How to Install Emacs Editor on Linux Mint

We’re here to discuss how to install emacs editor on Linux Mint, which is a must-have for programmers. Here’s everything you need to know. 

A popular tool among developers and programmers, the emacs editor, provides a graphical user interface for editing files in Linux. It is also available for Windows and macOS environments. The emacs editor is used to edit codes written in Java, C++, and python as an integrated development environment (IDE).

How to Install Emacs Editor on Linux Mint

Before we go any further into the details of how you can install Emacs on Linux Mint for streamlined code editing, it is crucial to understand the tool first. 

Introduction to Emacs

Emacs is one of the oldest and most widely used, highly customizable, real-time editing tools. The following are the main features of this tool:

• It offers unicorn support.
• It has an easy installation procedure, and its support is comprehensive, along with tutorials.
• It is customizable with Emacs Lisp.
• It is extensible via different plugins.

Installation

The installation of emacs is pretty straightforward, and we will go through all of them in detail here. We will also discuss the four ways to install it using the command line interface. And lastly, we will go about the uninstallation process.

Installation using Terminal

We can install emacs using the apt repository, ppa repository, snap, or flatpak packages through the Terminal.

Installation using the apt repository

The ap repository is one of the most widely used repositories containing a comprehensive list of packages. To install emacs using this repository, run the following command first to update the package list first:

$sudo apt update

Now, install the emacs editor by using the following command:

$ sudo apt install emacs

The editor should then be successfully installed.

Installation using pra repository

To install the emacs editor using the pra repository (dead snakes pra repository), first add the repository to the system by using the following command:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kelleyk/emacs

Now update your system by using the following command:

$ sudo apt update

Now, the emacs editor can be installed by using the following command:

$ sudo apt install emacs

After that, the editor should be installed successfully.

Installation using the snap package manager

The first step in the third approach is to install the snapd package manager. First, remove the nosnap.pref file from your system. Type the following command in your system:

$ sudo rm /etc/apt/preferences.d/nosnap.pref

Now, update your system using the following command:

$ sudo apt update

Install the snap daemon using the following command:

$ sudo apt install snapd

The snapd is used to handle the snap package. The final step is to install the emacs editor using the following command:

$ sudo snap install emacs -classic

Installation using flatpak package

Using the flatpak package, the emacs editor can be very easily installed. First, install flatpak using the following command:

$sudo flatplak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Now, run the following command to install the emacs editor:

$sudo flatpak install flathub org.gnu.emacs

Installation using a graphical user interface (GUI)

The installation of the emacs editor is quite easy when using the graphical user interface. First, open the software manager and type the emacs editor, and press ”Enter”. In the list below, you will see the emacs editor. Click on the install option to install the emacs editor.

Verifying the installation

You can verify if the software is installed by opening the software manager and scrolling down to see the emacs listing in the menu. Clicking on the menu will launch the editor. You can also verify that the editor is successfully installed by using the following command:

$emacs --version

Removing the emacs editor from your system

Often, you don’t like software installed earlier in your system and want to remove it from the system. We will now discuss the steps to install the emacs editor using apt, snap, flatpak, and GUI. 

Uninstall using the apt repository

Type the following command in the Terminal to uninstall the emacs editor from your system:

$ sudo apt remove emacs

You can also use the following command to uninstall using apt:

$sudo apt-get purge emacs

To remove all the dependencies of emacs, run the following command:

$sudo apt-get autoremove

Uninstall using the snap package manager

Type the following command to remove the emacs editor from your system using snap:

$ sudo snap remove emacs

Uninstall using the flatpak

Using the flatpak package manager, the emacs editor can be uninstalled with the following command:

$sudo flatpak uninstall org.gnu.emacs

Uninstall through the graphical user interface

To uninstall the emacs editor, open the application package manager and search for the emacs editor. You will see the emacs entry in the list below. Select the editor and press enter. The editor will be successfully uninstalled from your system.

In this guide, we provided you with an overview of the emacs editor. We discussed the software’s significant features and how we can install and uninstall it using various options. We also tackled the three approaches to installing the emacs editor using the command line interface. 

Emacs editor is a potent editor with support for plugins and customization using Emacs Lisp. If you have any queries regarding this software, do not hesitate to leave a comment below.

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