Kakoune is a modal editor. That means when you’re editing text, you’re constantly interacting with the editor using a powerful language of keystrokes — moving around, selecting text, transforming content, all through short, expressive commands typed directly in the editing interface. This is the core editing experience, and it’s what gives Kakoune its speed and fluidity.
But this isn’t the only way to interact with Kakoune.
There’s another side to Kakoune — a more structural, programmable one — which lets you interact with the editor through commands. These commands can be used to configure Kakoune, automate behavior, and define complex workflows. Commands can be written in configuration files, invoked via custom keybindings, or typed directly into the command prompt.
This document focuses on that second side: the command interface. We will explore how commands work, how they are built, and how Kakoune interprets them
