The 10 Packages Every New Emacs User Should Install

Jonathan Chu — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Emacs package ecosystem is vast — MELPA alone has over 5,000 packages. That’s exciting but also overwhelming. Here are the 10 packages that give you the most value for the least configuration.

1. Vertico

Modern, minimal vertical completion UI. Replaces the default minibuffer completion with something you’d actually want to use.

(use-package vertico
 :ensure t
 :init (vertico-mode))

2. Consult

Search and navigation commands that integrate with Vertico. consult-ripgrep, consult-line, and consult-buffer will change how you navigate code.

(use-package consult
 :ensure t
 :bind (("C-s" . consult-line)
 ("C-x b" . consult-buffer)
 ("M-g g" . consult-goto-line)))

3. Marginalia

Adds helpful annotations next to completion candidates — file sizes, docstrings, keybindings.

(use-package marginalia
 :ensure t
 :init (marginalia-mode))

4. Orderless

Flexible completion matching. Type any part of what you’re looking for in any order.

(use-package orderless
 :ensure t
 :custom (completion-styles '(orderless basic)))

5. Magit

The best Git interface ever made. Not an exaggeration. Once you use Magit, you’ll never want to go back to the command line for Git.

(use-package magit
 :ensure t
 :bind ("C-x g" . magit-status))

6. Org-mode

Technically built-in, but worth mentioning because it’s often why people come to Emacs in the first place. Notes, tasks, literate programming, and more.

7. Which-key

Shows available keybindings in a popup. Essential for discoverability when you’re learning.

(use-package which-key
 :ensure t
 :init (which-key-mode))

8. Corfu

In-buffer completion popup. Fast, minimal, works with Eglot’s LSP completions out of the box.

(use-package corfu
 :ensure t
 :init (global-corfu-mode))

9. Eglot

Built-in LSP client (since Emacs 29). Minimal configuration, just install a language server and go.

;; Eglot is built-in, just hook it up
(add-hook 'python-mode-hook #'eglot-ensure)
(add-hook 'js-mode-hook #'eglot-ensure)
(add-hook 'rust-mode-hook #'eglot-ensure)

10. Doom Themes

Even if you don’t use Doom Emacs, the theme collection is excellent. doom-one and doom-gruvbox are crowd favorites.

(use-package doom-themes
 :ensure t
 :config
 (load-theme 'doom-one t))

Putting It All Together

All of these packages work together harmoniously. Vertico + Consult + Marginalia + Orderless form a completion framework that rivals anything in VS Code, and Magit + Org-mode are the power tools that keep experienced users on Emacs for decades.

Your First Hour in Emacs — Skip the Tutorial, Do This Instead

Jonathan Chu — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Most Emacs tutorials start the same way: “Run the built-in tutorial with C-h t.” We’re going to skip that entirely. Instead, let’s get you productive in Emacs in under an hour with a modern setup.

Install Emacs 29+

Make sure you’re running Emacs 29 or later — it includes tree-sitter support, eglot for LSP, and a much better default experience.

On macOS:

brew install emacs-plus@30 --with-native-comp

On Fedora:

sudo dnf install emacs

On Ubuntu:

sudo snap install emacs --classic

The First 5 Things to Configure

Create ~/.emacs.d/init.el (or ~/.config/emacs/init.el) and add:

;; Clean up the UI
(menu-bar-mode -1)
(tool-bar-mode -1)
(scroll-bar-mode -1)
(setq inhibit-startup-message t)

;; Line numbers in programming modes
(add-hook 'prog-mode-hook #'display-line-numbers-mode)

;; Remember recent files
(recentf-mode 1)

;; Save your place in files
(save-place-mode 1)

;; Don't litter the filesystem with backup files
(setq backup-directory-alist '(("." . "~/.emacs.d/backups")))

Install Your First Packages

Set up use-package (built-in since Emacs 29) and install the essentials:

;; Set up package archives
(require 'package)
(add-to-list 'package-archives '("melpa" . "https://melpa.org/packages/") t)

;; Vertico — better minibuffer completion
(use-package vertico
 :ensure t
 :init (vertico-mode))

;; Marginalia — helpful annotations in the minibuffer
(use-package marginalia
 :ensure t
 :init (marginalia-mode))

;; Magit — the best Git interface
(use-package magit
 :ensure t
 :bind ("C-x g" . magit-status))

What’s Next?

You now have a clean, modern Emacs with completion, Git integration, and a solid foundation. In the next article, we’ll cover the 10 packages every new Emacs user should install.

Tutorials on Emacs for All