Spacemacs-Android: An Unofficial Fork of Spacemacs Optimized for Android

Welcome to Spacemacs-Android – a customized fork of Spacemacs designed specifically for Android devices!
This project aims to adapt Spacemacs for Android and improve support on the platform. Get a familiar development environment on your Android like your desktop with Spacemacs.

To learn more about Spacemacs, take a look at the original repository.

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🚧 Project Status: Testing Phase

Spacemacs-Android is currently in development and testing. Please help the development process by trying it out, reporting issues and contributing code.

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🎯 Goals

• Android-Optimized: Tweaks and configurations for better usability on touch screens and smaller displays.
• Curated Layers: Enable layers and packages that work well on Android.
• Mobile Keybindings: Adjust keymaps for devices without physical keyboards.
• Performance Improvements: Disable heavy desktop features for better speed on mobile hardware.
• Easy Setup: Clone and use instantly, with sensible defaults for Android.

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✨ Features

• Intuitive Keybindings: Access commands easily using mnemonic shortcuts, with the space bar (SPC) as the leader key, designed for touch and mobile keyboards.
• Hybrid Editing Modes: Seamlessly switch between Vim and Emacs styles, or combine them—choose what works best for you.
• Layer-Based Configuration: Bundle related packages and settings into layers for simple, modular customization. Remember, some layers might be desktop-specific and might not work on Android. So, activate only what's useful for Android.
• Project & File Navigation: Quickly jump between files and projects using fast search tools (install ripgrep for fastest search).
• Beautiful & Adaptive Interface: Enjoy a nice UI and a mode-line adapted for Android.
• Extensible Ecosystem: Benefit from hundreds of available layers and community packages, with most Emacs/Spacemacs add-ons supported.
• Built-In Documentation & Help: Access help and documentation within Emacs itself—get started or troubleshoot without leaving your editor.
• Android-Specific Tweaks: Mobile-friendly defaults, touch support, and configuration guidance for the best experience on Android devices.

N.B.: Please note that this fork is still in development and features aren't yet complete. To learn more about Spacemacs features, refer to its repository

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📋 Prerequisites

Before installing Spacemacs-Android, ensure you have the following:

• Emacs for Android: You need Emacs installed on your Android device with Termux support.

• Git: Required to clone the repository and update Spacemacs-Android.

• Tar: Needed to install and update Emacs packages. Usually available in Termux.

• ripgrep (rg) (Optional but strongly recommended): Many search features in Spacemacs-Android will be much faster and more powerful if you install ripgrep.

  • Install in Termux with:

    pkg install ripgrep

• (Optional) Font: If you want to use the default font, or at least for better support at the setup phase, install the default font JetBrains Mono in ~/fonts/ in your Emacs home directory. You can change this later in ~/.spacemacs.

• (Recommended) External Keyboard: For a better navigation and editing experience.

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🚀 Getting Started

1. Install Emacs on Android with Termux support

   • Install Emacs from GNU FTP server with Termux support. Instructions are provided in the README.

2. Clone Spacemacs-Android

   git clone https://github.com/khalidrafi6/spacemacs-android.git ~/.emacs.d/

   • This must be under Emacs home directory. On the official Android Emacs app, it's usually /data/data/org.gnu.emacs/files.

3. Launch Emacs

   • Start Emacs and Spacemacs-Android should load automatically. On first launch, it will ask a few setup questions and generate a .spacemacs file in your home directory. You can always customize it later by editing .spacemacs.
   • Next, it will start installing packages. This is called bootstrap. This process takes some time and requires a stable internet connection.

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⚙️ Configuration

• Your main configuration file is ~/.spacemacs (the “dotspacemacs file”). The environment variables are managed by ~/.spacemacs.env file.
• You can also keep these two files under ~/.spacemacs.d directory. In this case, you'll have to move .spacemacs there as init.el.

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📱 Tips for Mobile Use

• For the best experience, use an external keyboard or install a keyboard app that resembles desktop keyboard.
• Customize keybindings in .spacemacs to suit your device.

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🛠 Updating

To update Spacemacs-Android to the latest version:

cd ~/.emacs.d
git pull --rebase

Then restart Emacs.

You should also update Emacs packages after an update. Use the [Update Packages] button on Spacemacs Home Buffer or the keybinding SPC f e U.

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❓ Getting Help

• For general Spacemacs usage, see Spacemacs Documentation.
• For Android-specific issues, open an issue on this repository.

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💡 Contributing & Feedback

I welcome feedback, bug reports, and suggestions!
If you find issues or want to propose improvements, please open an issue or create a pull request.

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❣️ Credits

• Thanks to Spacemacs for a nice Emacs configuration
• Thanks to the Emacs & Termux communities

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📜 License

Spacemacs-Android is released under the same license as the original Spacemacs project (GPLv3).

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Stay tuned for more updates!

Happy hacking on Android! 🚀