emacs-app does not render

[michipili (Michael Grünewald)]

When starting emacs-app on Mojave, the content of the frame (OS-X window displaying Emacs) is not rendered. Instead I see a blank window. The editor is reactive, however, and it is possible to quit by closing the window, using the menu bar or the key combination C-x C-c.

When started directly as /Applications/MacPorts/Emacs.app/Contents/MacOS/Emacs the program emits an error:

% /Applications/MacPorts/Emacs.app/Contents/MacOS/Emacs
2018-10-02 19:56:08.859 Emacs[731:8025] Failed to initialize color list unarchiver: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4864 "*** -[NSKeyedUnarchiver _initForReadingFromData:error:throwLegacyExceptions:]: non-keyed archive cannot be decoded by NSKeyedUnarchiver" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=*** -[NSKeyedUnarchiver _initForReadingFromData:error:throwLegacyExceptions:]: non-keyed archive cannot be decoded by NSKeyedUnarchiver}

The error is known upstream and discussed on emacs-devel: ​https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2018-09/msg00900.html

Even if we just sit and wait for emacs upstream to fix the issue, that ticket is useful to point other MacPorts users to the emacs-devel discussion.

I am running emacs-app @26.1_3 on Mojave. (MacPorts 2.5.3 installed from sources.)

[mf2k (Frank Schima)]

In the future, please fill in the Port field and add the port maintainer(s) to Cc (port info --maintainers emacs-app), if any.

[stanimura]

It seems that Emacs upstream has already fixed this issue. ​http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/emacs.git/commit/?id=7946445962372c4255180af45cb7c857f1b0b5fa

[cjones051073 (Chris Jones)]

I have just submitted

​https://github.com/macports/macports-ports/pull/2783

This updates the emacs-devel and emacs-add-devel ports to use the above git commit that fixes the issue. I can confirm it fixes the issues for me.

The devel ports provide a work around until upstream makes a new release with the fix included, at which point the main ports can be updated.

[gknauth (Geoffrey Knauth)]

For people reading this who aren't MacPorts developers, this is what got me going (for now):

sudo port uninstall emacs-app
sudo port install emacs-app-devel

[VBoudry]

Both above option end up in an error:

dyld: Library not loaded: /opt/local/lib/libgmp.10.dylib
  Referenced from: /opt/local/lib/libgnutls.30.dylib
  Reason: Incompatible library version: libgnutls.30.dylib requires version 14.0.0 or later, but libgmp.10.dylib provides version 13.0.0

Any hint to solve this ?

[cjones051073 (Chris Jones)]

Have you by chance upgraded your OS to macOS 10.14 but not correctly followed the migration guide ?

​https://trac.macports.org/wiki/Migration

[michipili (Michael Grünewald)]

I can confirm using the current emacs-app-devel port solves the issue on my system. (Fresh source install of MacPorts after upgrade.)

[d-lamb (Derek Lamb)]

The suggested temporary fix of installing the emacs-app-devel port instead of emacs-app does solve the immediate problem of emacs not rendering. That is good. However when starting emacs-app from the command line the OP's error about the "color list unarchiver" is still emitted on the terminal. The resolution of this bug in emacs-app should verify that the error is no longer printed in the terminal.

[civicus030 (Denis Domínguez)]

Thank you very much. This has worked for me.

Replying to gknauth:

For people reading this who aren't MacPorts developers, this is what got me going (for now):

sudo port uninstall emacs-app
sudo port install emacs-app-devel

[iqgrande]

Overall I have noticed that port emacs-app-devel is not as stable as I have grown accustomed to emacs-app being (I use Spacemacs). It crashes far more often and there was other awkward behavior. I am trying emacs-mac-app right now to see if it is better; so far it would appear so. In case others had the same issues, I thought I'd point this out until GNU Emacs formally releases their next stable version and emacs-app updates to it.

[cjones051073 (Chris Jones)]

I have never had emacs-app crash, devel or otherwise.

Thanks for your report, but a ‘it crashes for me’ report is next to useless without the accompanying crash log and some explanation on how to trigger it.

[iqgrande]

I typically don't like to submit bug reports for non-stable releases of software (upstream still has version 26.1 as stable) as I assume it is an upstream problem. Since more information was desired, I opened up a ticket (#57931) that provides one such item of awkward behavior with port "emacs-app-devel."

[ra1nb0w]

should be fixed with the last stable, 26.2. try it. thanks

[iqgrande]

Greetings. Things appear to render appropriately. It still, most of the times, takes 2 clicks on the menu bar (File through Help, Not Emacs) to get it to pull down, though.

[cjones051073 (Chris Jones)]

The 'two click' issue in mac)S10.14 is something that has been there for a while. I was hoping they would eventually fix it but not yet.

Note though, you should try the 'emacs-mac-app' port. it is essentially the same as 'emacs-app', but without this problem.

[iqgrande]

Hello Chris, thank you for your reply. I found out about emacs-mac-app back in comment 20. Generally speaking, is the intent of users to track emacs-app or emacs-mac-app? Thank you for your help with this.

[cjones051073 (Chris Jones)]

They are two different ports. I wasn't suggesting one or the other should be used, just that one works better with macOS10.14.. User which ever you prefer.

[svalgaard (Jens Svalgaard Kohrt)]

I suggest to close this ticket. Recent emacs-app works out of the box both on Mojave and Catalina.

[ra1nb0w]

I close this ticket since it works fine now.