EMACSCLIENT(T)                                     EMACSCLIENT(T)



NAME
       emacsclient - tells a running Emacs to visit a file

SYNOPSIS
       emacsclient [options] files ...

DESCRIPTION
       This  manual  page  documents briefly the emacsclient com-
       mand.   This  manual  page  was  written  for  the  Debian
       GNU/Linux  distribution  because the original program does
       not have a manual page.  Instead, it has documentation  in
       the GNU Info format; see below.

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

       You typically does not call emacsclient directly. Instead,
       you set the environment variable EDITOR to emacsclient and
       let programs like 'vipw' or 'bug' or anything run  it  for
       you, which will use an existing Emacs to visit the file.

       For emacsclient to work, you need an already running Emacs
       with a server.  Within Emacs, call the  function  `server-
       start'.   (Your `.emacs' file can do this automatically if
       you add the expression `(server-start)' 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" (actu-
       ally, `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 (`-').

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

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

BUGS
       If  there  is  no running Emacs server, emacsclient cannot
       launch one. I use a small Perl script instead of raw emac-
       sclient  to  do  it (it works only with systems which have
       BSD sockets, which is fine for Debian GNU/Linux).

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



                                                   EMACSCLIENT(T)