Emacs Cheatsheet - Emacs Shortcut Reference

Emacs is notorious for its 2000+ default commands, but you only need a small set daily. This reference groups file & buffers, movement/editing, search, windows, macros and Org-mode, and first demystifies the C=Ctrl, M=Alt/Meta prefix notation, then the chording of C-x C-s style sequences. Learning it lowers the intimidation of the editor and moves editing into muscle memory. After reading you can open, edit and save files, wrangle buffers, and record a macro without touching the manual.

Dev Tools·48 commands·Last updated 2026-07-21

Files & Buffers 10

C-x C-f

Open file

C-x C-s

Save current buffer

C-x C-w

Save as

C-x b

Switch buffer

C-x k

Close buffer

C-x C-c

Quit Emacs

C-x 1

Keep only current window

C-x 2

Split window vertically

C-x 3

Split window horizontally

C-x o

Switch to other window

Cursor Movement 7

C-f / C-b

Forward / backward one char

M-f / M-b

Forward / backward one word

C-a / C-e

Beginning / end of line

C-n / C-p

Next / previous line

M-< / M->

Beginning / end of file

C-v / M-v

Scroll down / up

M-g g

Go to a specific line

Editing 12

C-Space

Set mark (start selection)

C-w

Cut (kill) region

M-w

Copy region

C-y

Paste (yank)

M-y

Cycle paste history

C-d

Delete next char

M-d

Delete next word

C-k

Delete to end of line

C-x C-u

Uppercase

C-x C-l

Lowercase

C-/

Undo

C-g

Cancel current operation (universal quit)

Search & Replace 5

C-s

Incremental search forward

C-r

Incremental search backward

M-x replace-string

Replace string

M-x replace-regexp

Replace regexp

M-%

Query replace (confirm each)

Windows & Bookmarks 5

C-x 0

Delete current window

C-x ^

Increase current window height

C-x }

Increase current window width

C-x r m

Set bookmark

C-x r b

Jump to bookmark

Keyboard Macros 4

F3 / C-x (

Start recording keyboard macro

F4 / C-x )

Stop recording

C-x e

Execute last recorded macro

C-u 10 C-x e

Execute macro 10 times

Org-mode 5

* / ** / ***

Heading level (star count sets level)

- / 1.

Unordered / ordered list

C-c C-t

Toggle TODO state

<s Tab

Insert code block template

C-c C-c

Confirm/execute tag or code block

Tips

Emacs convention: C is Ctrl, M is Meta (Alt). C-x is the extended-command prefix.
C-g is the universal cancel key; press it after any wrong operation to return to a normal state.
C-Space sets a mark, then move the cursor to select a region; C-w cuts or M-w copies it.

Official References

Each command links to its official documentation below, so you can verify the latest usage and read deeper.

GNU Emacs Manual

Maintained by LaoHand

Publicly updated on Jul 21, 2026, continuously proofread against official docs.

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