flycheck-status-emoji replaces the standard
Flycheck mode-line status indicators
with cute, compact emoji that convey the corresponding information.
For example, a buffer shows status 😔 while being checked, then 😱
to report errors, 😟 to report warnings, or 😌 if no problems were
found. Personal tastes vary, but I find the emoji more intuitive than
Flycheck’s native indicators, at least for the common statuses. The
emoji indicators are also quite compact, which can be useful in a
crowded mode-line with many minor modes.
| Status Description | Original Indicator | Emoji Indicator | Emoji Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| A syntax check is now running in the current buffer. | FlyC* |
😔 |
Pensive Face |
| The current syntax check finished normally with no errors or warnings. | FlyC |
😌 |
Relieved Face |
| The current syntax check finished normally with three errors, five warnings, and two informational messages. | FlyC:3/5 |
😱3/😟5/💁2 |
Face Screaming In Fear, Worried Face, Information Desk Person |
| The current buffer was not checked. | FlyC |
😐 |
Neutral Face |
| Automatic syntax checker selection did not find a suitable syntax checker. | FlyC- |
😶 |
Face Without Mouth |
| The current syntax check has errored. | FlyC! |
😵 |
Dizzy Face |
| The current syntax check was interrupted. | FlyC- |
😲 |
Astonished Face |
| The last syntax check had a suspicious result. | FlyC? |
😒 |
Unamused Face |
Note: you may see multicolored icons for several of the emoji faces above. This is your browser’s doing. The actual Emacs package uses monochrome emoji, not colorful icons.
Install flycheck-status-emoji from the fantastic MELPA
repository:
flycheck-status-emoji.el
somewhere in your Emacs
load-path,
then use M-x load-library RET flycheck-status-emoji RET to load the
package.
Now use M-x flycheck-status-emoji-mode to toggle this package on and
off. When on, you should see Flycheck status using cute, compact
emoji. When off, you will see the standard textual Flycheck status
indicators instead. To enable status emoji permanently, set and save
the flycheck-status-emoji-mode customization
option.
flycheck-status-emoji builds upon flycheck-mode; you should
already have Flycheck installed and working before adding
flycheck-status-emoji into the mix. Visit the
Flycheck home page or the
Flycheck GitHub project page
for information and instructions.
flycheck-status-emoji requires suitable fonts that support the emoji
characters we use. I recommend the Symbola
font by George
Douros: it covers all emoji we need
with a clean, consistent design. Symbola may also be available from
your preferred Linux distribution. For example, Fedora provides this
font as the gdouros-symbola-fonts
package.
After installing an emoji-covering font, you may also need to configure Emacs itself to use that font where appropriate. For the Symbola font recommended above, add the following to your Emacs start-up file:
(set-fontset-font t nil "Symbola")The Endless Parentheses blog has additional advice on Emacs Unicode fallback font configuration. See also Roland Walker’s unicode-fonts package for a more comprehensive approach to Emacs Unicode font management.