How do I make c-basic-offset stick in emacs?

Question

In switching coding styles, I need to go from a one tab width of 4 indentation to a two space indentation.

I've added the following to my .emacs file, at the very end:

(setq indent-tabs-mode nil)
(setq c-basic-offset 2)

Unfortunately, that's not working. I still need to M-x set-variable for c-basic-offset, setting it to 2 for each file I open, to successfully change the indentation to 2 spaces instead of 1 tab.

Is there another config setting I need to add after these settings to make the new c-basic-offset stick?

Answer 1

c-basic-offset is a per-buffer variable, so setting it in your .emacs won't work. You can use (setq-default c-basic-offset 2) or you can define a mode hook that executes every time you start cc-mode.

Answer 2

M-x customize-variable c-basic-offset

From the docstring:

This variable automatically becomes buffer-local when set outside Custom.
However, setting it through Custom sets the default value.

Answer 3

You should try (setq-default tab-width 4)

I have the following settings in my .emacs file, and it works for me:

(setq-default tab-width 2)
(setq js-indent-level 2)
(setq c-basic-offset 4)
(setq css-indent-offset 2)
(setq sh-basic-offset 2)
(setq-default indent-tabs-mode nil)

Answer 4

Possible alternate approach: use something like (set-variable 'c-file-style "gnu") to get the style you want. There is a pretty comprehensive list of built in styles, and you can define your own.