and git rebase -i with it, are told to give up.

C-c C-s

Add a Signed-off-by trailer for the committer, as read from git var GIT_COMMITTER_IDENT.

C-c C-a

Add an Acked-by trailer.

C-c C-r

Add a Reviewed-by trailer.

C-c C-t

Add a Tested-by trailer.

C-c C-d

Show the staged changes, running git-commit-show-diff.

A trailer goes below the message and above the comments, joining the trailer block already there or opening one under the body. Dot does not move. The fill column is set to 72, since git log indents the message by four columns. When the mode comes on for a commit or merge message that carries no diff of its own, the staged changes, from git diff --cached in the repository of the message, are shown in a read-only *diff* window next to it: to the right when the terminal has room for both at 80 columns, else below. C-c C-d runs git-commit-show-diff again, after staging more from another terminal. The window is not opened in secure mode, nor when nothing is staged. A message that reads as the one of HEAD, which is what git commit --amend opens, shows the whole diff of the amended commit, what is staged on top of it included; a new commit given the very message of HEAD is taken for an amend as well. Files named COMMIT_EDITMSG, MERGE_MSG, NOTES_EDITMSG, TAG_EDITMSG and git-rebase-todo get the mode automatically.

global-set-key

Bind a key in the global (fundamental) key map.

global-unset-key

Unbind a key from the global (fundamental) key map; i.e. set it to 'rescan'.

global-wd-mode

Toggle global working-directory mode. When enabled, mg defaults to opening files (and executing commands like compile and grep) relative to the global working directory. When disabled, a working directory is set for each buffer.

goto-line

Go to a specific line. If an argument is present, then it is the line number, else prompt for a line number to use.

ido-mode

Toggle ido mode, enabled by default. When enabled, the M-x, buffer and file prompts match what is typed as a substring of the candidates, case ignored, and show the matches after the text: the selected one first, in bold and underlined, a prefix match before a substring match. RET picks the selected match, C-s and C-r, or the right and left arrow keys, select the next and previous one, TAB completes what the matches have in common or lists them, C-j takes the text as typed, and C-f at the end of the text returns to plain completion for the rest of the prompt. At a file prompt the directory is part of the prompt: RET on a subdirectory enters it, DEL with nothing typed goes to the parent, a slash in the text moves to that directory, ~/ to the home directory and // to the root, and C-d with nothing typed opens the directory in dired.

help-help

Prompts for one of (a)propos, (b)indings, des(c)ribe key briefly.

insert

Insert a string, mainly for use from macros.

insert-buffer

Insert the contents of another buffer at dot.

insert-file

Insert a file into the current buffer at dot.

insert-register

Insert the text saved in a register, named by the next key typed, at dot, which stays before the text with the mark after it, or the other way round with a prefix argument.

insert-with-wrap

Insert the bound character with word wrap. Check to see if we're past the fill column, and if so, justify this line.

isearch-backward

Use incremental searching, initially in the reverse direction. isearch ignores any explicit arguments. If invoked during macro definition or evaluation, the non-incremental search-backward is invoked instead.

isearch-forward

Use incremental searching, initially in the forward direction. isearch ignores any explicit arguments. If invoked during macro definition or evaluation, the non-incremental search-forward is invoked instead.

join-line

Join the current line to the previous. If called with an argument, join the next line to the current one.

json-mode

Toggle json mode, which selects the json rules for syntax highlighting: the key of a pair, told from a string by the colon after it, strings, numbers, the words true, false and null, and the ‘//’ and ‘/* */’ comments of JSONC, the JSON with comments of many a settings file. Those are also what comment-region writes, which strict JSON does not allow. Enabling it also sets a two column indent step in spaces, the common convention, and turns on auto-indent-mode. Files named *.json and *.jsonc get the mode automatically, as do files named *.cfg or *.conf, or for nothing in particular, whose text starts with a ‘{’ or with a [‘’ that a value follows, not a word as in an INI section.

jump-to-register

Go to the place saved in a register, named by the next key typed: its buffer in the current window, then its line, or the line of the same number if that one is gone, at the same column, or the end of the line if that is shorter now.

just-one-space

Delete any whitespace around dot, then insert a space.

keyboard-quit

Abort the current action.

kill-buffer

Dispose of a buffer, by name. If the buffer name does not start and end with an asterisk, prompt the user if the buffer has been changed.

kill-current-buffer

Kill the current buffer, as kill-buffer does, without asking which.

kill-line

Kill line. If called without an argument, it kills from dot to the end of the line, unless it is at the end of the line, when it kills the newline. If called with an argument of 0, it kills from the start of the line to dot. If called with a positive argument, it kills from dot forward over that number of newlines. If called with a negative argument it kills any text before dot on the current line, then it kills back abs(n) lines.

kill-paragraph

Delete n paragraphs starting with the current one.

kill-rectangle

Delete the rectangle, saving its rows for yank-rectangle, which yank runs as well until the next ordinary kill. A line that ends inside the rectangle gives a row padded with spaces, as does a tab or a wide character crossing an edge.

kill-region

Kill the currently defined region.

kill-sentence

Kill to the end of the sentence, n times.

kill-word

Delete forward n words.

leave-tmpdir-backups

Modifies the behaviour of backup-to-home-directory. Backup files that would normally reside in /tmp are left there and not moved to the ~/.mg.d directory.

line-number-mode

Toggle whether the line number is displayed in the modeline.

line-wrap-mode

Toggle line wrap mode, where a line too long for the window continues on the rows below it instead of being truncated with a ‘$’. The mode belongs to the buffer, so every window showing it wraps. A continued row ends with an arrow, or with a backslash outside UTF-8 locales, in a column held back from the text for it. scroll-up and scroll-down still move by whole lines, which is more than a screenful when the lines are long. Can be set globally with set-default-mode. Naming it in the startup file does the same, since there is no buffer there yet to toggle it in.

list-buffers

Display the list of available buffers. The first column in the output indicates which buffer is active with a '>' character. The second column indicates which buffers are modified. The third column indicates which buffers are read-only. The remaining columns are self-explanatory. The buffers are listed from the one used last.

load

Prompt the user for a filename, and then execute commands from that file.

local-set-key

Bind a key mapping in the local (topmost) mode.

local-unset-key

Unbind a key mapping in the local (topmost) mode.

m4-mode

Toggle m4 mode, for configure.ac and other autoconf and m4 sources, which selects the m4 rules for syntax highlighting: dnl and # comments, the m4 builtins, every AC_, AM_, AS_, AX_, LT_, PKG_ and m4_ macro, the shell keywords of the code between them, strings, and $variable and @VAR@ references. comment-dwim uses dnl. Files named configure.ac, configure.in and *.m4 get the mode automatically.

make-backup-files

Toggle generation of backup files. Enabled by default.

make-directory

Prompt the user for a path or directory name which is then created.

makefile-mode

Toggle makefile mode, which selects the makefile rules for syntax highlighting: comments, strings, directives like include and ifdef, special targets like .PHONY, and variable references, both $(VAR) and automatic variables like $@ and $<. For automake, the if and endif of a conditional, and the @VAR@ substitutions configure fills in, are colored too. Enabling it also sets the tab width to eight and turns off no-tab-mode, since recipe lines must start with a real tab. Files named Makefile, makefile, GNUmakefile, Makefile.am, Makefile.in and other Makefile.*, *.mk, and *.make, and files whose first line is a #! naming make, get the mode automatically.

mark-paragraph

Mark n paragraphs.

mark-whole-buffer

Marks whole buffer as a region by putting dot at the beginning and mark at the end of buffer.

markdown-mode

Toggle markdown mode, which selects the markdown rules for syntax highlighting: headings, emphasis, inline code and fenced code blocks, links, block quotes, and list markers. Files named *.md and *.markdown get the mode automatically.

meta-key-mode

Toggle interpretation of the eighth bit of keyboard input as the Meta key. Disabled by default so that 8-bit characters can be typed. Terminals that send Meta as an escape prefix are unaffected by this setting.

move-to-window-line

Move dot to the start of the line on window row n, counted from 0 at the top, or from -1 at the bottom when n is negative. Without an argument, the middle row.

move-to-window-line-top-bottom

Move dot to the middle row of the window, and when repeated to the top row, then the bottom one. An argument is passed to move-to-window-line.

negative-argument

Process a negative argument for keyboard-invoked functions.

newline

Insert a newline into the current buffer.

newline-and-indent

Insert a newline, then enough tabs and spaces to duplicate the indentation of the previous line, respecting no-tab-mode and the buffer tab width.

next-history-element

At a prompt, show the line entered after the one shown, or what was being typed once past the newest. Bound to M-n; the Down arrow does the same.

next-buffer

Undo a previous-buffer: show the buffer used after this one, walking back toward the newest. Bound to C-x right arrow and C-x C-right arrow.

next-line

Move forward n lines.

no-tab-mode

Toggle notab mode. In this mode, spaces are inserted rather than tabs. This can be set globally with set-default-mode. Naming it in the startup file does the same, since there is no buffer there yet to toggle it in.

not-modified

Turn off the modified flag in the current buffer.

open-line

Open up some blank space. Essentially, insert n newlines, then back up over them.

open-rectangle

Push the text of the rectangle right by its width, in spaces.

other-window

The command to make the next (down the screen) window the current window. There are no real errors, although the command does nothing if there is only 1 window on the screen.

overwrite-mode

Toggle overwrite mode in the current buffer, where typing overwrites existing characters rather than inserting them. Can be set globally with set-default-mode. Naming it in the startup file does the same, since there is no buffer there yet to toggle it in.

prefix-region

Inserts a prefix string before each line of a region. The prefix string is settable by using set-prefix-string or this command with a prefix argument.

previous-history-element

At a prompt, show the line entered before the one shown. Bound to M-p; the Up arrow does the same.

previous-buffer

Show the buffer used before this one in the current window. Repeating it walks on through the older buffers, in the order of list-buffers, and wraps around, so holding the key visits every buffer once. Bound to C-x left arrow and C-x C-left arrow.

previous-line

Move backwards n lines.

previous-window

This command makes the previous (up the screen) window the current window. There are no errors, although the command does not do a lot if there is only 1 window.

point-to-register

Save where dot is, buffer and all, in a register named by the next key typed, for jump-to-register. A register holds a place or a piece of text, whichever was saved last.

pop-tag-mark

Return to position where find-tag was previously invoked.

push-shell

Suspend mg and switch to alternate screen, if available.

pwd

Display current (global) working directory in the status area.

python-mode

Toggle python mode, which selects the python rules for syntax highlighting: comments, strings including the triple-quoted kind, keywords, built-in functions, and decorators. Enabling it also sets the tab width to four, turns on no-tab-mode, since whitespace is structure in python and a stray tab is a syntax error, and enables the indent mode so RET keeps the indentation. TAB indents the line like the previous non-blank line, one level deeper after a line ending in a colon, or every line in the region when the mark is active. Pressing TAB again steps the line back one level at a time and wraps around, since the line may belong to any enclosing block. Files named *.py and files with a #! line naming python get the mode automatically.

query-replace

Query Replace. Search and replace strings selectively, prompting after each match.

quick-help

Toggle quick help buffer.

rename-buffer

Give the current buffer a new name. A name already in use is refused; with a numeric argument, “<2>”, “<3>” and so on is added to it to make it unique.

replace-regexp

Replace regular expression globally without individual prompting.

replace-string

Replace string globally without individual prompting.

query-replace-regexp

Replace strings selectively. Does a search and replace operation using regular expressions for both patterns.

quoted-insert

Insert the next character verbatim into the current buffer; i.e. ignore any function bound to that key.

re-search-again

Perform a regular expression search again, using the same search string and direction as the last search command.

re-search-backward

Search backwards using a regular expression. Get a search string from the user, and search, starting at dot and proceeding toward the front of the buffer. If found, dot is left pointing at the first character of the pattern [the last character that was matched].

re-search-forward

Search forward using a regular expression. Get a search string from the user and search for it starting at dot. If found, move dot to just after the matched characters. display does all the hard stuff. If not found, it just prints a message.

recenter

Reposition dot in the current window. By default, the dot is centered. If given a positive argument (n), the display is repositioned to line n. If n is negative, it is that line from the bottom.

recenter-top-bottom

Center the window on dot, and when repeated put dot's line at the top, then the bottom. An argument is passed to recenter.

rectangle-mark-mode

Toggle rectangle mark mode in the current window. The region between mark and dot, set at dot if the mark is not active, is then the rectangle: the lines from the one to the other, the columns from the one to the other, drawn so and reshaped as dot moves. C-w and M-w kill and copy the rectangle, C-d and DEL delete it, C-o opens it, C-t replaces its rows with a string, and C-x C-x goes to the other corner. The C-x r commands act on the same rectangle whether the mode is on or not. Typing does not replace a rectangle.

redraw-display

Refresh the display. Recomputes all window sizes in case something has changed.

resize-window-down

 

resize-window-left

 

resize-window-right

 

resize-window-up

Move a window edge in the given direction: the edge on that side of the current window when it is a divider, otherwise the opposite one, so the arrow and the divider travel together. Bound to Meta, shift and an arrow key on terminals that send xterm or rxvt style sequences.

require-final-newline <nil | T | ask>

Require files to have a final newline added when saving. By default this is disabled (nil). To always add a missing newline set to T, to restore the original mg behavior, use ask.

reverse-region

Reverse the order of the lines in the region, whole lines as with sort-lines.

revert-buffer

Revert the current buffer to the latest file on disk. Each window showing the buffer keeps its line.

save-buffer

Save the contents of the current buffer if it has been changed, optionally creating a backup copy.

save-buffers-kill-emacs

Offer to save modified buffers and quit mg.

save-some-buffers

Look through the list of buffers, offering to save any buffer that has been changed. Buffers that are not associated with files (such as *scratch*, *grep*, *compile*) are ignored.

scroll-down

Scroll backwards n pages. A two-line overlap between pages is assumed. If given a repeat argument, scrolls back lines, not pages.

scroll-one-line-down

Scroll the display down n lines without changing the cursor position.

scroll-one-line-up

Scroll the display n lines up without moving the cursor position.

scroll-other-window

Scroll the next window in the window list window forward n pages.

scroll-up

Scroll forward one page. A two-line overlap between pages is assumed. If given a repeat argument, scrolls back lines, not pages.

search-again

Search again, using the same search string and direction as the last search command.

search-backward

Reverse search. Get a search string from the user, and search, starting at dot and proceeding toward the front of the buffer. If found, dot is left pointing at the first character of the pattern (the last character that was matched).

search-forward

Search forward. Get a search string from the user, and search for it starting at dot. If found, dot gets moved to just after the matched characters, if not found, print a message.

self-insert-command

Insert a character.

sentence-end-double-space

Toggle double or single spaces for end of sentences. Double is the default. Affects fill-paragraph and where the sentence commands, like forward-sentence, find the end of a sentence.

set-auto-revert-interval

Set the number of seconds between the checks made by auto-revert-mode, five by default.

set-case-fold-search

Set case-fold searching, causing case not to matter in regular expression searches. This is the default.

set-case-replace

Preserve the case of the replaced string. This is the default.

set-comment-column

Set the column a comment comment-dwim adds after code starts in, 40 to begin with. Bound to C-x ;.

set-default-mode

Append the supplied mode to the list of default modes used by subsequent buffer creation. Built in modes include: fill, indent, notab, and overwrite.

set-fill-column

Set the fill column of the current buffer, which auto-fill-mode and fill-paragraph wrap at, to the prefix argument, or prompt for it. From the startup file it sets the default for new buffers.

set-mark-command

Sets the mark in the current window to the current dot location. Typed twice in a row, the mark is set but not activated, so the region is neither shown nor replaced by typing. Use it for a place to return to with exchange-point-and-mark.

set-prefix-string

Sets the prefix string to be used by the prefix-region command.

set-tab-width

Set the tab width for the current buffer, or the default for new buffers if called with a prefix argument or from the startup file.

shell-command

Execute external command from mini-buffer. With a universal argument (C-u), this command inserts the output into the current buffer.

shell-command-on-region

Provide the text in region to the shell command as input. With a universal argument (C-u), this command replaces the marked region with the output from the command.

shell-script-mode

Toggle shell script mode, which selects the shell rules for syntax highlighting: comments, strings, keywords, built-in commands, and variable references. Enabling it also sets the tab width to eight, turns off no-tab-mode, since here documents with <<- only strip real tabs, and enables the indent mode so RET keeps the indentation of continuation lines. TAB indents the line like the previous non-blank line, or every line in the region when the mark is active; on a blank line it inserts a real tab, for here documents. Files named *.sh, *.bash, *.ksh, *.zsh, shell rc files such as .bashrc, .profile, and .zshrc, and files whose first line is a #! naming a Bourne compatible shell, get the mode automatically. Add other file types with auto-execute, for example:

auto-execute .aliases shell-script-mode

shift-backward-char

 

shift-forward-char

 

shift-next-line

 

shift-previous-line

 

shift-beginning-of-line

 

shift-end-of-line

 

shift-backward-word

 

shift-forward-word

 

shift-backward-paragraph

 

shift-forward-paragraph

 

shift-scroll-down

 

shift-scroll-up

Move like the unshifted command, activating the mark at dot first, so holding shift with the arrow, Home/End, and PgUp/PgDn keys marks text, by word and paragraph with control held too. The first unshifted command drops the selection again; a mark set with C-SPC is left alone. Bound to the shifted keys on terminals that send xterm or rxvt style sequences.

shrink-window

Shrink current window by one line. The window immediately below is expanded to pick up the slack. If only one window is present, this command has no effect.

shrink-window-horizontally

Narrow the current window, giving the columns to the window beside it.

sort-lines

Sort the lines in the region, byte by byte as sort(1) does in the C locale; with a numeric argument in reverse. The region grows to whole lines; a last line it only touches in column zero is left out.

space-to-tabstop

Insert enough spaces to reach the next tab-stop position. By default, tab-stops occur every 8 characters.

split-window-horizontally

Split the current window side by side. The current window becomes the left half; a window narrower than 8 columns cannot be split. Rows can only be moved between windows of the same width, so delete-window and enlarge-window refuse layouts where that would misalign a neighbor; delete-other-windows always works. Side by side windows do not survive a change of terminal width.

split-window-vertically

Split the current window. A window smaller than 3 lines cannot be split.

start-kbd-macro

Start defining a keyboard macro. Macro definition is ended by invoking end-kbd-macro.

string-rectangle

Replace each row of the rectangle with a string read from the minibuffer, lines that end before it padded with spaces to reach it.

suspend-emacs

Suspend mg and switch back to alternate screen, if in use.

switch-to-buffer

Prompt and switch to a new buffer in the current window.

switch-to-buffer-other-window

Switch to buffer in another window.

tabify

Turn runs of spaces in the lines of the region into tabs, where a run of a space and at least one more blank crosses a tab stop. The text stays in the same columns. The region grows to whole lines.

text-mode

Toggle text mode, for prose rather than code. Enabling it turns on auto-fill-mode, so typing past the fill column wraps the line. Plain text has no syntax rules, so nothing is colored. Files named *.txt and *.text get the mode automatically, as do the files a source tree keeps without a suffix, AUTHORS, COPYING, INSTALL, LICENSE, NEWS, README, THANKS and TODO, and the file mutt(1) hands its editor. Add other file types with auto-execute, for example:

auto-execute *.rst text-mode

toggle-read-only

Toggle the read-only flag on the current buffer.

toggle-read-only-all

Toggle the read-only flag on all non-ephemeral buffers. A simple toggle that switches a global read-only flag either on or off.

transpose-chars

Transpose the two characters in front of and under dot, then move forward one character. Treat newline characters the same as any other.

transpose-lines

Exchange the line dot is on with the line above it, and move dot to the start of the next line, so repeating it drags a line down; on the first line, the first two lines are exchanged. With a numeric argument n, move the line above dot down past n lines, or up past -n; with zero, exchange the lines dot and mark are on. Bound to C-x C-t.

transpose-paragraphs

Transpose adjacent paragraphs. If multiple iterations are requested, the current paragraph will be moved n paragraphs forward.

transpose-words

Transpose adjacent words.

tutorial

Bring up mg tutorial, if available on system.

uncomment-region

Take the comment delimiters off every line of the region.

undo

Undo the most recent action. If invoked again without an intervening command, move the undo pointer to the previous action and undo it.

undo-boundary

Add an undo boundary. This is not usually done interactively.

undo-boundary-toggle

Toggle whether undo boundaries are generated. Undo boundaries are often disabled before operations that should be considered atomically undoable.

undo-enable

Toggle whether undo information is kept.

undo-list

Show the undo records for the current buffer in a new buffer.

universal-argument

Repeat the next command 4 times. Usually bound to C-u. This command may be stacked; e.g. C-u C-u C-f moves the cursor forward 16 characters.

untabify

Turn the tabs in the lines of the region into the spaces that reach the same column. The region grows to whole lines.

upcase-region

Upper case region. Change all of the lower case characters in the region to upper case.

upcase-word

Move the cursor forward by the specified number of words. As it moves, convert any characters to upper case.

use-short-answers

Toggle accepting a single y or n in place of a spelled out yes or no answer to important questions. Enabled by default, unlike GNU Emacs.

visible-bell

Toggle the visible bell. If this toggle is on, the modeline will flash.

visit-tags-table

Load tags file to be used for subsequent find-tag.

visual-mark-mode

Toggle visual mark mode, enabled by default. When enabled, the region between mark and dot is drawn in reverse video after set-mark-command, mark-whole-buffer, mark-paragraph, and exchange-point-and-mark. The highlight is removed when the buffer is modified, the command is aborted with C-g, or the region is copied.

what-cursor-position

Display a bunch of useful information about the current location of dot. The character under the cursor (in octal), the current line, row, and column, and approximate position of the cursor in the file (as a percentage) is displayed. The column position assumes an infinite position display; it does not truncate just because the screen does.

where-is

Prompt for a command and show the keys it is on.

whitespace-cleanup

Clean up whitespace in the buffer: delete trailing whitespace on every line and empty lines at the start and end of the buffer, and redo the indentation of each line with tabs and spaces, or with spaces alone in no-tab-mode, at the buffer's tab width. With the mark set, only the lines of the region are cleaned, and their empty lines are kept.

windmove-down

 

windmove-left

 

windmove-right

 

windmove-up

Select the window beside the current one in the given direction. With several neighbors the topmost, or leftmost, is chosen. Bound to Meta and an arrow key on terminals that send xterm or rxvt style sequences; note that some terminals grab these keys for their own split panes.

write-file

Ask for a file name and write the contents of the current buffer to that file. Update the remembered file name and clear the buffer changed flag.

yaml-mode

Toggle yaml mode, which selects the yaml rules for syntax highlighting: comments, the ‘---’ and ‘...’ document markers, list markers, the key of a key: value pair, quoted strings, numbers, the words YAML reads as booleans and null, and anchors and aliases. A block scalar introduced by ‘|’ or ‘>’ takes the lines below it, which are left as text, so a shell script under ‘run: |’ is not read as YAML. A plain scalar is left alone, there being no way to tell one from prose. Enabling it also sets a two column tab width, turns on no-tab-mode, since a tab is a syntax error in YAML, and enables the indent mode so RET keeps the indentation. Files named *.yml and *.yaml get the mode automatically, as do .clang-format and .yamllint.

yank

Yank text from kill-buffer. Unlike emacs, the mg kill buffer consists only of the most recent kill. It is not a ring.

yank-rectangle

Insert the rectangle last killed or copied with its top left corner at dot, a row to a line, lines padded with spaces to reach the column and added at the end of the buffer as needed. The mark goes to the corner, dot after the last row.

zap-to-char

Ask for a character and delete text from the current cursor position until the next instance of that character, including it.

zap-up-to-char

Like zap-to-char but doesn't delete the target character.

MG DIRED KEY BINDINGS

MG DIRED COMMANDS

dired-create-directory

Create a directory.

dired-do-copy

Copy the file listed on the current line of the dired buffer.

dired-do-flagged-delete

Delete the files that have been flagged for deletion.

dired-do-rename

Rename the file listed on the current line of the dired buffer.

dired-find-alternate-file

Replace the current dired buffer with an alternate one as specified by the position of the cursor in the dired buffer.

dired-find-file

Open the file on the current line of the dired buffer. If the cursor is on a directory it will be opened in dired mode.

dired-flag-file-deletion

Flag the file listed on the current line for deletion. This is indicated in the buffer by putting a D at the left margin. No files are actually deleted until the function dired-do-flagged-delete is executed.

dired-find-file-other-window

Open the file on the current line of the dired buffer in a different window.

dired-goto-file

Move the cursor to a file name in the dired buffer.

dired-next-line

Move the cursor to the next line.

dired-other-window

This function works just like dired, except that it puts the dired buffer in another window.

dired-previous-line

Move the cursor to the previous line.

dired-revert

Refresh the dired buffer while retaining any flags.

dired-scroll-down

Scroll down the dired buffer.

dired-scroll-up

Scroll up the dired buffer.

dired-shell-command

Pipe the file under the current cursor position through a shell command.

dired-unmark

Remove the deletion flag for the file on the current line.

dired-unmark-backward

Remove the deletion flag from the file listed on the previous line of the dired buffer, then move up to that line.

dired-up-directory

Open a dired buffer in the parent directory.

quit-window

Close the current dired buffer.

CONFIGURATION FILES

global-set-key ")" self-insert-command 
global-set-key "\^x\^f" find-file 
global-set-key "\e[Z" backward-char 
set-default-mode fill 
set-fill-column 72 
auto-execute *.c c-mode

ENVIRONMENT

MGSECURE

When set, in the manner of LESSSECURE, mg runs in secure mode as if started with -S.

FILES

~/.mg

normal startup file

~/.mg-$TERM

terminal-specific startup file

~/.mg.d

alternative backup file location

/usr/share/doc/mg/tutorial

concise tutorial

SEE ALSO

CAVEATS