kakoune/README.asciidoc

Kakoune
=======

Introduction:
-------------

Kakoune is a code editor heavily inspired by vim, as such most of it's
commands are similar to vi's ones.

Kakoune can operate in two modes, normal and insertion. In insertion mode,
keys are directly inserted into the current buffer. In normal mode, keys
are used to manipulate the current selection and to enter insertion mode.

There is no concept of cursor in kakoune, only selections, a single character
selection can be seen as a cursor but there is no difference internally.

Building
--------

Kakoune dependencies are:

 * GCC >= 4.7
 * boost
 * ncurses

To build, just type *make* in the src directory

To setup a basic configuration on your account, type *make userconfig* in the
src directory, this will setup an initial $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/kak directory. See
the _Kakrc_ section for more information.

Running
-------

Just running *kak* launch a new kak session with a client on local terminal.
*kak* accepts some switches:

 * +-c <session>+: connect to given session (which is the pid of the
       initial kak process), sessions are unix sockets +/tmp/kak-<session>+
 * +-e <commands>+: execute commands on startup
 * +-n+: ignore kakrc file

Basic Movement
--------------

 * _space_: select the character under selection end
 * _alt-space_: flip the selections

 * _h_: select the character on the right of selection end
 * _j_: select the character below the selection end
 * _k_: select the character above the selection end
 * _l_: select the character on the left of selection end

 * _w_: select the word and following whitespaces  on the right of selection end
 * _b_: select preceding whitespaces and the word on the left of selection end
 * _e_: select preceding whitespaces and the word on the right of selection end
 * _alt-[wbe]_: same as [wbe] but select WORD instead of word

 * _x_: select line on which selection end lies (or next line when end lies on
        an end-of-line)
 * _alt-x_: expand selections to contain full lines (including end-of-lines)

 * _%_: select whole buffer

 * _gh_, _alt-H_: select to line begin
 * _gl_, _alt-L_: select to line end

 * _gg_, _gt_: go to the first line
 * _gb_: go to the last line

 * _/_: search (select next match)
 * _?_: search (extend to next match)
 * _n_: select next match
 * _N_: add a new selection with next match
 * _alt-n_: replace last selection with next match (preserving the others)

 * _alt-c_: center last selection in current window
 * _pageup_: scroll up
 * _pagedown_: scroll down

Appending
---------

for most selection commands, using shift permits to extend current selection
instead of replacing it. for example, _wWW_ selects 3 consecutive words

Using Counts
------------

Most selection commands also support counts, which are entered before the
command itself.

for example, _3W_ selects 3 consecutive words and _3w_ select the third word on
the right of selection end.

 * _space_: when used with count, keep only the counth selection
 * _alt-space_: when used with count, remove the counth selection

Changes
-------

 * _i_: insert before current selection
 * _a_: insert after current selection
 * _d_: yank and delete current selection
 * _c_: yank and delete current selection and insert

 * _I_: insert at current selection begin line start
 * _A_: insert at current selection end line end
 * _o_: insert in a new line below current selection end
 * _O_: insert in a new line above current selection begin

 * _p_: paste after current selection end
 * _P_: paste before current selection begin
 * _alt-p_: replace current selection with yanked text

 * _alt-j_: join selected lines

 * _>_: indent selected lines
 * _<_: deindent selected lines

 * _|_: pipe each selections through the given external filter program
        and replace with it's output.

 * _u_: undo last change
 * _U_: redo last change

Multi Selection
---------------

Kak was designed from the start to handle multiple selections.
One way to get a multiselection is via the _s_ key.

For example, to change all occurences of word 'roger' to word 'marcel'
in a paragraph, here is what can be done:

select the paragraph with enough _x_. press _s_ and enter roger then enter.
now paragraph selection was replaced with multiselection of each roger in
the paragraph. press _c_ and marcel<esc> to replace rogers with marcels.

A multiselection can also be obtained with _Alt-s_, which splits the current
selection according to the regex entered. To split a comma separated list,
use _alt-s_ then ', *'

To clear multiple selections, use _space_. To keep only the nth selection
use _n_ followed by _space_, to remove only the nth selection, use _n_
followed by _alt-space_.

Object Selection
----------------

Using alt-i and alt-a, you can select some text object, the starting
point is always the last character of the selection.

 * _b_, _(_ or _)_: select the enclosing parenthesis
 * _B_, _{_ or _}_: select the enclosing {} block
 * _[_ or _]_: select the enclosing [] block
 * _<_ or _>_: select the enclosing <> block
 * w: select the whole word
 * W: select the whole WORD

When it makes sense, _alt-i_ selects the inner object and alt-a the whole
object. For example _alt-i_ will only select the inside of the parenthesis,
for words, the difference between _alt-i_ and _alt-a_ is that _alt-a_ also
selects the following blanks.

Registers
---------

registers are named list of text. They are used for various purpose, like
storing the last yanked test, or the captures groups associated with the
last selection.

While in insert mode, ctrl-r followed by a register name (one character)
inserts it.

For example, ctrl-r followed by " will insert the currently yanked text.
ctrl-r followed by 2 will insert the second capture group from the last regex
selection.

Registers are lists, instead of simply text in order to interact well with
multiselection. Each selection have it's own captures, or yank buffer.

Search selection
----------------

Using the _*_ key, you can set the search pattern to the current selection.
This tries to be intelligent. It will for example detect if current selection
begins and/or end at word boundaries, and set the search pattern accordingly.

Basic Commands
--------------

Commands are entered using +:+.

 * +e[dit] <filename> [<line> [<column>]]+: open buffer on file, go to given
     line and column. If file is already opened, just switch to this file.
     use edit! to force reloading.
 * +w[rite] [<filename>]+: write buffer to <filename> or use it's name if
      filename is not given.
 * +q[uit]+: exit Kakoune, use quit! to force quitting even if there is some
      unsaved buffers remaining.
 * +wq+: write current buffer and quit
 * +b[uffer] <name>+: switch to buffer <name>
 * +d[el]b[uf] [<name>]+: delete the buffer <name>, use d[el]b[uf]! to force
      deleting a modified buffer.
 * +source <filename>+: execute commands in <filename>
 * +runtime <filename>+: execute commands in <filename>, <filename>
      is relative to kak executable path.
 * +name <name>+: set current client name
 * +exec [-client <name>] <keys>+: execute <keys> as if pressed in normal mode.
      if client if specified, exec keys in the named client context.
 * +eval [-client <name>] <command>+: execute <command> as if entered in command line
      if client if specified, exec command in the named client context.
 * +echo <text>+: show <text> in status line
 * +set{b,w,g} <option> <value>+: set <option> to <value> in *b*uffer, *w*indow
      or *g*lobal scope.
 * +c[ol]a[lias] <name> <colspec>+: define a color alias, so that name can be
      used instead of colspec in contexts where a color is needed.
 * +nop+: does nothing, but as with every other commands, arguments may be
      evaluated. So nop can be used for example to execute a shell command
      while being sure that it's output will not be interpreted by kak.
      +:%sh{ echo echo tchou }+ will echo tchou in kakoune, whereas
      +:nop %sh{ echo echo tchou }+ will not, but both will execute the
      shell command.

String syntax
-------------

When entering a command, parameters are separated by whitespace (shell like),
if you want to give parameters with spaces, you should quote them.

Kakoune support three string syntax:

 * +"strings" and \'strings\'+: classic strings, use \' or \" to escape the
      separator.

 * +%\{strings\}+: these strings are very useful when entering commands

   - the '{' and '}' delimiter are configurable: you can use any non
     alphanumeric character. like %[string], %<string>, %(string), %~string~
     or %!string!...
   - if the character following the % is one of {[(<, then
     the closing one is the matching }])>, and these delimiters in the string
     need not to be escaped if the contained delimiters are balanced.
     for example +%{ roger {}; }+ is a valid string.

Highlighters
------------

Manipulation of the displayed text is done through highlighters, which can be added
or removed with the command

-----------------------------------------------------
:addhl <highlighter_name> <highlighter_parameters...>
-----------------------------------------------------

and

----------------------
:rmhl <highlighter_id>
----------------------

existing highlighters are:

 * +highlight_selections+: used to make current selection visible
 * +expand_tabs+: expand tabs to next 8 multiple column (to make configurable)
 * +number_lines+: show line numbers
 * +group+: highlighter group, containing other highlighters. takes one
            parameter, <group_name>. useful when multiple highlighters work
            together and need to be removed as one. Adding and removing from
            a group can be done using
            `:addhl -group <group> <highlighter_name> <highlighter_parameters...>`
            `:rmhl  -group <group> <highlighter_name>`
 * +regex+: highlight a regex, takes the regex as first parameter, followed by
            any number of color spec parameters.
            color spec format is: <capture_id>:<fg_color>[,<bg_color>]
            For example: `:addhl regex //(\h+TODO:)?[^\n]+ 0:cyan 1:yellow,red`
            will highlight C++ style comments in cyan, with an eventual
            'TODO:' in yellow on red background.

Filters
-------

Filters can be installed to interact with buffer modifications. They can be
added or removed with

-----------------------------------------------
:addfilter <filter_name> <filter_parameters...>
-----------------------------------------------

and

---------------------
:rmfilter <filter_id>
---------------------

exisiting filters are:

 * +preserve_indent+: insert previous line indent when inserting a newline
 * +cleanup_whitespaces+: remove trailing whitespaces on the previous line
                          when inserting an end-of-line.
 * +expand_tabulations+: insert spaces instead of tab characters
 * +regex+: takes three arguments: current line regex, inserted text regex
      and replacement text. when the current line regex and inserted text
      regex matches, replace insereted text with the replacement text.
      capture groups are available through $[0-9] escape sequence, and
      cursor position can be specified with $c.
 * +group+: same as highlighters group

Hooks
-----

commands can be registred to be executed when certain events arise.
to register a hook, use the hook command.

------------------------------------------------------
:hook <scope> <hook_name> <filtering_regex> <commands>
------------------------------------------------------

<scope> can be either global, buffer or window, the scope are hierarchical,
meaning that a Window calling a hook will execute it's own, the buffer ones
and the global ones.

<command> is a string containing the commands to execute when the hook is
called.

for example, to automatically use line numbering with .cc files,
use the following command:

-----------------------------------------------------
:hook global WinCreate .*\.cc %{ addhl number_lines }
-----------------------------------------------------

Shell expansion
---------------

A special string syntax is supported which replace it's content with the
output of the shell commands in it, it is similar to the shell $(...)
syntax and is evaluated only when needed.
for example: %sh{ ls } is replaced with the output of the ls command.

Some of kakoune state is available through environment variables:

 * +kak_selection+: content of the last selection
 * +kak_bufname+: name of the current buffer
 * +kak_runtime+: directory containing the kak binary
 * +kak_opt_name+: value of option name
 * +kak_reg_x+: value of register x
 * +kak_socket+: filename of session socket (/tmp/kak-<session>)
 * +kak_client+: name of current client
 * +kak_cursor_line+: line of the end of the last selection
 * +kak_cursor_cursor+: cursor of the end of the last selection

for example you can print informations on the current file in the status
line using:

-------------------------------
:echo %sh{ ls -l $kak_bufname }
-------------------------------

Register and Option expansion
-----------------------------

Similar to shell expansion, register contents and options values can be
accessed through %reg{<register>} and %opt{<option>} syntax.

for example you can display last search pattern with

-------------
:echo %reg{/}
-------------

Defining Commands
-----------------

new commands can be defined using the +def+ command.

------------------------------
:def <command_name> <commands>
------------------------------

<commands> is a string containing the commands to execute

def can also takes some flags:

 * +-env-params+: pass parameters given to commands in the environement as
                  kak_paramN with N the parameter number
 * +-shell-params+: pass parameters given to commands as positional parameters
                    to any shell expansions used in the command.
 * +-file-completion+: try file completion on any parameter passed
                       to this command
 * +-shell-completion+: following string is a shell command which takes
                        parameters as positional params and output one
                        completion candidate per line.
 * +-allow-override+: allow the new command to replace an exisiting one
                      with the same name.

Using shell expansion permits to define complex commands or to access
kakoune state:

------------------------------------------------------
:def print_selection %{ echo %sh{ ${kak_selection} } }
------------------------------------------------------

Some helper commands can be used to define composite commands:

 * +menu <label1> <commands1> <label2> <commands2>...+: display a menu using
     labels, the selected label's commands are executed.
     +menu+ can take a -auto-single argument, to automatically run commands
     when only one choice is provided. and a -select-cmds argument, in which
     case menu takes three argument per item, the last one being a command
     to execute when the item is selected (but not validated).
 * +info <text>+: display text in an information box, at can take a -anchor
     option, which accepts +left+, +right+ and +cursor+ as value, in order to
     specify where the info box should be anchored relative to the last selection.
 * +try <commands> catch <on_error_commands>+: prevent an error in <commands>
     from aborting the whole commands execution, execute <on_error_commands>
     instead.

Note that these commands are available in interactive command mode, but are
not that useful in this context.

FIFO Buffer
-----------

the +edit+ command can take a -fifo parameter:

-----------------------------------
:edit -fifo <filename> <buffername>
-----------------------------------

in this case, a buffer named +<buffername>+ is created which reads its content
from fifo +<filename>+. When the fifo is written to, the buffer is automatically
updated.

This is very useful for running some commands asynchronously while displaying
their result in a buffer. See rc/make.kak and rc/grep.kak for examples.

When the buffer is deleted, the fifo will be closed, so any program writing
to it will receive SIGPIPE. This is usefull as it permits to stop the writing
program when the buffer is deleted.

Menus
-----

When a menu is displayed, you can use *j*, *control-n* or *tab* to select the next
entry, and *k*, *control-p* or *shift-tab* to select the previous one.

Using the */* key, you can enter some regex in order to restrict available choices
to the matching ones.

Kakrc
-----

The kakrc file next to the kak binary (in the src directory for the moment)
is a list of kak commands to be executed at startup.

The current behaviour is to execute local user commands in the file
$HOME/.config/kak/kakrc and in all files in $HOME/.config/kak/autoload
directory

Place links to the files in src/rc/ in your autoload directory in order to
execute them on startup, or use the runtime command (which sources relative
to the kak binary) to load them on demand.

Existing commands files are:

 * *rc/kakrc.kak*: provides kak commands files autodetection and highlighting
 * *rc/cpp.kak*: provides c/c++ files autodetection and highlighting and the +alt+
     command for switching from c/cpp file to h/hpp one.
 * *rc/asciidoc.kak*: provides asciidoc files autodetection and highlighting
 * *rc/diff.kak*: provides patches/diff files autodetection and highlighting
 * *rc/git.kak*: provides various git format highlighting (commit message editing,
     interactive rebase)
 * *rc/make.kak*: provides the +make+ and +errjump+ commands along with highlighting
     for compiler output.
 * *rc/grep.kak*: provides the +grep+ and +gjump+ commands along with highlighting
     for grep output.
 * *rc/global.kak*: provides the +tag+ command to jump on a tag definition using
     gnu global tagging system.
 * *rc/ctags.kak*: provides the +tag+ command to jump on a tag definition using
     exuberant ctags files, this script requires the *readtags* binary, available
     in the exuberant ctags package but not installed by default.
 * *rc/client.kak*: provides the +new+ command to launch a new client on the current
     session, if tmux is detected, launch the client in a new tmux split, else
     launch in a new terminal emulator.

Certain command files defines options, such as grepcmd (for :grep) or
termcmd (for :new).