# Best GNU Emacs for Ruby on Mac OSX **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [April 24, 2008, 2:36am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/best-gnu-emacs-for-ruby-on-mac-osx/135668 "2008-04-24T02:36:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zakifataya](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/z/c89c15/32.png) [@zakifataya](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/zakifataya)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 2:36am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/best-gnu-emacs-for-ruby-on-mac-osx/135668/1 "2008-04-24T02:36:24Z")
I’m extremely pleased with GNU Emacs 23.0.60.2 running on Ubuntu Linux, but I’m going to be doing some development on OSX, so I’m soliciting opinions regarding the best GNU Emacs for that platform. I’ve come across Carbon Emacs and Aquamacs Emacs which seem pretty good, so I doubt that it’s worth compiling v23 from source to run under X11, but it would be nice if I could use my .emacs from Ubuntu as is. Being closer to the GNU Emacs environment I’m used to is more important than tight integration with OSX to me. Nice fonts are important also. I had to put in some work to get them on Ubuntu (apparently v23 is necessary): > **[Nice Fonts for GNU Emacs on Ubuntu Linux](https://blog.lojic.com/2008/02/07/nice-fonts-for-gnu-emacs-on-ubuntu-linux.html)** > > \*\*UPDATE 12/24/08:\*\* This article is now out of date. I just installed Ubuntu 8.10, and getting Emacs with nice fonts is now much easier: Install the emacs-snapshot-gtk package Edit ~/.Xresources to have Emacs.font: Bitstream Vera Sans Mono-10 ... Thanks, Brian ---
**Author:** ![zakifataya](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/z/c89c15/32.png) [@zakifataya](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/zakifataya)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 5:57am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/best-gnu-emacs-for-ruby-on-mac-osx/135668/2 "2008-04-24T05:57:05Z")
Brian A. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) writes: > I’ve come across Carbon Emacs and Aquamacs Emacs which seem pretty > good, so I doubt that it’s worth compiling v23 from source to run > under X11, but it would be nice if I could use my .emacs from Ubuntu > as is. If you’re not looking to compile from source, I’d recommend the Cocoa Emacs builds. They are in the processes of being merged with Emacs trunk, so they are therefore built off of v23. ``` http://emacs-app.sourceforge.net/ ``` ---
**Author:** ![zakifataya](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/z/c89c15/32.png) [@zakifataya](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/zakifataya)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 6:00am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/best-gnu-emacs-for-ruby-on-mac-osx/135668/3 "2008-04-24T06:00:00Z")
Peter J. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) writes: > Brian A. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) writes: > > > Being closer to the GNU Emacs environment I’m used to is more > > important than tight integration with OSX to me. Nice fonts are > > important also. I had to put in some work to get them on Ubuntu > > (apparently v23 is necessary): Darn, I posted before I was ready ☹ As far as fonts, the default font used by Emacs on OSX is Monaco, which IMO is one of the best monospace fonts around. Now I’m ready to post.