How can I show the Org-mode agenda on Emacs start-up?

Question

I would like the Org-mode agenda to automatically show what I have to do today when I open Emacs. The org-agenda command is interactive, so it doesn't seem to work well for this purpose.

Is there a way to show the Org-mode agenda on Emacs start-up?

Thanks,

Conor

Musty

Answer 1

You can use after-init-hook to run a piece of code after initialization has finished. To run (org-agenda-list) after init, use:

(add-hook 'after-init-hook 'org-agenda-list)

Uncaredfor

That's the ticket. kwatford's answer below was also very helpful, but I couldn't add '(org-agenda-list 1) as the argument for my .emacs file. If someone could clear this up, I'd be delighted. – Musty

(add-hook 'after-init-hook '(lambda () (org-agenda-list 1))) – Gleeson

This works but how can I focus on the "Org Agenda" buffer on startup? (I'm using tabbar) – Tardif

OK, I figured that out. Adding an answer. – Brita

To make this work with emacsclient you can use a focus-in-hook instead of the after-init-hook. In order to show your agenda items you should set your agenda-file/directory before setting the hook, (setq org-agenda-files (quote ("agenda-directory"))) – Nerin

The server-after-make-frame-hook works perfectly if you use emacsclient. – Penates

Answer 2

This works for me (in .emacs):

(setq inhibit-splash-screen t)
(org-agenda-list)
(delete-other-windows)

Without the first line, the splash screen "covered" the agenda; without the third one, the scratch buffer remained visible.

Brita

For emacsclient, we can use emacsclient -t --eval "(org-agenda-list)" "(delete-other-windows)" Make it as function or alias. – Disjuncture

This would limit other usages of the editor wouldn't it, what happens if you ask emacs to open with a file? – Loo

Answer 3

One alternative to the hook is to set the initial-buffer-choice variable. This is particularly useful if there are multiple buffers or a number of functions on the hook. The function on this variable needs to return a buffer. Naively this might be:

(setq initial-buffer-choice (lambda ()
    (org-agenda-list 1)
    (get-buffer "*Org Agenda*")))    

Loo

this one still shows the scratch buffer. (emacs 26.1) – Motherwell

@Motherwell isn't this desirable. Then emacs will behave well when presented with other arguments. – Loo

Answer 4

Try (org-agenda-list). If you just want today, (org-agenda-list 1).

And of course, apropos is your friend. C-h C-a org-agenda (or whatever command) will show you useful info on that command.

Hesitate

Answer 5

I have a bash alias to start emacs with the Agenda open:

alias org='/usr/bin/emacs --funcall org-agenda-list &'

Enjoy.

Governor

This is the best answer to get emacsclient working with agenda view in emacs 30: Ubunt startup applications: run daemon in 'Startup Applications Pref as this: /usr/bin/emacs-snapshot -daemon --funcall org-agenda-list & then Set a hot key (Win + G): emacsclient-snapshot -c -n --eval '(org-agenda-list)' – Chesty

Answer 6

It is not exactly at startup, but I keep Emacs running so I need a different approach

(require 'midnight)
(midnight-delay-set 'midnight-delay "7:30am")
(add-hook 'midnight-hook 'org-agenda-list)

Credits to https://mcmap.net/q/406398/-how-to-periodically-run-a-task-within-emacs

Marrs

Answer 7

You can use the server-after-make-frame-hook to run any command when the emacs daemon creates a client-

(use-hook 'server-after-make-frame-hook 'org-agenda-list)

This works perfectly for me because whenever I open emacsclient, org agenda appears which is exactly what I wanted.

You can also look at the following hooks if they suit your needs more- https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/elisp/Standard-Hooks.html

Penates

It throws an error using the emacs 30.0.50 version; any update on how to make agenda view appear on startup using the emacslient? – Chesty

Can you mention the error you were getting? – Penates

I no longer have this error on Emacs 30.0.50. – Chesty