# Not Emacs — user reviews > 14 indexed App Store user reviews of Not Emacs by Marc Feeley, rated 4.00/5 from 21 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/not-emacs/id948330589/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/not-emacs/id948330589.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 12 · 4★ 4 · 3★ 1 · 2★ 0 · 1★ 4 ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Can’t get text in, and probably not out either *2020-02-08* I have text I created in Notes that I would like to edit. I can’t find a way to get the text into “Not Emacs". What’s the point of having the tool on my iPhone if I can’t use it. ### 1/5 — Can’t find the text file *2020-01-26* As one reviewer pointed out, you simply cannot find the text file after a save. This is a show stopper. I have seen some say that the text file is stored in the icloud, somewhere. But where, I do not know. The key is to use a usb adapter to enable a proper usb keyboard to be used. NOT Emacs really needs it (I am using this full sized keyboard to type now). What dream!The voice rec always makes me want to “wreck a nice beach” ! So, this is a critical part of getting not emacs to perform. But if taking minutes at a meeting is important, it is only because we can share those minutes! So where do they go and how do we send them to others via e-mail? Lost in Space! Danger Will Robinson! Take Cover Dr. Smith!! Lets change the name from Its NOT EMACS to IT SNOT EMACS!!! The idea that implementing emacs on IOS would somehow violate GPL is without foundation. What a bunch of weapons grade bullonium ### 1/5 — This is no Emacs *2017-12-28* I love Emacs. I’ve used it since Emacs 17 and before. But I can’t use this. It doesn’t accept my Elisp code, and it doesn’t have equivalents. It doesn’t have the suite of accompanying programs so necessary to using Emacs—aspell, latex, wc, etc. And it doesn’t have filesystem access. More than anything else, a lack of a real filesystem cripples it. I have high hopes that this can integrate with iCloud Drive / Files, but suspect it has to wait on Apple to allow interpreters to run on such files. **Developer response:** Emacs in its full glory can't be an iOS app because this would violate the GPL. Some users familiar with emacs are simply interested in an editor on iOS with similar keybindings and interface. This app is called Not Emacs to make it very clear that this is not emacs. It is unfortunate that you reviewed this app for what it isn't rather than what it is. ### 1/5 — true emacs style - isolated from the OS and other apps *2015-09-05* It's impossible to get text out of it into another editor. In true Emacs style, the Emacs kill ring is not integrated with the iOS pasteboard. After much searching, I found a non-standard copy_for_operating_system command, whose keybinding did not work. Invoked with M-x, it displays the region and says: Press Ctrl-C to copy. Doesn't work. And it won't let me select it either to copy via the standard iOS (context menu) method. The file can be written into some sort of iCloud area, but that has been irretrievable so far. If you can't get your text out of the editor, what's the point? Not Emacs is missing many features standard to Emacs. Major modes are not included (no syntax highlighting or special functions for, e.g. TeX). So I'm not sure what I could possibly do with this app (as opposed to a better designed text editor). So far, it only ate my text and I'll have to re-type it. ### 2/5 — can’t find meta on the virtual keyboard *2020-12-22, version 1.1* unusable to me, i can’t figure out how yo fo the META key ### 3/5 — Where are the files stored? *2023-03-02* Where are the files stored? ### 3/5 — Great so far *2018-06-18, version 1.1* Needs more. Would benefit greatly from syntax highlighting. Would also be really good to somehow incorporate a python interpreter, and possibly a C compiler under a “tools” menu. I’m not as iOS developer so I’m not sure how practical it would be to add those features (but I can tell you for sure I would use them daily). ### 4/5 — No org mode *2022-03-22* I was looking for the org mode, but it appears it’s not available. ### 4/5 — Nice approach *2016-05-30* Nice approach to have a good text editor in iOS. I was unable to find out how to use iCloud with NotEmacs. Any hint on how to do that? Otherwise, it would be very helpful to have the "open in..." feature available for NotEmacs. Thanks for making this App available! ### 4/5 — Finally *2015-02-24* I think this is it, a text editor I can actually use on my iPhone! if only there were a way to use the iOS “open in” capability to transfer files to and from other apps, it would do everything I need it to. ## Most praised reviews (4 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — i want to love this more than any other app .. *2022-08-10* but i can not you can write to your heart's content but you can not get the text back out i still hold out hope that the developer may fix this issue ### 5/5 — Neat! *2021-12-18* Awesome work dev! ### 5/5 — étudiant en ift1015 *2018-03-14, version 1.1* je suis étudiant au cours ift1015 de udem et je n'aurais jamais cru trouver une application qui allait m'être aussi utile et créée par mon professeur ! je suis très impressionné ! pourrais-je suggérer la possibilité de sauvegarder nos creations dans google drive ou dropbox ? ce serait genial ### 5/5 — Fantastic app *2015-02-25* Fantastic...This works great. I can finally stop ssh-ing into a host to use Emacs from my phone. Marc has written some great tools for iOS (eg Gambit REPL), and now this great iOS editor. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-11.*