About the author

James Cherti is an Infrastructure as Code and Software Development Specialist with extensive experience and expertise in software development, Linux system administration, and computer networking. His robust background in the design, implementation, and management of reliable and efficient infrastructure and software highlights his profound skills and knowledge in these areas… (Read more about James Cherti)

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Recent posts

• outline-indent.el – Indentation based Folding and Outlining in Emacs
  by James Cherti
  The outline-indent.el Emacs package provides a minor mode that enables code folding and outlining based on indentation levels for various indentation-based text files, such as YAML, Python, and other indented text files. In addition to code folding, outline-indent.el allows moving indented sub-trees up and down, promoting and demoting sections to adjust indentation levels, customizing the ellipsis, and … Continue reading →
• How to make cron notify the user about a failed command by redirecting its output to stderr only when it fails (non-zero exit code)
  by James Cherti
  Cron jobs can handle everything from system maintenance to running backups, but monitoring their success or failure can be difficult. One effective way to handle cron job errors is by utilizing a Bash script that sends the output to stderr only if the job fails, which generally makes cron to notify the user about the error that … Continue reading →
• Emacs: Enhancing up and down subtree movement in outline-mode and outline-minor-mode
  by James Cherti
  When editing outlined files (e.g., using the built-in outline-minor-mode, or packages like outline-indent.el, outline-yaml.el, etc.), handling subtrees efficiently can significantly enhance productivity, especially when working with complex documents. If you’re familiar with outline-mode or outline-minor-mode, you might have noticed that the built-in functions for moving subtrees up and down, outline-move-subtree-up and outline-move-subtree-down: Here’s how you can address … Continue reading →
• Introducing elispcomp: Compiling Elisp code directly from the command line
  by James Cherti
  The elispcomp command line tool allows compiling Emacs Lisp (Elisp) code directly from the terminal or from a shell script. It facilitates the generation of optimized .elc (byte-compiled) and .eln (native-compiled) files, which can significantly improve the performance of Emacs. The tool executes a headless instance of Emacs that recursively scans the specified directories, byte compiling and … Continue reading →
• Emacs Evil Mode: Disabling the automatic removal of spaces after leaving Insert mode
  by James Cherti
  By default, Emacs evil-mode removes newly inserted spaces when exiting insert mode. However, some users may find this disruptive to their workflow. This is particularly true for those who edit file formats where trailing spaces are significant or who simply prefer to manage whitespace manually. To prevent the automatic removal of trailing spaces when leaving insert mode, … Continue reading →
• Emacs: Customizing the Ellipsis (…) in Outline Mode and Outline Minor Mode
  by James Cherti
  The built-in Emacs outline-mode and outline-minor-mode allow structuring documents with collapsible sections. By default, these modes use an ellipsis (“…”) to indicate folded text. However, the default ellipsis and its face can make it hard to distinguish between folded text and regular text. This is why it can be beneficial to customize the ellipsis. The code snippets … Continue reading →
• Emacs: YAML file code Folding and Outlining
  by James Cherti
  Working with long and complex YAML files can be a daunting task. In such cases, code folding becomes an invaluable tool, allowing the collapse and expansion of sections of the file and enhancing readability and navigation. This makes it easier to focus on specific parts of the code without being overwhelmed by the entire document. To address … Continue reading →
• Emacs: Enabling native compilation and dynamically adjusting the number of Elisp files compiled in parallel
  by James Cherti
  Emacs has experienced a significant performance boost with the introduction of native compilation, available from version 27 and above. This feature converts Emacs Lisp code into machine-level code, enabling faster execution and enhanced responsiveness. Speeding up compilation by using the maximum number of available CPU cores significantly reduces compilation time. However, it’s also necessary to leave a … Continue reading →
• Ansible: Installing and configuring Gitolite using Ansible for secure Git repository management
  by James Cherti
  Gitolite provides a way to manage Git repositories, control access to those repositories, and maintain a central configuration using simple configuration files and SSH keys. Automating Gitolite Installation with Ansible The Ansible tasks outlined in this article are designed to simplify the installation and configuration of Gitolite on your server. These tasks can automatically handle the entire … Continue reading →
• Emacs Theme: Tomorrow Night Deepblue, a beautiful theme with a deep blue background
  by James Cherti
  The Emacs theme jamescherti/tomorrow-night-deepblue-theme.el is a beautiful deep blue variant of the Tomorrow Night colorscheme, which is renowned for its elegant color palette. It is pleasing to the eyes and is easy to read. The Tomorrow Night Deepblue Emacs theme features a deep blue background color that creates a calming atmosphere. The contrasting colors make it easy … Continue reading →

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