Shell & compile

Macros integrates with external processes the Emacs way: a compile command that runs a build into a read-only buffer and parses its errors, plus error navigation that jumps straight to the offending source line, and a basic interactive shell.

compile#

Key	Command	Action
C-c c	compile	Prompt for a command and run it
	recompile	Re-run the last compile (also g in the buffer)

Output streams into a *compilation* buffer. When the process finishes, Macros parses each line for an error location and faces it. It recognizes the common compiler and grep formats (the first matching pattern wins, like Emacs's compilation-error-regexp-alist).

In the compilation buffer#

Key	Action
Enter	visit the source for the error on this line
g	recompile
n / p	move
q	close

Walking errors anywhere#

Key	Command
M-g n	next-error
M-g p	previous-error

next-error / previous-error step through the parsed error list without needing the compilation buffer focused. They're shared with diagnostics and grep: the most recently used source claims them.

grep#

Project grep is described under Projects & search. Its results buffer (grep-mode) is wired to the same compile-visit / next-error machinery, so jumping to a match works identically.

Shell#

Key	Command	Action
C-c s	shell	Open a basic interactive shell buffer
Enter	shell-send-input	Send the current input line

The shell command gives you a simple line-oriented shell inside a buffer. For a full terminal — ANSI/VT, curses apps, REPLs, htop — use the embedded terminal instead.

Running processes from Scheme#

All of this is built on call-process, which you can call directly in your own commands:

(define (current-branch)
  (call-process "git" '("rev-parse" "--abbrev-ref" "HEAD")))

See Scripting with Steel for more on call-process and the async make-process.