Example config
Configuration covers the mechanics — where init.scm lives, how it loads, the options you can set. This page is the other half: a complete, real config you can read top to bottom and crib from.
It's a working ~/.config/macros/init.scm — a Doom/Spacemacs-style evil-mode + SPC-leader setup ported over from an Emacs/evil-leader config. It turns on modal editing, wires a Spacemacs-style leader, defines a handful of personal commands, sets up per-major-mode LSP and Org bindings, and installs two packages.
The paths in here (
~/workspace/org/…) are personal — change them to yours. A leading~/expands to your home directory and works anywhere macros opens a file, so you don't need to spell out/Users/you/…in full.
The whole file
(set-option "font-family" "JetBrains Mono")
(set-option "auto-revert" #t)
;; Drop the built-in TODO vocabulary and define my own set of labels.
(set! *org-todo-keywords* '())
(set! *org-custom-keywords* (list "TODO" "BUG" "FEATURE" "IN-PROGRESS" "DONE"))
;; Optional: give some/all a color (omitted labels inherit the title color).
(set! *org-custom-keyword-colors*
(list (cons "TODO" "#fe8019")
(cons "BUG" "#fb4934")
(cons "FEATURE" "#83a598")
(cons "IN-PROGRESS" "#fabd2f")
(cons "DONE" "#b8bb26")))
(org--register-custom-keyword-faces)
;; These labels now join the built-in C-c C-t rotation automatically. The
;; org-toggle-* commands below add keys that jump STRAIGHT to one label
;; (and toggle it off when pressed again).
(define (org-toggle-bug) (org-set-keyword "BUG"))
(define (org-toggle-feature) (org-set-keyword "FEATURE"))
(define (org-toggle-idea) (org-set-keyword "IDEA"))
(bind-key "org-mode" "ctrl-c ctrl-b" 'org-toggle-bug)
(bind-key "org-mode" "ctrl-c ctrl-f" 'org-toggle-feature)
(bind-key "org-mode" "ctrl-c ctrl-i" 'org-toggle-idea)
;;; ============================================================================
;;; EVIL MODE + SPC LEADER
;;; ============================================================================
;; Opt in to Vim modal editing. SPC is used as a Doom/Spacemacs-style leader by
;; binding "space …" chords in the evil-normal keymap (global) and in the
;; per-major-mode evil keymaps.
(evil-mode)
;; --- helper commands the leader binds to ------------------------------------
(define (my/scratch) (switch-to-buffer "*scratch*"))
(define (my/notes) (open-file "~/workspace/org/notes.org"))
;; Helm picker over my org directory.
(define (my/org-files)
(helm-from "~/workspace/org/"
(list (list "Files" 'find-file-candidates 'open-file))))
;; Kill every buffer, then land on *scratch*.
(define (my/kill-all-buffers)
(for-each (lambda (b) (kill-buffer-named b)) (buffer-names))
(switch-to-buffer "*scratch*"))
;; Open this config.
(define (my/edit-config)
(open-file "~/.config/macros/init.scm"))
;; Font size +/-. font-size is a string option, so read/coerce it, then write back.
(define (my/font-size-num)
(let ((v (get-option "font-size")))
(cond ((number? v) v)
((string? v) (or (string->number v) 17))
(else 17))))
(define (my/font-inc) (set-option "font-size" (number->string (+ (my/font-size-num) 1))))
(define (my/font-dec) (set-option "font-size" (number->string (- (my/font-size-num) 1))))
;; Insert an R source block and drop the cursor on the empty body line.
(define (my/org-insert-src-r)
(insert "#+BEGIN_SRC R :session :results none\n\n#+END_SRC\n")
(previous-line) (previous-line))
;; Leader key — SPC by default. Change it here (before the bindings below) and
;; every leader chord moves with it, e.g. (evil-set-leader "comma").
(evil-set-leader "space")
;; --- global leader bindings -------------------------------------------------
;; Config
(evil-leader-set "c o" 'my/edit-config)
;; Project
(evil-leader-set "v u" 'compile)
;; Buffer / window management
(evil-leader-set "n k" 'my/kill-all-buffers)
(evil-leader-set "n n" 'next-buffer)
(evil-leader-set "n p" 'previous-buffer)
(evil-leader-set "n o" 'delete-other-windows)
(evil-leader-set "n d" 'kill-buffer-and-window)
(evil-leader-set "n b" 'helm-mini)
(evil-leader-set "n r" 'my/scratch)
(evil-leader-set "n a" 'my/notes)
(evil-leader-set "n m" 'my/org-files)
(evil-leader-set "n f" 'projectile-find-file)
(evil-leader-set "n g" 'projectile-grep)
(evil-leader-set "n t" 'dired-sidebar)
(evil-leader-set "n l" 'helm-buffers-list)
;; Window splits
(evil-leader-set "_" 'split-window-below)
(evil-leader-set "|" 'split-window-right)
;; Scrolling
(evil-leader-set "j" 'evil-scroll-down)
(evil-leader-set "k" 'evil-scroll-up)
;; Git / Magit
(evil-leader-set "m s" 'magit)
(evil-leader-set "m b" 'magit-blame-toggle)
(evil-leader-set "m f" 'magit-log-file)
;; Font size
(evil-leader-set "=" 'my/font-inc)
(evil-leader-set "-" 'my/font-dec)
;; --- per-major-mode leader: LSP ---------------------------------------------
(evil-leader-set-for-modes
'("rust" "go" "typescript" "steel")
(list (cons "g g" 'lsp-find-definition)
(cons "g l" 'lsp-find-references)
(cons "g p" 'xref-pop-marker)
(cons "g r" 'lsp-rename)
(cons "t" 'lsp-hover)
(cons "g u" 'enable-lsp)))
;; --- per-major-mode leader: Org ---------------------------------------------
(evil-leader-set-for-modes
'("org-mode")
(list (cons "r r" 'org-babel-execute)
(cons "u" 'org-todo)
(cons "i" 'my/org-insert-src-r)))
;;; ============================================================================
;;; PACKAGES
;;; ============================================================================
;; macros-agent-shell — an ACP chat client + built-in Steel agent. MACROS_AGENT
;; picks the backend and MUST be set before the package loads. "claude" wraps a
;; local logged-in `claude` via the claude-code-acp adapter (no API key). Prereq:
;; `npm install -g @zed-industries/claude-code-acp` then `claude /login`.
(setenv "MACROS_AGENT" "claude")
(package-install "https://codeberg.org/macros-app/agent-shell.git")
(evil-leader-set "m a" 'agent-shell) ; SPC m a — start / focus agent-shell
;; macros-k8s — a magit-style kubectl dashboard: foldable, color-coded sections
;; for nodes / deployments / pods / services, with describe / logs / shell / scale
;; / delete actions. Requires kubectl on PATH. The 'config thunk runs after the
;; package loads — here it makes `s` shell into pods with /bin/sh.
(package-install "https://codeberg.org/macros-app/k8s-dashboard.git"
'config (lambda () (set-option "k8s-shell" "/bin/sh")))
;; Launch with M-x k8s-dashboard.
That's the entire file. The rest of this page walks through what each part is doing.
Options up top
(set-option "font-family" "JetBrains Mono")
(set-option "auto-revert" #t)
Two overrides of the built-in defaults: a different font, and auto-revert turned on so buffers re-read themselves when their file changes on disk (a git checkout, a formatter, another editor). Everything else is left at its default — you only write the lines you want to change.
Customizing Org TODO keywords
(set! *org-todo-keywords* '())
(set! *org-custom-keywords* (list "TODO" "BUG" "FEATURE" "IN-PROGRESS" "DONE"))
(set! *org-custom-keyword-colors*
(list (cons "TODO" "#fe8019")
(cons "BUG" "#fb4934")
(cons "FEATURE" "#83a598")
(cons "IN-PROGRESS" "#fabd2f")
(cons "DONE" "#b8bb26")))
(org--register-custom-keyword-faces)
This drops the stock TODO vocabulary and replaces it with a personal set, each with its own color. After org--register-custom-keyword-faces, those labels join the C-c C-t cycle automatically. The org-toggle-* commands below add keys that jump straight to one label:
(define (org-toggle-bug) (org-set-keyword "BUG"))
(bind-key "org-mode" "ctrl-c ctrl-b" 'org-toggle-bug)
bind-key's first argument is the keymap — "org-mode" scopes the binding to Org buffers only. The command is given as a 'name symbol (the command's name, quoted). See Org mode for the full feature set.
Turning on modal editing
(evil-mode)
One line opts the whole editor into Vim-style modal editing. This is vanilla evil — Normal/Insert/Visual states, hjkl, operators, text objects — with no leader of its own. The leader is layered on top below. See Modal editing.
Personal commands
Before binding any keys, the config defines the commands those keys will call. A command is just a Scheme function — and once defined, it's also callable by name from M-x.
(define (my/scratch) (switch-to-buffer "*scratch*"))
(define (my/notes) (open-file "~/workspace/org/notes.org"))
A leading ~/ expands to your home directory, so open-file (and the file pickers below) resolve it the same way the shell would.
Some commands are richer. my/org-files opens a Helm picker scoped to one directory:
(define (my/org-files)
(helm-from "~/workspace/org/"
(list (list "Files" 'find-file-candidates 'open-file))))
my/kill-all-buffers iterates every buffer, kills it, then lands on *scratch*:
(define (my/kill-all-buffers)
(for-each (lambda (b) (kill-buffer-named b)) (buffer-names))
(switch-to-buffer "*scratch*"))
And my/font-inc / my/font-dec bump the font size at runtime. Because font-size is stored as a string option, the helper reads it, coerces it to a number, and writes the new value back as a string:
(define (my/font-size-num)
(let ((v (get-option "font-size")))
(cond ((number? v) v)
((string? v) (or (string->number v) 17))
(else 17))))
(define (my/font-inc) (set-option "font-size" (number->string (+ (my/font-size-num) 1))))
These are ordinary Steel — let, cond, for-each, list operations. Scripting with Steel is the full reference; the Anvil REPL lets you prototype them live.
The SPC leader
(evil-set-leader "space")
evil-set-leader picks the leader key — SPC here. Every evil-leader-set chord below hangs off it. Change this one line (e.g. (evil-set-leader "comma")) and the entire leader map moves with it.
Global leader bindings map a chord to a command by name (a 'name symbol, so your own my/… commands work exactly like built-ins):
(evil-leader-set "c o" 'my/edit-config) ; SPC c o — open this config
(evil-leader-set "n f" 'projectile-find-file)
(evil-leader-set "n g" 'projectile-grep)
(evil-leader-set "m s" 'magit) ; SPC m s — git status
(evil-leader-set "=" 'my/font-inc) ; SPC = — bigger font
So SPC n f finds a file in the project and SPC m s opens Magit. The grouping is Spacemacs-flavored — n for buffers/windows, m for git and package commands, g (per-mode, below) for code navigation.
Per-mode leader bindings
evil-leader-set-for-modes binds leader chords that only exist in certain major modes — the analogue of evil-leader/set-key-for-mode. The LSP block gives every code mode the same navigation keys:
(evil-leader-set-for-modes
'("rust" "go" "typescript" "steel")
(list (cons "g g" 'lsp-find-definition)
(cons "g l" 'lsp-find-references)
(cons "g r" 'lsp-rename)
(cons "t" 'lsp-hover)
(cons "g u" 'enable-lsp)))
In any Rust/Go/TypeScript/Steel buffer, SPC g g jumps to definition, SPC g r renames, SPC t shows hover docs. See Language servers. The Org block does the same for Org-only actions:
(evil-leader-set-for-modes
'("org-mode")
(list (cons "r r" 'org-babel-execute)
(cons "u" 'org-todo)
(cons "i" 'my/org-insert-src-r)))
Installing packages
The last section pulls in two packages with package-install, which clones a git repo on first launch (only the first launch touches the network) and loads it:
(setenv "MACROS_AGENT" "claude")
(package-install "https://codeberg.org/macros-app/agent-shell.git")
(evil-leader-set "m a" 'agent-shell) ; SPC m a — start / focus agent-shell
agent-shell is an ACP chat client. MACROS_AGENT must be set before the package loads — hence setenv on the line above — so it's read as the package initializes. Installing a package also registers its commands, so 'agent-shell binds to SPC m a just like any built-in.
The second package takes a 'config thunk — a (lambda () …) that runs after the entry file loads, the right place for settings that call into the package:
(package-install "https://codeberg.org/macros-app/k8s-dashboard.git"
'config (lambda () (set-option "k8s-shell" "/bin/sh")))
package-install derives the package name (and default entry file) from the URL, so this one is k8s-dashboard, launched with M-x k8s-dashboard. When you're developing a package locally instead of installing from git, swap package-install for package-install-local and point it at the working tree — a path (a leading ~/ is expanded), no clone. See Packages for 'ref pinning, 'depends, and the local workflow.
Where to go next
- Configuration — the reference: config paths, the full option list, splitting your config across files.
- Keybindings — every default binding and the
bind-keyform. - Modal editing — the evil layer this config builds on.
- Scripting with Steel — write commands like the
my/…ones above. - Packages — install third-party Steel extensions with
package-install.