Jumper

Fast single-character buffer switch ala registers.

Motivation

In Emacs, we usually have 100s of buffers. This model doesn't lend itself to the "tab-bar" approach which other editors (and softwares like Browsers etc) have. Instead we use (fuzzy) search from a list of items such as switch-to-buffer or helm-mini (and the like). This model works very well for general use, getting to any arbitrary buffer in a few characters of search.

On the other end, we have previous-buffer to switch between 2 active buffers. This also works very well.

I have observed that in my own use, I tend to frequently switch between a small set of buffers, where small is in the range 3-5 in a single working session.

This number of buffers is an awkward position: too many for the simple alternative buffer switch, too few that the overhead of a searcher (opening, searching a few chars and hitting Enter) adds visible delays. I find myself getting frustated in these scenarios and Jumper is meant to solve this narrow problem space.

Alternatives

I realized after creating Jumper that Emacs does have a solution for this problem out of the box: Registers. You can build a workflow like Jumper quite easily with Registers. But, since I already have this built, I will continue on this approach.

Usuage/Features

Bind the Jumper trigger into a easy to use key. I use j since I use evil-mode and still use the arrow-keys all the time.

1. Fast creation of jump locations. j . adds the current buffer into the jumper listing using the first character of the buffer name, casted to lowercase.
2. Another option is to use j + x where the current buffer will be added using the shortcut x. The idea is to use memorable characters. You should use j . all the time (assuming no first char collisions) and use + only to manage the rare conflict.
3. Quick switch. j x will take you to the buffer marked using x.
4. Quick removal. j - x will remove the jump location x from the listing.
5. Quick clear out. j J will clear out all entries.
6. Lack of persistance is a feature. Jumper listing is meant to be a cache - easily discarded and built up as required.

The usuage assumption of Jumper is that this listing will change completely as you work on different tasks.