Emacs Bedrock hits 2.0, now requires Emacs 31
The minimal Emacs starter-kit Bedrock has reached version 2.0, dropping support for the older Emacs 29 branch and requiring Emacs 31, released in August 2026. The update auto-installs any use-package declarations, swaps which-key for embark-auto-prefix-help-mode when embark is present, removes wgrep in favor of a built-in alternative, and adds lexical-binding declarations across its files.
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Bedrock's philosophy of a small, editable init.el rather than a sprawling framework appeals to users who want to understand their own configuration instead of inheriting someone else's abstraction layer. By forcing a jump to the newest Emacs release, the maintainer signals a willingness to prioritize modern defaults over broad backward compatibility, which could nudge users toward upgrading their editors faster.
- Bedrock 2.0 requires Emacs 31 and drops Emacs 29 compatibility.
- use-package declarations now auto-install missing packages by default.
- wgrep is removed in favor of Emacs's built-in grep-editing functionality.
Kinesis Advantage360 Ergonomic Keyboard — Emacs users know the chord-heavy life of Ctrl and Meta, and the Advantage360's contoured key wells with thumb clusters put those modifiers under your thumbs instead of your pinkies. If you're setting up a fresh Bedrock config for long editing sessions, it's a natural companion for keeping your hands happy.
See Kinesis Advantage360 Ergonomic Keyboard on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: lambdaland.org, 2026-09-07
Published there as: “Emacs Bedrock 2.0”
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