GNU Emacs

Spec sheet

Free plan

YesRead 22 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Support

Users can seek help through the help-gnu-emacs mailing list or gnu.emacs.help newsgroup, and report bugs with M-x report-emacs-bug.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

License

GNU Emacs is free software distributed under conditions of the GNU General Public License.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Founded

1990Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Android support

Android support was added in Emacs 30.1.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Beyond editing

Its built-in functionality includes a project planner, mail and news reader, debugger interface, calendar, and IRC client.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Built-in documentation

It includes complete built-in documentation and a tutorial for new users.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Column editing

YesRead 22 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Core language

At its core, Emacs includes an interpreter for Emacs Lisp.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Customization options

Users can customize it with Emacs Lisp code or a graphical interface.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Editing

It provides content-aware editing modes, including syntax coloring, for many file types.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Editor type

It is a customizable text editor with an Emacs Lisp interpreter at its core.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Extension installation

A packaging system downloads and installs extensions.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Extension support

YesRead 22 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Extensions

It includes a packaging system for downloading and installing extensions.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Large-file handling

YesRead 22 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Latest release

The GNU Emacs release history lists Emacs 30.2 as released on August 14, 2025.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Macro recording

YesRead 22 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Multi-cursor editing

YesRead 22 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Package ecosystem

GNU ELPA and NonGNU ELPA provide additional Emacs Lisp packages, with NonGNU ELPA containing packages that cannot be included in GNU ELPA because their copyright has not been assigned to the FSF.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Pricing page

The referenced pricing page returns a 404 page-not-found message.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Product type

GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable, free/libre text editor and more.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Release features

Emacs 31.1 added terminal mouse control, child frames, editable grep and xref buffers, and package change review.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Remote access

TRAMP provides transparent remote-file access through methods including SSH, SCP, and Telnet.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Security limitation

Loading Emacs Lisp can execute code, so the manual advises loading Lisp files only from sources you trust.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Security model

The trusted-content option is nil by default, so no file is trusted until the user specifies trusted files or directories.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Source hosting

GNU Emacs source code and development are hosted on Savannah.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Supported platforms

GNU/Linux, BSDs, Haiku, Windows, macOS, and Android.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Syntax editing

It provides content-aware editing modes, including syntax coloring, for many file types.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Unicode

It provides full Unicode support for nearly all human scripts.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Unicode support

It supports full Unicode for nearly all human scripts.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Website license

The GNU Emacs website is licensed under CC-BY-SA.Read 28 Sep 2026 · gnu.org

Plans and prices

Every GNU Emacs plan and price →

Where Specifiction places it

• Text Editors#4 of 829.0
• Go IDEs#2 of 248.8
• Code editors#4 of 458.9
• Editor Software#4 of 328.7
• Text-to-speech tools#97 of 2338.1