Org mode layer breaks Emacs - Error (use-package): org-projectile :init: Key sequence a o p starts with non-prefix key a

[emad-elsaid]

Description :octocat:

After adding org layer to the required layers in .spacemacs and restarting emacs it doesn't fully loaded and shows a set or errors mentioning org-projectile paradox and a set or other related packages.

Reproduction guide :beetle:

• add org to the required layers section in .spacemacs
• close spacemacs SPC q q
• start spacemacs again
• errors buffer appears in the lower section

Observed behaviour: :eyes: :broken_heart: errors in the buffer are :

Error (use-package): org-projectile :init: Key sequence a o p starts with non-prefix key a
Error (use-package): paradox :init: Key sequence a k starts with non-prefix key a
Error (use-package): ranger :init: Key sequence a r starts with non-prefix key a
Error (use-package): shell-pop :init: Key sequence a s e starts with non-prefix key a
Warning (initialization): An error occurred while loading ‘/Users/emad/.emacs.d/init.el’:

error: Key sequence a c starts with non-prefix key a

To ensure normal operation, you should investigate and remove the
cause of the error in your initialization file.  Start Emacs with
the ‘--debug-init’ option to view a complete error backtrace.

Expected behaviour: :heart: :smile: Well it should load org layer with some additional packages...etc

my .spacemacs file is as follows:

;; -*- mode: emacs-lisp -*-
;; This file is loaded by Spacemacs at startup.
;; It must be stored in your home directory.

(defun dotspacemacs/layers ()
  "Configuration Layers declaration.
You should not put any user code in this function besides modifying the variable
values."
  (setq-default
   ;; Base distribution to use. This is a layer contained in the directory
   ;; `+distribution'. For now available distributions are `spacemacs-base'
   ;; or `spacemacs'. (default 'spacemacs)
   dotspacemacs-distribution 'spacemacs
   ;; List of additional paths where to look for configuration layers.
   ;; Paths must have a trailing slash (i.e. `~/.mycontribs/')
   dotspacemacs-configuration-layer-path '("~/Dropbox/emacs/layers/")
   ;; List of configuration layers to load. If it is the symbol `all' instead
   ;; of a list then all discovered layers will be installed.
   dotspacemacs-configuration-layers
   '(
     csv
     nginx
     php
     ;; ----------------------------------------------------------------
     ;; Example of useful layers you may want to use right away.
     ;; Uncomment some layer names and press <SPC f e R> (Vim style) or
     ;; <M-m f e R> (Emacs style) to install them.
     ;; ----------------------------------------------------------------
     (auto-completion :variables
                      auto-completion-enable-snippets-in-popup t
                      auto-completion-enable-help-tooltip t)
     better-defaults
     org
     emacs-lisp
     git
     markdown
     javascript
     osx
     html
     shell-scripts
     sql
     yaml
     github
     docker
     rust
     go
     pdf-tools
     (ranger :variables
             ranger-override-dired t
             ranger-listing-switches "-alGghp")
     (shell :variables
            shell-default-height 30
            shell-default-position 'bottom)
     (ruby :variables
           ruby-version-manager 'rvm)
     ruby-on-rails
     (syntax-checking :variables syntax-checking-enable-tooltips nil)
     )
   ;; List of additional packages that will be installed without being
   ;; wrapped in a layer. If you need some configuration for these
   ;; packages, then consider creating a layer. You can also put the
   ;; configuration in `dotspacemacs/user-config'.
   dotspacemacs-additional-packages '(
                                      ruby-refactor
                                      ruby-tools
                                      yari
                                      ox-twbs
                                      )
   ;; A list of packages and/or extensions that will not be install and loaded.
   dotspacemacs-excluded-packages '(
     vi-tilde-fringe
   )
   ;; If non-nil spacemacs will delete any orphan packages, i.e. packages that
   ;; are declared in a layer which is not a member of
   ;; the list `dotspacemacs-configuration-layers'. (default t)
   dotspacemacs-delete-orphan-packages t))

(defun dotspacemacs/init ()
  "Initialization function.
This function is called at the very startup of Spacemacs initialization
before layers configuration.
You should not put any user code in there besides modifying the variable
values."
  ;; This setq-default sexp is an exhaustive list of all the supported
  ;; spacemacs settings.
  (setq-default
   ;; If non nil ELPA repositories are contacted via HTTPS whenever it's
   ;; possible. Set it to nil if you have no way to use HTTPS in your
   ;; environment, otherwise it is strongly recommended to let it set to t.
   ;; This variable has no effect if Emacs is launched with the parameter
   ;; `--insecure' which forces the value of this variable to nil.
   ;; (default t)
   dotspacemacs-elpa-https t
   ;; Maximum allowed time in seconds to contact an ELPA repository.
   dotspacemacs-elpa-timeout 5
   ;; If non nil then spacemacs will check for updates at startup
   ;; when the current branch is not `develop'. (default t)
   dotspacemacs-check-for-update t
   ;; One of `vim', `emacs' or `hybrid'. Evil is always enabled but if the
   ;; variable is `emacs' then the `holy-mode' is enabled at startup. `hybrid'
   ;; uses emacs key bindings for vim's insert mode, but otherwise leaves evil
   ;; unchanged. (default 'vim)
   dotspacemacs-editing-style '(hybrid :variables
                                       hybrid-mode-enable-hjkl-bindings t
                                       )
   ;; If non nil output loading progress in `*Messages*' buffer. (default nil)
   dotspacemacs-verbose-loading nil
   ;; Specify the startup banner. Default value is `official', it displays
   ;; the official spacemacs logo. An integer value is the index of text
   ;; banner, `random' chooses a random text banner in `core/banners'
   ;; directory. A string value must be a path to an image format supported
   ;; by your Emacs build.
   ;; If the value is nil then no banner is displayed. (default 'official)
   dotspacemacs-startup-banner nil
   ;; List of items to show in the startup buffer. If nil it is disabled.
   ;; Possible values are: `recents' `bookmarks' `projects'.
   ;; (default '(recents projects))
   dotspacemacs-startup-lists '(projects)
   ;; Number of recent files to show in the startup buffer. Ignored if
   ;; `dotspacemacs-startup-lists' doesn't include `recents'. (default 5)
   dotspacemacs-startup-recent-list-size 5
   ;; Default major mode of the scratch buffer (default `text-mode')
   dotspacemacs-scratch-mode 'text-mode
   ;; List of themes, the first of the list is loaded when spacemacs starts.
   ;; Press <SPC> T n to cycle to the next theme in the list (works great
   ;; with 2 themes variants, one dark and one light)
   dotspacemacs-themes '(toxi)
   ;; If non nil the cursor color matches the state color in GUI Emacs.
   dotspacemacs-colorize-cursor-according-to-state t
   ;; Default font. `powerline-scale' allows to quickly tweak the mode-line
   ;; size to make separators look not too crappy.
   dotspacemacs-default-font '("Meslo LG M for Powerline"
                               :size 12
                               :weight normal
                               :width normal
                               :powerline-scale 1)
   ;; The leader key
   dotspacemacs-leader-key "SPC"
   ;; The leader key accessible in `emacs state' and `insert state'
   ;; (default "M-m")
   dotspacemacs-emacs-leader-key "C-c"
   ;; Major mode leader key is a shortcut key which is the equivalent of
   ;; pressing `<leader> m`. Set it to `nil` to disable it. (default ",")
   dotspacemacs-major-mode-leader-key ","
   ;; Major mode leader key accessible in `emacs state' and `insert state'.
   ;; (default "C-M-m)
   dotspacemacs-major-mode-emacs-leader-key "C-M-m"
   ;; These variables control whether separate commands are bound in the GUI to
   ;; the key pairs C-i, TAB and C-m, RET.
   ;; Setting it to a non-nil value, allows for separate commands under <C-i>
   ;; and TAB or <C-m> and RET.
   ;; In the terminal, these pairs are generally indistinguishable, so this only
   ;; works in the GUI. (default nil)
   dotspacemacs-distinguish-gui-tab nil
   ;; (Not implemented) dotspacemacs-distinguish-gui-ret nil
   ;; The command key used for Evil commands (ex-commands) and
   ;; Emacs commands (M-x).
   ;; By default the command key is `:' so ex-commands are executed like in Vim
   ;; with `:' and Emacs commands are executed with `<leader> :'.
   dotspacemacs-command-key ":"
   ;; If non nil `Y' is remapped to `y$'. (default t)
   dotspacemacs-remap-Y-to-y$ t
   ;; Name of the default layout (default "Default")
   dotspacemacs-default-layout-name "Default"
   ;; If non nil the default layout name is displayed in the mode-line.
   ;; (default nil)
   dotspacemacs-display-default-layout nil
   ;; If non nil then the last auto saved layouts are resume automatically upon
   ;; start. (default nil)
   dotspacemacs-auto-resume-layouts nil
   ;; Location where to auto-save files. Possible values are `original' to
   ;; auto-save the file in-place, `cache' to auto-save the file to another
   ;; file stored in the cache directory and `nil' to disable auto-saving.
   ;; (default 'cache)
   dotspacemacs-auto-save-file-location 'cache
   ;; Maximum number of rollback slots to keep in the cache. (default 5)
   dotspacemacs-max-rollback-slots 5
   ;; If non nil then `ido' replaces `helm' for some commands. For now only
   ;; `find-files' (SPC f f), `find-spacemacs-file' (SPC f e s), and
   ;; `find-contrib-file' (SPC f e c) are replaced. (default nil)
   dotspacemacs-use-ido nil
   ;; If non nil, `helm' will try to minimize the space it uses. (default nil)
   dotspacemacs-helm-resize nil
   ;; if non nil, the helm header is hidden when there is only one source.
   ;; (default nil)
   dotspacemacs-helm-no-header t
   ;; define the position to display `helm', options are `bottom', `top',
   ;; `left', or `right'. (default 'bottom)
   dotspacemacs-helm-position 'bottom
   ;; If non nil the paste micro-state is enabled. When enabled pressing `p`
   ;; several times cycle between the kill ring content. (default nil)
   dotspacemacs-enable-paste-micro-state nil
   ;; Which-key delay in seconds. The which-key buffer is the popup listing
   ;; the commands bound to the current keystroke sequence. (default 0.4)
   dotspacemacs-which-key-delay 0.4
   ;; Which-key frame position. Possible values are `right', `bottom' and
   ;; `right-then-bottom'. right-then-bottom tries to display the frame to the
   ;; right; if there is insufficient space it displays it at the bottom.
   ;; (default 'bottom)
   dotspacemacs-which-key-position 'bottom
   ;; If non nil a progress bar is displayed when spacemacs is loading. This
   ;; may increase the boot time on some systems and emacs builds, set it to
   ;; nil to boost the loading time. (default t)
   dotspacemacs-loading-progress-bar nil
   ;; If non nil the frame is fullscreen when Emacs starts up. (default nil)
   ;; (Emacs 24.4+ only)
   dotspacemacs-fullscreen-at-startup nil
   ;; If non nil `spacemacs/toggle-fullscreen' will not use native fullscreen.
   ;; Use to disable fullscreen animations in OSX. (default nil)
   dotspacemacs-fullscreen-use-non-native nil
   ;; If non nil the frame is maximized when Emacs starts up.
   ;; Takes effect only if `dotspacemacs-fullscreen-at-startup' is nil.
   ;; (default nil) (Emacs 24.4+ only)
   dotspacemacs-maximized-at-startup t
   ;; A value from the range (0..100), in increasing opacity, which describes
   ;; the transparency level of a frame when it's active or selected.
   ;; Transparency can be toggled through `toggle-transparency'. (default 90)
   dotspacemacs-active-transparency 90
   ;; A value from the range (0..100), in increasing opacity, which describes
   ;; the transparency level of a frame when it's inactive or deselected.
   ;; Transparency can be toggled through `toggle-transparency'. (default 90)
   dotspacemacs-inactive-transparency 90
   ;; If non nil unicode symbols are displayed in the mode line. (default t)
   dotspacemacs-mode-line-unicode-symbols t
   ;; If non nil smooth scrolling (native-scrolling) is enabled. Smooth
   ;; scrolling overrides the default behavior of Emacs which recenters the
   ;; point when it reaches the top or bottom of the screen. (default t)
   dotspacemacs-smooth-scrolling t
   ;; If non nil line numbers are turned on in all `prog-mode' and `text-mode'
   ;; derivatives. If set to `relative', also turns on relative line numbers.
   ;; (default nil)
   dotspacemacs-line-numbers nil
   ;; If non-nil smartparens-strict-mode will be enabled in programming modes.
   ;; (default nil)
   dotspacemacs-smartparens-strict-mode nil
   ;; Select a scope to highlight delimiters. Possible values are `any',
   ;; `current', `all' or `nil'. Default is `all' (highlight any scope and
   ;; emphasis the current one). (default 'all)
   dotspacemacs-highlight-delimiters 'all
   ;; If non nil advises quit functions to keep server open when quitting.
   ;; (default nil)
   dotspacemacs-persistent-server nil
   ;; List of search tool executable names. Spacemacs uses the first installed
   ;; tool of the list. Supported tools are `ag', `pt', `ack' and `grep'.
   ;; (default '("ag" "pt" "ack" "grep"))
   dotspacemacs-search-tools '("ag" "pt" "ack" "grep")
   ;; The default package repository used if no explicit repository has been
   ;; specified with an installed package.
   ;; Not used for now. (default nil)
   dotspacemacs-default-package-repository nil
   ;; Delete whitespace while saving buffer. Possible values are `all'
   ;; to aggressively delete empty line and long sequences of whitespace,
   ;; `trailing' to delete only the whitespace at end of lines, `changed'to
   ;; delete only whitespace for changed lines or `nil' to disable cleanup.
   ;; (default nil)
   dotspacemacs-whitespace-cleanup 'trailing
   ))

(defun dotspacemacs/user-init ()
  "Initialization function for user code.
It is called immediately after `dotspacemacs/init', before layer configuration
executes.
 This function is mostly useful for variables that need to be set
before packages are loaded. If you are unsure, you should try in setting them in
`dotspacemacs/user-config' first."

  ;;; Aliases
  (defalias 'spec 'projectile-rails-find-current-spec)
  (defalias 'controller 'projectile-rails-find-current-controller)
  (defalias 'model 'projectile-rails-find-current-model)
  (defalias 'view 'projectile-rails-find-current-view)
  (defalias 'helper 'projectile-rails-find-current-helper)
  (defalias 'css 'projectile-rails-find-current-stylesheet)
  (defalias 'js 'projectile-rails-find-current-javascript)

  ;;; Additional files
  (require 'octopress)
  )

(defun dotspacemacs/user-config ()
  "Configuration function for user code.
This function is called at the very end of Spacemacs initialization after
layers configuration.
This is the place where most of your configurations should be done. Unless it is
explicitly specified that a variable should be set before a package is loaded,
you should place you code here."
  (setq powerline-default-separator nil)
  (setq-default evil-shift-width 2)
  (setq sp-highlight-pair-overlay nil)
  (setq web-mode-markup-indent-offset 2)
  (setq-default js2-basic-offset 2)
  (setq-default js-indent-level 2)
  (setq-default evil-shift-round nil)
  (setq tooltip-use-echo-area t)
  (setq ns-use-srgb-colorspace nil)
  (spaceline-toggle-line-column-off)
  (spaceline-toggle-version-control-on)
  (spaceline-toggle-buffer-encoding-abbrev-off)
  (spaceline-toggle-buffer-size-off)
  (spaceline-toggle-buffer-position-off)
  (spaceline-toggle-hud-off)
  (spaceline-toggle-minor-modes-off)
  (setq mac-command-modifier 'control)
  (setq mac-control-modifier 'super)
  (setq yas-snippet-dirs '("~/Dropbox/emacs-snippets"))
  (setq scroll-conservatively 10000)
  (setq neo-theme 'nerd)
  (setq linum-format " %d ")
  (global-company-mode)
  (global-set-key (kbd "C-d") 'mc/mark-next-like-this)
  (global-set-key (kbd "C-S-F") 'helm-projectile-ag)
  (global-set-key (kbd "C-+") 'er/expand-region)
  (add-hook 'ruby-mode-hook (lambda () (local-set-key (kbd "C-j") 'robe-jump)))
  (add-hook 'ruby-mode-hook 'ruby-refactor-mode-launch)
  (set-face-attribute 'mode-line nil :box nil) ;; remove mode-line border

  ;; macros
  (fset 'javascript-join-var "$r,j^ver ")
  )
(custom-set-variables
 ;; custom-set-variables was added by Custom.
 ;; If you edit it by hand, you could mess it up, so be careful.
 ;; Your init file should contain only one such instance.
 ;; If there is more than one, they won't work right.
 '(package-selected-packages
   (quote
    (ox-twbs powerline rake inflections pcre2el spinner org markdown-mode skewer-mode simple-httpd multiple-cursors js2-mode hydra parent-mode projectile request haml-mode gitignore-mode gh marshal logito pcache ht seq flycheck pkg-info epl flx magit git-commit with-editor smartparens iedit anzu evil goto-chg undo-tree highlight f php-mode json-mode tablist magit-popup docker-tramp json-snatcher json-reformat diminish web-completion-data s dash-functional tern pos-tip go-mode company rust-mode inf-ruby bind-map bind-key yasnippet packed dash helm avy helm-core async auto-complete popup package-build org-projectile org-present org-pomodoro alert log4e gntp org-download htmlize gnuplot yari yaml-mode xterm-color ws-butler window-numbering which-key web-mode web-beautify volatile-highlights uuidgen use-package toxi-theme toml-mode toc-org tagedit sql-indent spacemacs-theme spaceline smeargle slim-mode shell-pop scss-mode sass-mode rvm ruby-tools ruby-test-mode ruby-refactor rubocop rspec-mode robe reveal-in-osx-finder restart-emacs rbenv ranger rainbow-delimiters racer quelpa pug-mode projectile-rails popwin phpunit phpcbf php-extras php-auto-yasnippets persp-mode pdf-tools pbcopy paradox osx-trash osx-dictionary orgit org-plus-contrib org-bullets open-junk-file nginx-mode neotree mwim multi-term move-text mmm-mode minitest markdown-toc magit-gitflow magit-gh-pulls macrostep lorem-ipsum livid-mode linum-relative link-hint less-css-mode launchctl js2-refactor js-doc insert-shebang info+ indent-guide ido-vertical-mode hungry-delete hl-todo highlight-parentheses highlight-numbers highlight-indentation hide-comnt help-fns+ helm-themes helm-swoop helm-projectile helm-mode-manager helm-make helm-gitignore helm-flx helm-descbinds helm-css-scss helm-company helm-c-yasnippet helm-ag google-translate golden-ratio go-guru go-eldoc github-search github-clone github-browse-file gitconfig-mode gitattributes-mode git-timemachine git-messenger git-link gist gh-md flycheck-rust flycheck-pos-tip flx-ido fish-mode fill-column-indicator feature-mode fancy-battery eyebrowse expand-region exec-path-from-shell evil-visualstar evil-visual-mark-mode evil-unimpaired evil-tutor evil-surround evil-search-highlight-persist evil-numbers evil-nerd-commenter evil-mc evil-matchit evil-magit evil-lisp-state evil-indent-plus evil-iedit-state evil-exchange evil-escape evil-ediff evil-args evil-anzu eval-sexp-fu eshell-z eshell-prompt-extras esh-help emmet-mode elisp-slime-nav dumb-jump drupal-mode dockerfile-mode docker csv-mode company-web company-tern company-statistics company-shell company-quickhelp company-go column-enforce-mode coffee-mode clean-aindent-mode chruby cargo bundler auto-yasnippet auto-highlight-symbol auto-compile aggressive-indent adaptive-wrap ace-window ace-link ace-jump-helm-line ac-ispell))))
(custom-set-faces
 ;; custom-set-faces was added by Custom.
 ;; If you edit it by hand, you could mess it up, so be careful.
 ;; Your init file should contain only one such instance.
 ;; If there is more than one, they won't work right.
 )

[bmag]

The error indicates that there is a command bound to SPC a. Please run C-h k SPC a and report the result (it should display a help buffer describing the command that is bound to SPC a).

[emad-elsaid]

When org layers is not on the liast C-h k SPC a doesn't produce any output (not used).

When I enable the layer and restart emacs the following function is bound the key sequence

SPC a runs the command org-agenda (found in evil-motion-state-local-map), which
is an interactive autoloaded Lisp function in ‘org-agenda.el’.

It is bound to SPC a, C-c a.

(org-agenda &optional ARG ORG-KEYS RESTRICTION)

Dispatch agenda commands to collect entries to the agenda buffer.
Prompts for a command to execute.  Any prefix arg will be passed
on to the selected command.  The default selections are:

a     Call ‘org-agenda-list’ to display the agenda for current day or week.
t     Call ‘org-todo-list’ to display the global todo list.
T     Call ‘org-todo-list’ to display the global todo list, select only
      entries with a specific TODO keyword (the user gets a prompt).
m     Call ‘org-tags-view’ to display headlines with tags matching
      a condition  (the user is prompted for the condition).
M     Like ‘m’, but select only TODO entries, no ordinary headlines.
L     Create a timeline for the current buffer.
e     Export views to associated files.
s     Search entries for keywords.
S     Search entries for keywords, only with TODO keywords.
/     Multi occur across all agenda files and also files listed
      in ‘org-agenda-text-search-extra-files’.
<     Restrict agenda commands to buffer, subtree, or region.
      Press several times to get the desired effect.
>     Remove a previous restriction.
#     List "stuck" projects.
!     Configure what "stuck" means.
C     Configure custom agenda commands.

More commands can be added by configuring the variable
‘org-agenda-custom-commands’.  In particular, specific tags and TODO keyword
searches can be pre-defined in this way.

If the current buffer is in Org mode and visiting a file, you can also
first press ‘<’ once to indicate that the agenda should be temporarily
(until the next use of ‘SPC a’) restricted to the current file.
Pressing ‘<’ twice means to restrict to the current subtree or region
(if active).

[bmag]

I have an explanation for part of the problem. Spacemacs tries to bind a bunch of keys under the \<dotspacemacs-leader-key> a and \<dotspacemacs-emacs-leader-key> a prefixes. You set dotspacemacs-emacs-leader-key to "C-c", so Spacemacs tries to bind stuff under C-c a. The problem is that Org mode already binds C-c a to org-agenda, so the Spacemacs bindings fail with the error messages you see.

However, that doesn't explain why SPC a is bound to org-agenda. If I set dotspacemacs-emacs-leader-key to "C-c" I also get that SPC a is bound to org-agenda, but I couldn't find any code that sets this binding. Perhaps something bind-map does, I don't know.

[emad-elsaid]

Your first hypothesis seems to be correct, I tried to change <dotspacemacs-emacs-leader-key> to C-SPC as I don't use the leader key in emacs mode, I always use it in VIM mode, so the layer is loaded as expected. So we can consider this as a workaround not a solution. Side note, I got these Warnings after restarting emacs :

Warnings:
- Auto-evilication could not remap these functions in map `org-agenda-mode-map': -
     `org-agenda-next-line' originally mapped on `C-n'      
- Auto-evilication could not remap these functions in map `org-agenda-mode-map': -
      `org-agenda-toggle-time-grid' originally mapped on `G'      
- Auto-evilication could not remap these functions in map `org-agenda-mode-map': -
       `org-agenda-filter-remove-all' originally mapped on `|'      
- Auto-evilication could not remap these functions in map `org-agenda-mode-map': -
        `org-agenda-filter-by-tag-refine' originally mapped on `\'      
- Auto-evilication could not remap these functions in map `tar-mode-map': -
         `tar-chgrp-entry' originally mapped on `G'      

After opening one .org file I noticed 2 things :

• The theme for bullets is different, it was rendered as large and small bullets (probably I need to add another package to the list of packages)
• C-c C-c on list item like: - [ ] list item doesn't toggle the item mark as done/undone instead i get org-element--set-regexps: Symbol’s function definition is void: org-link-types in the echo area.

after restarting emacs again without any changes the previous points were fixed automatically.

[bmag]

after restarting emacs again without any changes the previous points were fixed automatically.

Not clear what was fixed and what is still problematic.

What I'd really like to focus on is the issue below, but I'm not sure if I will get around to it: (quoting myself)

However, that doesn't explain why SPC a is bound to org-agenda. If I set dotspacemacs-emacs-leader-key to "C-c" I also get that SPC a is bound to org-agenda, but I couldn't find any code that sets this binding. Perhaps something bind-map does, I don't know.

[emad-elsaid]

Well my fix was changing spacemacs-emacs-leader-key to C-SPC instead of C-c, restarted emacs and the layer was loaded as expected.

as for the second part of your comment I don't know either, this is why I consider my change as a workaround until we dig more.

[emad-elsaid]

I didn't face that problem again, so I'll close this as no one else complained about that