A comprehensive guide to mastering Org-Mode for personal knowledge management, task organization, and literate programming
Welcome to "Org-Mode with Emacs"—your comprehensive guide to one of the most powerful text-based productivity systems ever created. Whether you're a developer looking for better project management, a researcher seeking reproducible workflows, or someone who just wants to organize their life in plain text that will last forever, this book is for you.
Org-Mode is deceptively simple at first glance: it's plain text with a bit of structure. But beneath that simplicity lies a complete ecosystem for managing tasks, tracking time, capturing ideas, executing code, and publishing beautiful documents—all without ever leaving your text editor.
This book takes you from complete beginner to confident Org-Mode user, covering:
- Document Structure: Master outlines, lists, formatting, and the organizational principles that make Org-Mode powerful
- Task Management: Build custom TODO workflows that adapt to your methodology, not the other way around
- Time Tracking: Track where your hours go with frightening precision
- Metadata: Use tags and properties to transform static lists into queryable databases
- Agenda Views: Create dynamic, customizable dashboards of your entire task universe
- Capture Templates: Implement frictionless note-taking from anywhere
- Literate Programming: Write executable documents where code and documentation are one
- Publishing: Export to HTML, PDF, Markdown, and more from a single source
Welcome to the Org-Mode rabbit hole. Learn what Org-Mode is, why plain text matters, and what makes this system different from every productivity app you've tried.
Install Emacs, create your first org file, and learn the five essential keybindings that will transform how you work with documents.
Master the art of the outline. Learn headings, lists, formatting, blocks, drawers, and the structural editing commands that make reorganization effortless.
Discover spreadsheets in plain text. Create tables with automatic formatting, write formulas, perform calculations, and generate reports—all without leaving your text file.
Connect your knowledge. Link to files, headings, URLs, emails, and custom destinations. Build an interconnected knowledge graph in plain text.
Transform headings into actionable tasks. Learn custom TODO states, priorities, scheduling, deadlines, repeating tasks, and effort estimation.
Add the metadata layer. Tag and categorize your tasks, attach structured properties, and make everything searchable and filterable.
Build mission control for your life. Aggregate tasks across files, create custom views, filter dynamically, and act on items without leaving the agenda.
Track where your time actually goes. Clock in and out of tasks, generate reports, compare estimates to actuals, and turn time logs into invoices.
Implement frictionless note-taking. Create templates for common patterns, capture from anywhere, and ensure no thought is ever lost.
Make your documents executable. Run code in dozens of languages, pass data between blocks, generate graphics, and practice true literate programming.
Share your work with the world. Export to HTML, PDF, Markdown, ODT, and more. Publish websites from org files. One source, infinite presentations.
Explore the depths. Learn advanced agenda techniques, encryption, attachments, the Org ecosystem, integrations, and the features that make Org-Mode inexhaustible.
This book is written for:
- Programmers who want their notes to contain executable code
- Researchers seeking reproducible, publishable workflows
- Writers who value distraction-free writing with powerful organization
- Project Managers who need customizable task tracking
- Knowledge Workers building personal knowledge bases
- GTD Practitioners looking for a flexible implementation
- Anyone who's frustrated with proprietary productivity apps that lock in your data
You'll need:
- Emacs (22.1 or later, though newer is better)
- Willingness to learn keyboard-driven workflows
- Patience for the initial learning curve
- Appreciation for plain text and data longevity
No programming experience required, though code examples appear throughout. They're written to be understandable even if you've never coded before.
This book embraces several principles:
Plain Text Forever: Your data should outlive any application. Plain text from 1970 is still readable. Can you say the same about proprietary formats?
Composable Primitives: Org-Mode provides building blocks. You compose them into systems that match your brain, not someone else's methodology.
Power Through Simplicity: The most powerful features often have the simplest syntax. An asterisk creates a heading. That heading can become a task, a project, a section, or anything you need.
Progressive Disclosure: Start simple. Add complexity only when needed. You don't need to master everything at once.
For Beginners: Read chapters 1-6 in order. These cover the essentials. Practice the exercises. Build muscle memory before moving forward.
For Intermediate Users: Skim the early chapters, focus on chapters 7-10 to deepen your knowledge of metadata, agendas, and capture workflows.
For Advanced Users: Jump directly to chapters 11-13 for literate programming, publishing, and advanced techniques.
As Reference: Each chapter stands alone. Come back when you need to learn a specific feature.
Throughout this book:
- Keybindings are shown as
C-c C-t(Control-c Control-t) orM-RET(Alt-Enter) - Code blocks show org syntax and configuration examples
- Exercises at the end of chapters provide hands-on practice
- Commentary explains the "why" behind features, not just the "how"
This book stands on the shoulders of giants:
- Carsten Dominik for creating Org-Mode
- Bastien Guerry and the current Org-Mode maintainers
- The Org-Mode community for countless improvements and innovations
- Richard Stallman for GNU Emacs, which makes Org-Mode possible
Found an error? Have a suggestion? This book is version controlled and open to improvements. Check the repository for contribution guidelines.
This book is provided for educational purposes. The examples and configurations are freely usable in your own setup.
Org-Mode has a learning curve. That's not a warning—it's a promise. Tools that do everything for everyone do nothing particularly well. Org-Mode provides powerful primitives and trusts you to compose them.
Your first week will feel awkward. Your first month will feel productive. Your first year will make you wonder how you ever managed without it.
Ready?
Start with Chapter 1: Introduction.
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." — Alan Kay
"The best way to organize your future is to write it in plain text." — The Org-Mode Community