Claude Code IDE Integration for Emacs
16 comments
·August 6, 2025blahgeek
mikece
Is there a standard for integrating agentic coding tools into an editor similar to how an LSP allows the integration of language-specific features?
vemv
I'm happily using https://github.com/stevemolitor/claude-code.el which is a mere terminal wrapper (including a nifty Transient menu). But just by virtue of running insed Emacs you get a lot of power - it didn't take me a lot of effort to create an efficient, customized workflow that felt much more streamlined than my older iTerm usage.
I'll keep an eye on this new offering though.
There's also https://github.com/editor-code-assistant/eca-emacs which comes from the author of clojure-lsp, a very popular package within the Clojure community. I'd also been wanting to try it.
For both of the more advanced offerings, I tend to be a little cautious when adopting tools I'm trusting my productivity to. Most ambitious projects need to iron out misc stuff during their 'big bang' phase.
neutronicus
I've tried out a similar project (claude-code.el).
I use Spacemacs in evil-mode and I found it very frustrating to try and type into the Claude Code text box (often my cursor would be somewhere weird, the terminal emulator just really did not seem to "understand" that I was not in Insert Mode). I wound up deciding that I'd rather just use Claude Code in the terminal. The Claude Code text box is ALSO annoying there, so I often just write out instructions in some file (in emacs) and tell then tell CC to read it.
Does this project have any facilities for authoring prompts in a temporary buffer or something?
mikece
I apologize for my ignorance in asking this question but is Emacs considered an IDE? I thought that was a term reserved for large, graphical editors like IntelliJ, Eclipse, or Visual Studio.
reedlaw
Emacs is practically an operating system (the vim joke being that it lacks a good editor). With git integration through magit, LSP server for language integration, and Projectile for project management, it very much acts like an IDE.
mosburger
Queue the old adage ... "Emacs is a great operating system, what it needs is a good editor."
I'm not sure there is a rigid enough definition of IDE to say whether Emacs qualifies or not. I think it does by virtue of its extensibility, but I could definitely see a legit argument that it's merely an editor because it doesn't have a lot of the tooling of something more modern. I think what you consider to be an IDE (IntelliJ, VS, etc) is something that didn't exist until modern GUIs. Prior to that, terminal based things like Emacs (or LSE on VMS) were the closest analog.
oropolo
It's not an IDE: it's a religion.
pjm331
love the ability to add tools to the mcp server - would expect nothing less from emacs :)
as a long time emacs user i've only recently started really writing my own elisp tools, but claude is pretty good at writing elisp so i've been doing more there (sometimes it loses track of parentheses and you need to fix that, but overall pretty good)
I'll def be trying this out alongside steve yegge's efrit which kicks the emacs up to 11 by letting the agent just write and evaluate arbitrary elisp expressions https://github.com/steveyegge/efrit
cristea
Pretty cool! I love that these battle proven editors (emacs and (n)vim) seem to follow along with new technology, even though one might think overwise given their age.
I hope this comes to vim as well!
helsinki
It’s more common that they lead technological advancements in IDEs, not follow. Neovim in particular.
brotherjerky
Anyone have good results with something similar for Neovim?
qwertycrackers
I have tried the CodeCompanion plugin and had good results. I don't use it super extensively but it's nice when I decide to try it.
softwaredoug
I just like having a neovim terminal open with claude code open
rurban
Looks better than my current Claude Sonnet integration via copilot.
Like LSP and tree-sitter, I think AI coding tools like Claude Code or Aider are very good news for niche editors like Emacs or Vim. Instead of struggling about implementing advanced IDE-like features, they can integrate with these tools relatively easily, and focus on other editing related features that set them apart. In fact, IMO it makes these editors more competitive because they are highly customizable and easier to integrate with these tools.