tldr:
* I installed console-only Debian on an old laptop (no desktop OS at all)
* I added some packages to make it work better for writing:
* network-manager for connecting to hotspots while I'm away
* kmscon for custom fonts and more than 16 colors in the tty
* tmux for a nice status
I simply use more than one TTY, and emacs’ buffers.
If you haven’t yet run into emacs’s frames, you may find that useful, unless you explicitly want to also use the Linux virtual consoles for other reasons. In a GUI environment, emacs frames are normally represented by another X11/Wayland window. In a TUI environment, they look kinda like a virtual console.
Each frame contains a set of emacs windows (what a lot of present-day GUI software calls “panes”) laid out to display whatever buffers you want. You can have a buffer shown in a window in multiple frames if you want.
You can also produce a similar effect by running an emacs instance in daemon mode, and then using emacsclient to attach to that daemon instance on different Linux virtual consoles, if you prefer the multiple-VC approach. One emacs instance and set of buffers, but can have different windows in different layouts showing them and switch between them.
If you haven’t yet run into emacs’s frames, you may find that useful, unless you explicitly want to also use the Linux virtual consoles for other reasons. In a GUI environment, emacs frames are normally represented by another X11/Wayland window. In a TUI environment, they look kinda like a virtual console.
Each frame contains a set of emacs windows (what a lot of present-day GUI software calls “panes”) laid out to display whatever buffers you want. You can have a buffer shown in a window in multiple frames if you want.
https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Frames.html
Some basic operations:
C-x 5 2Creates a new frameC-x 5 oSwitches to another frameC-x 5 0Destroys current frameYou can also produce a similar effect by running an emacs instance in daemon mode, and then using emacsclient to attach to that daemon instance on different Linux virtual consoles, if you prefer the multiple-VC approach. One emacs instance and set of buffers, but can have different windows in different layouts showing them and switch between them.