Hi there, I have started to write some of my dotfiles using org-mode and I have regularly felt the need to refactor certain parts of my configuration. At the moment I mostly perform refactoring using find and replace but would like to have more robust support to refactor across distinct Babel blocks or across files.
A more detailed example follows: I'm refactoring my Emacs config files so that they are generated with [org-babel-tangle][1]. I am able to do everything I need but I really miss better refactoring support. As an example, after I define a symbol (variable, function), there maybe a lot of unrelated code and prose before the next usage: > Some explanation about `a` and `x`: > ```elisp > (defun a ...) > (defvar x ...) > ``` > Another paragraph ... > ```elisp > ((((more))))(((lisp)))()()((((code))) > ``` > Using `a` or `x`: > ```elisp > (doSomething (a) ...) > (crashSystem x ...) > ``` To rename a symbol, I enter [edit mode (`C-c '`)][2], and there is some limited refactoring support, e.g., rename symbol, extract variable, etc. However, changes to a symbol across all Babel blocks or across files is not supported. My workflow today is to use `helm-projectile-ag` to find usages in the project (git repo) and then apply the required changes to each, one by one, by hand. I have been googling for refactoring support across blocks/files so far with little success. I have posted this question to gather some pointers, references to Emacs packages that can improve my refactoring workflow or maybe help me rethink my workflow. [1]: https://orgmode.org/manual/Extracting-Source-Code.html [2]: https://orgmode.org/manual/Editing-Source-Code.html Originally posted in https://emacs.stackexchange.com/q/80858/11978 Regards, — Pablo
