# emacs-hydra

> short binding workflow management package for Emacs

**Wikidata**: [Q115039724](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q115039724)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/emacs-hydra

## Summary
emacs-hydra is a short-binding workflow management package for GNU Emacs that provides a lightweight keyboard-shortcut driven system for grouping and invoking related commands. It is free software created and maintained by Oleh Krehel, distributed via GNU ELPA and hosted on GitHub.

## Key Facts
- emacs-hydra is a GNU ELPA package and free software; it became part of GNU ELPA on 2015-01-22.  
- The project was created and is maintained by Oleh Krehel (maintenance recorded since 2015).  
- The package inception date is 2015-01-20.  
- The package is licensed under the GNU General Public License (the source states "either version 3, or (at your option) any later version"), with licensing in effect from 2015-01-20.  
- The preferred stable version is 0.15.0 (stable version), published in May 2019 (publication noted 2019-05-16 / blog announcement 2019-05-18).  
- Earlier released versions include 0.5.0 (2015-02-01), 0.6.1 (2015-02-03), 0.7.0 (2015-02-04), 0.8.0 (2015-02-05), 0.9.0 (2015-02-08), 0.10.0 (2015-02-17), 0.11.0 (2015-02-23), 0.12.0 (2015-03-22), and 0.13.0 (2015-04-13).  
- emacs-hydra’s primary platform is GNU Emacs; its documented use is as a keyboard-shortcut (keybinding) workflow management tool that applies to GNU Emacs.  
- Source code repository: https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra.git (preferred); mirrored/packaged in Emacs ELPA trees on Savannah (cgit/gitweb).  
- Distributed packages and system packaging: GNU ELPA (package id "hydra"), Gentoo package app-emacs/hydra, Ubuntu package elpa-hydra, Debian source package hydra-el (since 2016-11-07), Guix variable name emacs-hydra.

## FAQs
### Q: What does emacs-hydra do?
A: emacs-hydra provides a short-binding, keyboard-driven workflow management system for GNU Emacs that groups related commands under transient keymaps (hydras) for rapid repeated or related command invocation.

### Q: Who created and maintains emacs-hydra?
A: emacs-hydra was created by Oleh Krehel and is recorded as maintained by him starting in 2015.

### Q: How can I obtain emacs-hydra?
A: emacs-hydra is distributed via GNU ELPA (package id "hydra") and is available from its GitHub repository (https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra.git) and ELPA package pages (https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/hydra.html).

### Q: What license governs emacs-hydra?
A: emacs-hydra is free software licensed under the GNU General Public License (the source specifies "either version 3, or (at your option) any later version"), with licensing noted from 2015-01-20.

### Q: What is the latest stable release noted in the record?
A: The preferred stable release recorded is version 0.15.0, with publication noted May 2019 (announcement 2019-05-18).

## Why It Matters
emacs-hydra matters because it addresses a common Emacs usability need: efficient, repeatable access to sets of related commands without repeatedly typing long key sequences or redefining many global bindings. By providing a concise mechanism to define transient keymaps ("hydras") and short bindings, the package streamlines workflows for tasks that require repeated or grouped operations (for example, window management, text transformations, or mode-specific command sequences). Its inclusion in GNU ELPA and hosting on GitHub aided adoption and packaging across multiple distributions (Gentoo, Debian/Ubuntu, Guix). Being free software under the GNU GPL and maintained by its original author gives users clarity about licensing and provenance, which is important for inclusion in GNU-centric distributions and for users who require free-software-compatible tooling. The package’s focused scope — short-binding workflow management within GNU Emacs — makes it a compact and reusable building block for larger Emacs configurations and community-driven extensions.

## Notable For
- Being packaged in GNU ELPA and explicitly part of the GNU Project packaging tree (added 2015-01-22).  
- Providing a concise keyboard-shortcut (short-binding) workflow-management model for GNU Emacs.  
- Maintained and authored by Oleh Krehel since its inception in 2015.  
- Availability across multiple distribution systems and package sources (GitHub, GNU ELPA, Gentoo, Debian/Ubuntu, Guix).  
- Stable public release 0.15.0 (May 2019) recorded as the preferred stable version.

## Body
### Overview
- Name: emacs-hydra (aliases: hydra, elpa-hydra, hydra-el).  
- Short description: short binding workflow management package for Emacs.  
- Primary purpose: provide keyboard-shortcut driven grouping of related commands for GNU Emacs.

### History and Versioning
- Inception: 2015-01-20.  
- Became part of GNU ELPA / GNU Project packaging: 2015-01-22.  
- Notable releases and dates:
  - 0.5.0 — 2015-02-01.  
  - 0.6.1 — 2015-02-03.  
  - 0.7.0 — 2015-02-04.  
  - 0.8.0 — 2015-02-05.  
  - 0.9.0 — 2015-02-08.  
  - 0.10.0 — 2015-02-17.  
  - 0.11.0 — 2015-02-23.  
  - 0.12.0 — 2015-03-22.  
  - 0.13.0 — 2015-04-13.  
  - 0.15.0 (preferred stable) — 2019-05-16 / announcement 2019-05-18.

### Licensing and Copyright
- Emacs-hydra is free software licensed under the GNU General Public License (the source text states "either version 3, or (at your option) any later version").  
- License effective date recorded as 2015-01-20.  
- Copyright holder identifier recorded (Q48413 in the source metadata).

### Distribution, Source, and Packaging
- Primary distribution: GNU ELPA (package id "hydra"), added 2015-01-22.  
- Source repository: https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra.git (preferred).  
- Additional packaging/repositories: Emacs ELPA trees on Savannah (cgit/gitweb).  
- System packages: Gentoo (app-emacs/hydra), Ubuntu package name elpa-hydra, Debian source package hydra-el (since 2016-11-07), Guix package variable emacs-hydra.

### Technical Details and Platform
- Platform: GNU Emacs.  
- Use: keyboard shortcut / short-binding workflow management that applies to GNU Emacs.  
- Instance classifications in records: GNU ELPA package (from 2015-01-22) and free software (from 2015-01-20).  
- Has part: emacs-lv (listed as a part / related package).

### Maintainers and Community
- Maintained by Oleh Krehel (maintenance start recorded 2015).  
- Project hosting: public repository on GitHub and packaging in GNU ELPA; this supports community access and packaging across distributions listed above.

### Identifiers and Metadata
- GNU ELPA package id: hydra.  
- Website / repo: https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra (developer-facing), https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/hydra.html (end-user-facing).  
- Guix variable: emacs-hydra.  
- Debian/Ubuntu packaging identifiers: debian source hydra-el; Ubuntu launchpad source id ubuntu/+source/hydra-el.

(End of entry.)

## References

1. [Source](https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/hydra.html)
2. [Initial import](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/commit/9b866564f4b881ad54214659f2853de207074b33)
3. [hydra 0.15.0 is out. 2019](https://oremacs.com/2019/05/18/hydra-0.15.0/)
4. [Release 0.5.0. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.5.0)
5. [Release 0.6.1. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.6.1)
6. [Release 0.7.0. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.7.0)
7. [Release 0.8.0. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.8.0)
8. [Release 0.9.0. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.9.0)
9. [Release 0.10.0. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.10.0)
10. [Release 0.11.0. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.11.0)
11. [Release 0.12.0. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.12.0)
12. [Release 0.13.0. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.13.0)
13. [Release 0.1.0. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.1.0)
14. [Release 0.2.0. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.2.0)
15. [Release 0.2.1. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.2.1)
16. [Release 0.2.2. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.2.2)
17. [Release 0.2.3. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.2.3)
18. [Release 0.3.0. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.3.0)
19. [Release 0.3.1. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.3.1)
20. [Release 0.4.0. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.4.0)
21. [Release 0.4.1. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.4.1)
22. [Release 0.13.2. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.13.2)
23. [Release 0.13.3. 2015](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.13.3)
24. [Release 0.13.6. 2016](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.13.6)
25. [Release 0.14.0. 2017](https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra/releases/tag/0.14.0)
26. [emacs-hydra 0.15.0](https://guix.gnu.org/en/packages/emacs-hydra-0.15.0/)