Emacs in Microsoft Windows FAQ

By Xah Lee. Date: . Last updated: .

Where to download emacs for Windows?

Where is emacs init file on Microsoft Windows?

How to list environment variables?

How to find out if emacs init is loaded?

put this in your Emacs Init File:

(set-background-color "ivory")

If emacs starts with new background color, then it's loaded.

How to Start Emacs by Command Line?

Launch PowerShell , then type for example: ~\Downloads\emacs-27.1-x86_64\bin\runemacs

How to start emacs in graphical user interface?

Go to emacs folder, then in the “bin” dir, then click on file runemacs.exe

How to start emacs with default dir at home dir?

How to disable Ctrl+Space on Windows

How to disable Ctrl+Alt+s in Microsoft Windows?

How to run PowerShell or Bash in emacs?

Setting Environment Variable for Emacs Only

Install Linux Tools

Some of emacs's features require unix utilities. The essential ones are these:

There are several ways to get linux tools for Microsoft Windows.

I recomment one of the following:

Alternatively, i recommend not rely on unix {find, grep, diff}, because they are 30 years old technology.

You can easily use PowerShell for unix find/grep/diff. [see PowerShell Tutorial]

For find/replace/grep needs within emacs, try Emacs: Xah Find Replace (xah-find.el)

What About Setting Up Emacs Daemon

Emacs Start Up and Init Files

Emacs on Microsoft Windows