NAME

       emacsclient - tells a running Emacs to visit a file

SYNOPSIS

       emacsclient [options] files ...

DESCRIPTION

       This  manual  page  documents  briefly  the  emacsclient  command.   Full documentation is
       available in the GNU Info format; see below.  This manual page was originally written  for
       the Debian GNU/Linux distribution, but is not specific to that system.

       emacsclient works in conjunction with the built-in Emacs server.

       You  can  either  call  emacsclient  directly  or  let  other programs run it for you when
       necessary.  On GNU and Unix systems many programs consult the environment variable  EDITOR
       (sometimes  also  VISUAL)  to  obtain  the  command  used for editing.  Thus, setting this
       environment variable to 'emacsclient' will allow these programs to use an already  running
       Emacs  for editing.  Other operating systems might have their own methods for defining the
       default editor.

       For emacsclient to work, you need an already running Emacs with a server.   Within  Emacs,
       call  the  functions  `server-start'  or  `server-mode'.   (Your `.emacs' file can do this
       automatically if you add either `(server-start)' or `(server-mode 1)' to it.)

       When you've finished editing the buffer, type `C-x #'  (`server-edit').   This  saves  the
       file  and  sends  a  message  back  to  the `emacsclient' program telling it to exit.  The
       programs that use `EDITOR' wait for the "editor" (actually, `emacsclient') to exit.   `C-x
       #'  also checks for other pending external requests to edit various files, and selects the
       next such file.

       If you set the variable `server-window' to a window or  a  frame,  `C-x  #'  displays  the
       server buffer in that window or in that frame.

OPTIONS

       The programs follow the usual GNU command line syntax, with long options starting with two
       dashes (`-').

       -a, --alternate-editor=EDITOR
              if the Emacs server is not running, run the specified  editor  instead.   This  can
              also be specified via the `ALTERNATE_EDITOR' environment variable.  If the value of
              EDITOR is the empty string, run `emacs --daemon' to start Emacs in daemon mode, and
              try to connect to it.

       -c, --create-frame
              create a new frame instead of trying to use the current Emacs frame

       -F, --frame-parameters=ALIST
              set the parameters of a newly-created frame.

       -d, --display=DISPLAY
              tell the server to display the files on the given display.

       -e, --eval
              do not visit files but instead evaluate the arguments as Emacs Lisp expressions.

       -f, --server-file=FILENAME
              use  TCP configuration file FILENAME for communication.  This can also be specified
              via the `EMACS_SERVER_FILE' environment variable.

       -n, --no-wait
              returns immediately without waiting for you to "finish" the buffer in Emacs.

       -nw, -t, --tty
              open a new Emacs frame on the current terminal

       -s, --socket-name=FILENAME
              use socket named FILENAME for communication.

       -V, --version
              print version information and exit

       -H, --help
              print this usage information message and exit

EXIT STATUS

       Normally, the exit status is 0.  If emacsclient shuts  down  due  to  Emacs  signaling  an
       error, the exit status is 1.

SEE ALSO

       The program is documented fully in Using Emacs as a Server available via the Info system.

AUTHOR

       This  manual  page  was  written  by  Stephane Bortzmeyer <bortzmeyer@debian.org>, for the
       Debian GNU/Linux system (but may be used by others).

COPYING

       This manual page is in the public domain.

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