Emacs Package

The khoj.el Emacs package brings the power of Khoj directly into your Emacs workflow. Search and chat with your org-mode notes, markdown files, and more without leaving your editor.

Package Information

MELPA Stable

MELPA

Features

Chat

Faster answers: Find answers quickly from your private notes or the public internet
Assisted creativity: Smoothly weave across retrieving answers and generating content
Iterative discovery: Iteratively explore and re-discover your notes

Search

Natural language: Advanced natural language understanding using Transformer-based ML models
Incremental search: Fast, search-as-you-type experience
Org-mode integration: Seamlessly works with org-agenda files

Installation

Prerequisites

Requires Emacs 27.1 or higher

Generate API Key

Get API Key

Generate an API key from the Khoj Web App Settings.

Keep It Handy

Copy the API key - you’ll need it for the configuration step below.

Installation Methods

Direct Install
use-package (Minimal)
use-package (Standard)
straight.el

Install directly from MELPA:

M-x package-install RET khoj RET

Then add to your config file (~/.emacs.d/init.el):

;; Set your Khoj API key
(setq khoj-api-key "YOUR_KHOJ_CLOUD_API_KEY")
(setq khoj-server-url "https://app.khoj.dev")

By default, Khoj will index your org-agenda files automatically.

Add to your Emacs config (~/.emacs.d/init.el):

;; Install Khoj client from MELPA Stable
(use-package khoj
  :ensure t
  :pin melpa-stable
  :bind ("C-c s" . 'khoj)
  :config (setq khoj-api-key "YOUR_KHOJ_CLOUD_API_KEY"
                khoj-server-url "https://app.khoj.dev"))

This minimal configuration indexes your org-agenda files by default.

For more control over indexed files and directories:

;; Install Khoj client from MELPA Stable
(use-package khoj
  :ensure t
  :pin melpa-stable
  :bind ("C-c s" . 'khoj)
  :config (setq khoj-api-key "YOUR_KHOJ_CLOUD_API_KEY"
                khoj-server-url "https://app.khoj.dev"
                khoj-index-directories '("~/docs/org-roam" "~/docs/notes")
                khoj-index-files '("~/docs/todo.org" "~/docs/work.org")))

Customize khoj-index-directories and khoj-index-files to specify exactly what Khoj should index.

For users of straight.el:

;; Install Khoj client using Straight.el
(use-package khoj
  :after org
  :straight (khoj :type git :host github :repo "khoj-ai/khoj" 
                  :files (:defaults "src/interface/emacs/khoj.el"))
  :bind ("C-c s" . 'khoj)
  :config (setq khoj-api-key "YOUR_KHOJ_CLOUD_API_KEY"
                khoj-server-url "https://app.khoj.dev"
                khoj-org-directories '("~/docs/org-roam" "~/docs/notes")
                khoj-org-files '("~/docs/todo.org" "~/docs/work.org")))

Self-Hosted Configuration

If you’re running your own Khoj server, modify the configuration accordingly.

(setq khoj-server-url "http://127.0.0.1:42110")

Usage

Access the Khoj menu:

C-c s  or  M-x khoj

From the menu:

Press t to cycle through content types
Press n twice, then enter the number of results you want
Press -f u to force update the content index

Search

Perform natural language search across your notes:

Open Search

Press C-c s s or run M-x khoj RET s

Enter Query

Type your query in natural language:

What is the meaning of life?

View Results

Khoj displays relevant entries from your indexed files.

Advanced Search with Filters

Add query filters for more precise results:

What is the meaning of life? -"god" +"philosophy" dt:"last week"

Learn more about query filters in the Query Filters documentation.

Chat

Chat with Khoj directly from Emacs:

Open Chat

Press C-c s c or run M-x khoj RET c

Ask Questions

Ask questions in a natural, conversational style:

When did I file my taxes last year?

Summarize my work notes from this month

Iterate

Continue the conversation with follow-up questions and refinements.

See the Chat Features documentation for advanced chat capabilities.

Find Similar Entries

Discover related content based on your current position:

Position Cursor

Move your cursor to an org-mode entry, markdown section, or text paragraph.

Run Command

Press C-c s f or run M-x khoj RET f

Browse Results

Khoj displays similar entries from your knowledge base.

Opening Search Results

Navigate directly to source files from search results:

C-c C-o 2

This:

Calls org-open-at-point on the current entry
Opens the second link (the org-id or heading text)
Takes you directly to the entry in its source file

If you have speed keys enabled, o 2 also works.

Configuration Options

Index Configuration

(setq khoj-index-directories 
      '("~/org-roam" 
        "~/notes" 
        "~/Documents/research"))

Display Configuration

;; Set image width for generated images
(setq khoj-image-width 156)

;; Set number of search results
(setq khoj-results-count 10)

Server Configuration

;; Server URL
(setq khoj-server-url "https://app.khoj.dev")

;; API Key
(setq khoj-api-key "YOUR_API_KEY")

;; Local server indicator
(setq khoj-server-is-local nil)  ; set to t for local servers

Keyboard Shortcuts

Default key bindings (when using :bind ("C-c s" . 'khoj)):

Command	Keybinding	Description
`khoj`	`C-c s`	Open Khoj menu
Search	`C-c s s`	Open search
Chat	`C-c s c`	Open chat
Find Similar	`C-c s f`	Find similar entries
Update Index	`C-c s u`	Update content index

Customize these bindings by modifying the :bind section in your configuration.

Updating

MELPA
straight.el

Refresh Package List

M-x package-refresh-contents

Reinstall Khoj

M-x package-reinstall RET khoj RET

Restart Emacs

Restart Emacs to ensure the new version loads correctly.

Pull Updates

M-x straight-pull-package RET khoj RET

Rebuild

M-x straight-rebuild-package RET khoj RET

Restart Emacs

Restart Emacs to load the updated package.

Troubleshooting

Package not loading

Verify Emacs version is 27.1 or higher: M-x emacs-version
Check if dependencies are installed: transient, dash
Try refreshing packages: M-x package-refresh-contents
Restart Emacs with --debug-init to see error messages

Cannot connect to server

Verify khoj-server-url is correct
Check khoj-api-key is set properly
Test connection: M-x khoj-server-status
For self-hosted: ensure Khoj server is running

Search returns no results

Force update the index: C-c s then -f u
Check that files are being indexed: verify khoj-index-directories and khoj-index-files
Ensure files have content and are readable
Check *Messages* buffer for errors

Keybindings not working

Check for conflicts: C-h k C-c s
Verify khoj is loaded: M-x khoj-mode
Try calling commands directly: M-x khoj
Check your config for other packages binding C-c s

Supported Content Types

The Emacs package can index and search:

Org Mode

.org files
org-agenda files
org-roam notes

Markdown

.md files
.markdown files

Other

Plain text (.txt)
PDF files
Images (via OCR)

Tips and Tricks

Speed up indexing

Use specific directories instead of your entire home folder
Exclude large directories with many binary files
Index only frequently accessed org files explicitly

Improve search results

Use query filters to narrow results: +include -exclude dt:"date"
Be specific in your queries
Use natural language phrasing
Try different wordings if first search doesn’t return good results

Integrate with org-roam

(setq khoj-index-directories 
      (list org-roam-directory))

This automatically indexes your entire org-roam knowledge base.

Custom keybindings

(use-package khoj
  :ensure t
  :bind (("C-c k s" . 'khoj-search)
         ("C-c k c" . 'khoj-chat)
         ("C-c k f" . 'khoj-find-similar)))

Next Steps

Chat Features

Explore advanced chat capabilities

Search

Master natural language search

Query Filters

Learn advanced search syntax

Desktop App

Sync additional files and folders

Get Started

Features

Clients

Data Sources

Advanced

​Emacs Package

​Package Information

MELPA Stable

MELPA

​Features

Chat

Search

​Installation

​Prerequisites

​Generate API Key

​Installation Methods

​Self-Hosted Configuration

​Usage

​Opening Khoj Menu

​Search

​Advanced Search with Filters

​Chat

​Find Similar Entries

​Opening Search Results

​Configuration Options

​Index Configuration

​Display Configuration

​Server Configuration

​Keyboard Shortcuts

​Updating

​Troubleshooting

​Supported Content Types

Org Mode

Markdown

Other

​Tips and Tricks

​Next Steps

Chat Features

Search

Query Filters

Desktop App

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Emacs Package

Package Information

Features

Installation

Prerequisites

Generate API Key

Installation Methods

Self-Hosted Configuration

Usage

Opening Khoj Menu

Search

Advanced Search with Filters

Chat

Find Similar Entries

Opening Search Results

Configuration Options

Index Configuration

Display Configuration

Server Configuration

Keyboard Shortcuts

Updating

Troubleshooting

Supported Content Types

Tips and Tricks

Next Steps