
Running Emacs on Android - greenonion
http://endlessparentheses.com/running-emacs-on-android.html
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avivo
I just installed "Termux" and "Hacker’s keyboard," ran `apt upgrade`, `apt
install emacs`, and ran `emacs` — everything worked flawlessly.

Unlike the OP though, I barely touched the on screen keyboard for all of this
— I just used android voice input, even for the terminal commands and `enter`
command.

I literally said "apt install emacs enter" out loud and it just worked! Voice
recognition has come a long way.

~~~
malabarba
Yes, after I published that post Fredrick patch the Emacs package on Termux so
it wouldn't need those workarounds. I've updated the post accordingly.

Sadly (maybe it's my pronunciation), but voice typing isn't that perfect for
me. It works alright for regular sentences, but it refuses to understands
things that are not plain english (like apt).

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melling
Now we need a gesture keyboard so we can type, or twitch, instead of using an
onscreen keyboard.

Finger IO:
[http://fingerio.cs.washington.edu](http://fingerio.cs.washington.edu)

Google's Soli:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QNiZfSsPc0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QNiZfSsPc0)

Perhaps a modified game controller: [http://www.amazon.com/iGrip-Ergonomic-
Keyboard-by-AlphaGrip/...](http://www.amazon.com/iGrip-Ergonomic-Keyboard-by-
AlphaGrip/dp/B000O8AOO0)

~~~
agumonkey
I've seen people being proficient under complex GUIs (final fantasy) with game
pads. I'd love to lisp on a paddle.

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muthdra
Termux is powerful. I installed nodejs, ran qici engine out of the box and
played with it for a while just to see how far I could get. It worked but the
touchscreen is unbearable. It was fun to see it working, though. I also did a
little bit of coding with a physical keyboard and an USB-OTG cable for a
Lumines clone in Go. It was playable but my phone got stolen and I lost all
the source code. By the way, I did all of that on an ancient Moto G 2014.

------
DigitalJack
Emacs is my main editor, but it seems to me vim is far better suited to the
limited interface of a phone.

There is always evil mode I suppose.

~~~
vpkaihla
Would spacemacs work on Android?

~~~
fsiefken
In the Termux google group somebody reported an issue with it. I run spacemacs
on android with Linux Deploy, Debian and a good ssh client.

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mickael-kerjean
That's a small step for man, giant step for emacs kind!!! Never really like
any other editor and was waiting for that day to come since years!!!

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desipenguin
It is fine to install emacs on an android device, but I can't imagine doing
any "keyboard" intensive work on a tiny screen. I've, in past, installed Vim-
touch, just for the sake of it. But I almost NEVER used it (beyond first few
minutes to make sure "it works")

~~~
rwmj
External bluetooth keyboard makes it bearable.

Keyboards vary to the extent that they are emacs friendly (how many Super-
Meta-Alt keys do they have?) but I find this Logitech one just about usable
for programming:

[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Device-Bluetooth-
Keyboard-S...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Device-Bluetooth-Keyboard-
Smartphone/dp/B00NB2NZ92)

(In case it's not clear, the keyboard is huge, as large as a laptop keyboard,
so once you start down this road you lose portability).

~~~
desipenguin
Once you lose portability, why not just use "real" computer ;) (I mean laptop)
Entering text of smallish screen is only meant for small amount of text (a
tiny note etc.)

~~~
rwmj
I'm not going to disagree with you :-) However I do also have a sort of
compromise, which is my Nexus 9 with the folio keyboard. It folds up into
something similar to the size and weight of a paperback book. It's not-so-bad
for ssh (I wouldn't really want to program with it), one thing missing would
be good key mappings to deal with my odd choice of 'screen' settings.

Photo here: [https://rwmj.wordpress.com/2015/01/08/nexus-9-ssh-on-the-
go/...](https://rwmj.wordpress.com/2015/01/08/nexus-9-ssh-on-the-go/#content)

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mark_l_watson
Very cool, I am going to try this when I get home! (I am in Asia on business
and I don't want to risk bricking my phone while on the road.)

With the Java IDE for Android, a remote keyboard and external display would
make for a full on computer.

~~~
desipenguin
Ahh, This I can understand (using Android remotely with "full sized"
keyboard/display) (See my previous comment about entering text of smallish
screen)

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ferdinandvwyk
In conclusion, use Vim instead. ;)

