On: Magit, the magical Git interface (2017)

[shepik]

I use git from the command line, so this looked like a tool i would use. I was able to install it with apt, but i could not find any information on how to run it. Manual says "C-x g" [1], which obviously does nothing in bash.

And I have no idea how to use emacs. Is there any helpful user manual? Should i give up on magit?

[1] https://magit.vc/manual/magit/Getting-Started.html

[krylon → shepik]

Emacs comes with extensive documentation. "C-h t" opens an interactive tutorial that teaches the basics, "C-h r" opens the manual. "C-h i" opens the Texinfo browser that gives you access to even more documentation, including manuals for Emacs Lisp and Magit (if installed).

The learning curve is fairly steep in the beginning, but after ~15 years, I feel that the initial effort has paid off a lot. Not everyone likes emacs, and that's okay. But I do think it is worth giving it a try and seeing for yourself.

(As for the whole vi-vs-emacs debate, I have used both over time, and I do use vi quite regularly for quickly editing some config file. There are packages for emacs, like evil-mode, that emulate vi's key bindings and behavior, but I have not tried any of them.)

[seanc → shepik]

Stay with it! I would suggest you launch emacs with a file in the repo, ($ emacs <filename>) and then run magit, "C-x g".

Then you're in the magit window with menus and prompts and so forth.

[dunefox → shepik]

You can give Spacemacs a try if you want Vim bindings.