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Top 10 Things New Doom Emacs Users Should Know

🚀 Getting Started with Doom Emacs

Welcome to Doom Emacs! Here are the 10 most essential things every new user should master to get productive quickly.

1. 🗝️ Master the Leader Key: SPC

The Space key is your gateway to everything in Doom Emacs.

  • SPC is called the "leader key" - it opens menus for almost every action
  • After pressing SPC, you'll see helpful hints showing available commands
  • Commands are organized logically: SPC f for files, SPC g for git, SPC p for projects

Essential starter commands:

  • SPC f f - Find/open files
  • SPC f s - Save current file
  • SPC q q - Quit Emacs
  • SPC h - Help menu (very important!)

Pro Tip: If you forget what comes next, just press SPC and wait - Doom will show you the options!

2. 📁 Navigate Files Like a Pro

File navigation is fundamental to productivity.

  • SPC . - Open file explorer (Dired) in current directory
  • SPC f f - Find file anywhere on your system
  • SPC f r - Recent files you've worked on
  • SPC SPC - Find file in current project (super useful!)

📋 See the complete guide: emacs.file-explorer.cheatsheet.md

Quick workflow:

  1. Open your project directory in terminal
  2. Start Emacs: emacs or doom run
  3. Use SPC . to browse files or SPC SPC to quickly find files

3. ⌨️ Understand Evil Mode (Vim Keybindings)

Doom Emacs uses Vim-style keybindings by default.

Basic movement (in Normal mode):

  • h j k l - Left, down, up, right
  • w - Jump to next word
  • b - Jump back one word
  • gg - Go to top of file
  • G - Go to bottom of file

Mode switching:

  • i - Enter Insert mode (to type text)
  • ESC - Return to Normal mode
  • v - Visual mode (to select text)

If you're not familiar with Vim: Don't panic! You can learn gradually. The basics above will get you started.

4. 🔍 Search and Replace Efficiently

Finding and changing text is a daily task.

  • / - Search forward in current buffer
  • ? - Search backward in current buffer
  • n/N - Next/previous search result
  • SPC s s - Search in current buffer (interactive)
  • SPC s p - Search in entire project
  • SPC s r - Search and replace in current buffer

For project-wide search: SPC s p is incredibly powerful for finding code across your entire project.

5. 🗂️ Work with Buffers and Windows

Buffers are open files, windows are how you view them.

Buffer management:

  • SPC b b - Switch between open buffers
  • SPC b k - Kill (close) current buffer
  • SPC b s - Save current buffer

Window management:

  • SPC w v - Split window vertically
  • SPC w s - Split window horizontally
  • SPC w c - Close current window
  • SPC w w - Switch between windows
  • C-h j/k/h/l - Navigate between windows (Vim-style)

Think of it this way: You can have many files open (buffers) but only see some of them at once (windows).

6. 🛠️ Configure and Customize Doom

Doom is highly configurable, but start simple.

Key files to know about:

  • ~/.doom.d/config.el - Your personal configuration
  • ~/.doom.d/init.el - Enable/disable Doom modules
  • ~/.doom.d/packages.el - Add extra packages

Essential commands:

  • SPC h r r - Reload Doom configuration
  • SPC h d h - Doom help and documentation
  • doom doctor - Check for configuration issues (run in terminal)
  • doom upgrade - Update Doom (run in terminal)

Start small: Don't try to customize everything at once. Use Doom's defaults first, then gradually tweak things.

7. 📝 Master Text Editing Basics

Essential editing commands that work in any mode.

In Normal mode (Evil):

  • x - Delete character under cursor
  • dd - Delete entire line
  • yy - Copy (yank) entire line
  • p - Paste after cursor
  • u - Undo
  • C-r - Redo

In Insert mode:

  • C-w - Delete word backward
  • C-u - Delete to beginning of line

Selection and manipulation:

  • v - Start visual selection
  • V - Select entire line
  • d - Delete selected text
  • y - Copy selected text

8. 💻 Use Code Completion and Language Features

Doom comes with excellent code support out of the box.

Auto-completion:

  • Just start typing - completions appear automatically
  • TAB - Accept completion
  • C-n/C-p or j/k - Navigate completion options

Code navigation:

  • gd - Go to definition
  • gr - Find references
  • K - Show documentation
  • SPC c a - Code actions (refactor, fix, etc.)

📋 See the complete guide: emacs.code-completion.cheatsheet.md

Languages supported: Most popular languages work out of the box (Python, JavaScript, C/C++, Rust, Go, etc.)

9. 📚 Use Built-in Help System

Doom has excellent built-in documentation.

  • SPC h - Main help menu
  • SPC h d h - Doom-specific help
  • SPC h k - Describe key (what does this key do?)
  • SPC h f - Describe function
  • SPC h v - Describe variable
  • C-h m - Show help for current mode

When you're lost: Press SPC h and explore. The help system is comprehensive and always available.

Pro Tip: If you press a key combination and don't know what happened, use SPC h l to see recent commands.

10. 🔧 Learn Git Integration (Magit)

Magit is one of the best Git interfaces available anywhere.

  • SPC g g - Open Magit status (your main Git command!)
  • s - Stage files or hunks
  • c c - Commit changes
  • P P - Push to remote
  • F F - Pull from remote

📋 See the complete guide: emacs.magit.cheatsheet.md

Basic workflow:

  1. SPC g g - See what's changed
  2. s on files to stage them
  3. c c to commit (write message, then C-c C-c)
  4. P P to push

Why it's essential: If you work with Git, Magit will transform your workflow. It's visual, fast, and incredibly powerful.

🎯 Quick Start Checklist

Once you've read through the above, try this 5-minute workflow:

  1. ✅ Open Doom: emacs in terminal
  2. ✅ Find a file: SPC f f and open any text file
  3. ✅ Edit something: Press i, type text, press ESC
  4. ✅ Save: SPC f s
  5. ✅ Open file explorer: SPC .
  6. ✅ Get help: SPC h
  7. ✅ Split window: SPC w v
  8. ✅ Switch buffers: SPC b b
  9. ✅ Search project: SPC s p (if in a project)
  10. ✅ Quit: SPC q q

📖 Next Steps: Dive Deeper

Once you're comfortable with the basics above:

  1. Read the specific cheatsheets:

    • emacs.file-explorer.cheatsheet.md - File management
    • emacs.code-completion.cheatsheet.md - Coding features
    • emacs.magit.cheatsheet.md - Git integration
    • emacs.markdown.cheatsheet.md - Markdown editing

  2. Customize gradually: Start tweaking your config.el

  3. Learn your language: Explore language-specific features

  4. Join the community: Doom Discord, Reddit, GitHub discussions

🆘 When You're Stuck

Emergency commands:

  • C-g - Cancel current command (like pressing ESC)
  • SPC q q - Quit Emacs
  • SPC h d h - Doom help
  • :q - Quit current buffer (Vim command)

Remember: Every expert was once a beginner. Don't try to learn everything at once. Master these 10 things first, then gradually explore more advanced features.

Most important tip: Use SPC and explore the menus. Doom is designed to be discoverable - let it guide you!

🎓 Learning Philosophy

Start with workflows, not features: Instead of memorizing every keybinding, learn complete workflows for tasks you do daily (editing files, committing code, searching projects).

Use the defaults first: Doom's defaults are excellent. Resist the urge to customize everything immediately.

One thing at a time: Master file navigation before diving into advanced code features. Build your skills incrementally.

Practice daily: Use Doom for real work, even if you're slower at first. Muscle memory develops with practice.

Welcome to Doom Emacs! 🚀