Beginner installing micro

[mikek88]

I already had v2.0.9 installed in /usr/bin. I figured out how to get the latest binary and install it, along with the proper root ownership and permissions.

But I'm left with three files that I'm unsure about:

1. micro.1 - I have no idea what this is or where it might go. Appears to be a script.
2. micro.desktop - I presume this is a launcher for the desktop and probably won't need it since I don't current use one for v.2.0.9.
3. micro.svg - This appears to be an icon file, but I don't know where it should go.

[Andriamanitra]

The micro executable is the only thing that's strictly required. You probably want to place it somewhere in your $PATH (for example /usr/local/bin/micro to make it available for all users or ~/.local/bin/micro to make it available for only the current user). On most distributions /usr/bin/micro is where a package manager (eg. apt, dnf, pacman) would install micro, and as such it's not necessarily a good idea to manually place binaries there.

1. micro.1 is the man page (what you see when you run man 1 micro). You don't necessarily need it, but you can put it in /usr/local/share/man/man1/micro.1 or ~/.local/share/man/man1/micro.1
2. micro.desktop could be placed in /usr/local/share/applications/micro.desktop or ~/.local/share/applications/micro.desktop to make it show up in various launchers.
3. The right place for the icon would be /usr/local/share/icons/micro.svg or ~/.local/share/icons/micro.svg (but it won't do anything useful if you don't also have the .desktop file)

[mikek88]

Thanks.

[Gavin-Holt]

Hi,

For any passing Windows users...

It is important to realize that micro.exe contains several bundled files (see https://github.com/zyedidia/micro/tree/master/runtime - without the go files):

runtime\colorschemes\atom-dark.micro
runtime\colorschemes\bubblegum.micro
runtime\colorschemes\cmc-16.micro
runtime\colorschemes\cmc-tc.micro
runtime\colorschemes\darcula.micro
runtime\colorschemes\default.micro
runtime\colorschemes\dracula-tc.micro
runtime\colorschemes\dukedark-tc.micro
runtime\colorschemes\dukelight-tc.micro
runtime\colorschemes\dukeubuntu-tc.micro
runtime\colorschemes\geany.micro
runtime\colorschemes\gotham.micro
runtime\colorschemes\gruvbox-tc.micro
runtime\colorschemes\gruvbox.micro
runtime\colorschemes\material-tc.micro
runtime\colorschemes\monokai-dark.micro
runtime\colorschemes\monokai.micro
runtime\colorschemes\one-dark.micro
runtime\colorschemes\railscast.micro
runtime\colorschemes\simple.micro
runtime\colorschemes\solarized-tc.micro
runtime\colorschemes\solarized.micro
runtime\colorschemes\sunny-day.micro
runtime\colorschemes\twilight.micro
runtime\colorschemes\zenburn.micro
runtime\help\colors.md
runtime\help\commands.md
runtime\help\copypaste.md
runtime\help\defaultkeys.md
runtime\help\help.md
runtime\help\keybindings.md
runtime\help\options.md
runtime\help\plugins.md
runtime\help\tutorial.md
runtime\plugins\autoclose\autoclose.lua
runtime\plugins\comment\comment.lua
runtime\plugins\comment\help\comment.md
runtime\plugins\diff\diff.lua
runtime\plugins\ftoptions\ftoptions.lua
runtime\plugins\linter\linter.lua
runtime\plugins\linter\help\linter.md
runtime\plugins\literate\literate.lua
runtime\plugins\literate\README.md
runtime\plugins\status\status.lua
runtime\plugins\status\help\status.md
runtime\syntax\ada.yaml
runtime\syntax\apacheconf.yaml
runtime\syntax\arduino.yaml
runtime\syntax\asciidoc.yaml
runtime\syntax\asm.yaml
runtime\syntax\ats.yaml
runtime\syntax\awk.yaml
runtime\syntax\bat.yaml
runtime\syntax\c.yaml
runtime\syntax\caddyfile.yaml
runtime\syntax\cake.yaml
runtime\syntax\clojure.yaml
runtime\syntax\cmake.yaml
runtime\syntax\coffeescript.yaml
runtime\syntax\colortest.yaml
runtime\syntax\conky.yaml
runtime\syntax\cpp.yaml
runtime\syntax\crontab.yaml
runtime\syntax\crystal.yaml
runtime\syntax\csharp.yaml
runtime\syntax\css.yaml
runtime\syntax\csx.yaml
runtime\syntax\cuda.yaml
runtime\syntax\cython.yaml
runtime\syntax\d.yaml
runtime\syntax\dart.yaml
runtime\syntax\default.yaml
runtime\syntax\dockerfile.yaml
runtime\syntax\dot.yaml
runtime\syntax\elixir.yaml
runtime\syntax\elm.yaml
runtime\syntax\erb.yaml
runtime\syntax\erlang.yaml
runtime\syntax\fish.yaml
runtime\syntax\forth.yaml
runtime\syntax\fortran.yaml
runtime\syntax\freebsd-kernel.yaml
runtime\syntax\fsharp.yaml
runtime\syntax\gdscript.yaml
runtime\syntax\gemini.yaml
runtime\syntax\gentoo-ebuild.yaml
runtime\syntax\gentoo-etc-portage.yaml
runtime\syntax\git-commit.yaml
runtime\syntax\git-config.yaml
runtime\syntax\git-rebase-todo.yaml
runtime\syntax\glsl.yaml
runtime\syntax\gnuplot.yaml
runtime\syntax\go.yaml
runtime\syntax\godoc.yaml
runtime\syntax\golo.yaml
runtime\syntax\gomod.yaml
runtime\syntax\graphql.yaml
runtime\syntax\groff.yaml
runtime\syntax\groovy.yaml
runtime\syntax\haml.yaml
runtime\syntax\hare.yaml
runtime\syntax\haskell.yaml
runtime\syntax\hc.yaml
runtime\syntax\html.yaml
runtime\syntax\html4.yaml
runtime\syntax\html5.yaml
runtime\syntax\ini.yaml
runtime\syntax\inputrc.yaml
runtime\syntax\java.yaml
runtime\syntax\javascript.yaml
runtime\syntax\jinja2.yaml
runtime\syntax\json.yaml
runtime\syntax\jsonnet.yaml
runtime\syntax\julia.yaml
runtime\syntax\justfile.yaml
runtime\syntax\keymap.yaml
runtime\syntax\kickstart.yaml
runtime\syntax\kotlin.yaml
runtime\syntax\kvlang.yaml
runtime\syntax\ledger.yaml
runtime\syntax\lfe.yaml
runtime\syntax\LICENSE
runtime\syntax\lilypond.yaml
runtime\syntax\lisp.yaml
runtime\syntax\log.yaml
runtime\syntax\lua.yaml
runtime\syntax\mail.yaml
runtime\syntax\makefile.yaml
runtime\syntax\make_headers.go
runtime\syntax\man.yaml
runtime\syntax\markdown.yaml
runtime\syntax\mc.yaml
runtime\syntax\micro.yaml
runtime\syntax\mpdconf.yaml
runtime\syntax\msbuild.yaml
runtime\syntax\nanorc.yaml
runtime\syntax\nftables.yaml
runtime\syntax\nginx.yaml
runtime\syntax\nim.yaml
runtime\syntax\nix.yaml
runtime\syntax\nu.yaml
runtime\syntax\objc.yaml
runtime\syntax\ocaml.yaml
runtime\syntax\octave.yaml
runtime\syntax\odin.yaml
runtime\syntax\pascal.yaml
runtime\syntax\patch.yaml
runtime\syntax\peg.yaml
runtime\syntax\perl.yaml
runtime\syntax\php.yaml
runtime\syntax\pkg-config.yaml
runtime\syntax\po.yaml
runtime\syntax\pony.yaml
runtime\syntax\pov.yaml
runtime\syntax\PowerShell.yaml
runtime\syntax\privoxy-action.yaml
runtime\syntax\privoxy-config.yaml
runtime\syntax\privoxy-filter.yaml
runtime\syntax\proto.yaml
runtime\syntax\puppet.yaml
runtime\syntax\python2.yaml
runtime\syntax\python3.yaml
runtime\syntax\r.yaml
runtime\syntax\raku.yaml
runtime\syntax\README.md
runtime\syntax\renpy.yaml
runtime\syntax\reST.yaml
runtime\syntax\rpmspec.yaml
runtime\syntax\ruby.yaml
runtime\syntax\rust.yaml
runtime\syntax\sage.yaml
runtime\syntax\scad.yaml
runtime\syntax\scala.yaml
runtime\syntax\sed.yaml
runtime\syntax\sh.yaml
runtime\syntax\sls.yaml
runtime\syntax\smalltalk.yaml
runtime\syntax\solidity.yaml
runtime\syntax\sql.yaml
runtime\syntax\stata.yaml
runtime\syntax\svelte.yaml
runtime\syntax\swift.yaml
runtime\syntax\syntax_converter.go
runtime\syntax\systemd.yaml
runtime\syntax\tcl.yaml
runtime\syntax\terraform.yaml
runtime\syntax\tex.yaml
runtime\syntax\toml.yaml
runtime\syntax\twig.yaml
runtime\syntax\typescript.yaml
runtime\syntax\v.yaml
runtime\syntax\vala.yaml
runtime\syntax\verilog.yaml
runtime\syntax\vhdl.yaml
runtime\syntax\vi.yaml
runtime\syntax\vue.yaml
runtime\syntax\xml.yaml
runtime\syntax\xresources.yaml
runtime\syntax\yaml.yaml
runtime\syntax\yum.yaml
runtime\syntax\zig.yaml
runtime\syntax\zscript.yaml
runtime\syntax\zsh.yaml

Running micro.exe --help will display command line options:

Usage: micro [OPTIONS] [FILE]...

-clean			Cleans the configuration directory
-config-dir dir		Specify a custom location for the configuration directory

+LINE:COL		Specify a line and column to start the cursor at when opening a buffer
[FILE]:LINE:COL (if the `parsecursor` option is enabled)
-options	    	Show all option help
-debug 		    	Enable debug mode (enables logging to ./log.txt)
-profile 		Enable CPU profiling (writes profile info to ./micro.prof so it can be analyzed later with "go tool pprof micro.prof")
-version		Show the version number and information

Micro's plugins can be managed at the command line with the following commands.

-plugin install [PLUGIN]...
-plugin remove [PLUGIN]...
-plugin update [PLUGIN]... (if no argument is given, updates all plugins)
-plugin search [PLUGIN]...
-plugin list
-plugin available

Micro's options can also be set via command line arguments for quick
adjustments. For real configuration, please use the settings.json
file (see 'help options').

-option value
    	Set `option` to `value` for this session
    	For example: `micro -syntax off file.c`

Use `micro -options` to see the full list of configuration options

The default config-dir is %APPDATA%.config on your system (C:) drive under C:\users.

Personally I like portable software and I set config-dir to O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro which is on my OneDrive.

Setting config-dir can be done by using an environment variable:

REM Batch file or command line
set MICRO_CONFIG_HOME=O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro
REM and/or 
setx MICRO_CONFIG_HOME O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro

Alternatively, config-dir can be set as a command line option micro.exe --config-dir O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro.

My preference is a batch file placed alongside micro.exe, which I can then associate with various file types:

@echo off
REM Launch Micro with a title "Micro.exe" and use local config directory
start  "micro.exe" /MAX  %~dp0micro.exe --config-dir %~dp0confMicro %*

Now we have a config-dir it can be used to customize micro. If you make the same subfolders that are in the runtime your local copies are added to, or will over-ride the bundled files. For example:

O:\MyProfile\editor\micro.bat
O:\MyProfile\editor\micro.exe
O:\MyProfile\editor\micro.ico
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\bindings.json
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\init.lua
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\settings.json
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\colorschemes\gmh.micro
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\colorschemes\gmh_blue.micro
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\colorschemes\gmh_light.micro
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\actions.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\alt-fzf.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\bat.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\bookmark.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\colors.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\commands.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\copypaste.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\defaultkeys.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\defaults.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\fzf.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\help.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\keybindings.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\keys.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\linter.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\loc.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\lsp.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\lua.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\options.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\plugins.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\regex.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\replace.md
O:\MyProfile\editor\confMicro\help\tutorial.md

As you can see I have added some modified colorschemes and lots of help files (so I can grep them!).

Personally, I do not like extra plugins and copy (with credit) functions into my single init.lua file.

I guess the bundled plugins can be over-ridden similarly, but I have not tried it myself.

Hope this is of some use.

Kind Regards Gavin Holt