14.2 Editing source code

Use C-c ' to edit the current code block. This brings up a language major-mode edit buffer containing the body of the code block. Saving this buffer will write the new contents back to the Org buffer. Use C-c ' again to exit.

The org-src-mode minor mode will be active in the edit buffer. The following variables can be used to configure the behavior of the edit buffer. See also the customization group org-edit-structure for further configuration options.

org-src-lang-modes

If an Emacs major-mode named <lang>-mode exists, where <lang> is the language named in the header line of the code block, then the edit buffer will be placed in that major-mode. This variable can be used to map arbitrary language names to existing major modes.

org-src-window-setup

Controls the way Emacs windows are rearranged when the edit buffer is created.

org-src-preserve-indentation

This variable is especially useful for tangling languages such as Python, in which whitespace indentation in the output is critical.

org-src-ask-before-returning-to-edit-buffer

By default, Org will ask before returning to an open edit buffer. Set this variable to nil to switch without asking.