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emacsclient — Open files in an existing Emacs server. See also: `emacs`. More information: <https://www.gnu.org/so

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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Problem

How to use the emacsclient command: Open files in an existing Emacs server. See also: emacs. More information: <https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/emacsclient-Options.html>.

Solution

emacsclient — Open files in an existing Emacs server. See also: emacs. More information: <https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/emacsclient-Options.html>.

Open a file in an existing Emacs server (using GUI if available):

emacsclient {{path/to/file}}

Open a file in console mode (without an X window):

emacsclient {{[-nw|--no-window-system]}} {{path/to/file}}

Open a file in a new Emacs window:

emacsclient {{[-c|--create-frame]}} {{path/to/file}}

Evaluate a command, printing the output to stdout, and then quit:

emacsclient {{[-e|--eval]}} '({{command}})'

Specify an alternative editor in case no Emacs server is running:

emacsclient {{[-a|--alternate-editor]}} {{editor}} {{path/to/file}}

Stop a running Emacs server and all its instances, asking for confirmation on unsaved files:

emacsclient {{[-e|--eval]}} '(save-buffers-kill-emacs)'

Code Snippets

Open a file in an existing Emacs server (using GUI if available)

emacsclient {{path/to/file}}

Open a file in console mode (without an X window)

emacsclient {{[-nw|--no-window-system]}} {{path/to/file}}

Open a file in a new Emacs window

emacsclient {{[-c|--create-frame]}} {{path/to/file}}

Evaluate a command, printing the output to `stdout`, and then quit

emacsclient {{[-e|--eval]}} '({{command}})'

Specify an alternative editor in case no Emacs server is running

emacsclient {{[-a|--alternate-editor]}} {{editor}} {{path/to/file}}

Context

tldr-pages: common/emacsclient

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