How To Setup Wsl Emacs On Windows

2021-12-02

I plan move all my workflow and codding work into wsl. Just because the magit's performance issue on windows make me wanna cry. There are is how I setup the workflow and configurations.

Install WSL distrbution

I choice debian over Ubuntu, hard to say ubuntu is not good, just personal choice.

Install Emacs and some gui applications

To use the gui version of emacs,should join the weindows insider preview as writting time.

• Emacs
• Nyxt (a lisp based keyboar driving webbrowser, everything is hackable)

Config the windows emacsclient to open file from Emacs on WSL

• Set =server_name= in emacs configuations to emacs_server_27_2
• Create a exe to wrapper the wsl's emacsclient to open file(deno version)

const ff_cmd = Deno.run ({ cmd: ["wsl", "wslpath", "-a", Deno.args[0].replaceAll("\\", "/")],stdout: "piped", stderr: "piped"});
const ff = await ff_cmd.output();
ff_cmd.close();
const fp =new TextDecoder().decode(ff);
const p = Deno.run({ cmd: ["wsl", "emacsclient", "--create-frame", "--socket-name=*mnt*wslg*runtime-dir*emacs/emacs_server_27_2", fp]});
await p.status();

• compile this scrip to exe with deno

deno compile --allow-run wslemacsclient.ts

• copy the generated wslemacsclient to some directory in $PATH
• edit regstration with regedit add =OpenWith ...=

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\Open with WSL EmacsClient\command]
@="wslemacsclient.exe %1 /s"