# Gnu Emacs ada-mode - passing the torch **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [November 4, 2023, 9:47pm UTC](https://forum.ada-lang.io/t/gnu-emacs-ada-mode-passing-the-torch/518 "2023-11-04T21:47:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![stephe-ada-guru](https://forum.ada-lang.io/user_avatar/forum.ada-lang.io/stephe-ada-guru/32/77_2.png) [@stephe-ada-guru](https://forum.ada-lang.io/u/stephe-ada-guru)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2023, 9:47pm UTC](https://forum.ada-lang.io/t/gnu-emacs-ada-mode-passing-the-torch/518/1 "2023-11-04T21:47:54Z")
8.1.0 is my last release as Emacs ada-mode maintainer; it’s time for me to retire. I’m not using Ada for any serious projects (other than ada-mode itself), my health is declining, and all my available energy is taken by my darling baby grandaughter (FIXME: attach photo). So I’m looking for someone to take over as maintainer. Ideally, this would be someone employed by a company that values Ada and Emacs, but anyone with sufficient interest, energy, and time can do the job. I’ll be available to teach the new maintainer what they need to know. If you are interested, contact me via the Emacs ada-mode mailing list ([Emacs Ada mode - Mailing Lists [Savannah]](https://savannah.nongnu.org/mail/?group=ada-mode)) or directly at [stephen\_leake@stephe-leake.org](mailto:stephen_leake@stephe-leake.org). What’s involved in being ada-mode maintainer? - Wisitoken parser generator and runtime - gnat-compiler package - gpr-query package - wisi indentation, face, navigation package - ada-mode package - gpr-mode package - wisitoken-grammar-mode - ada-ref-man package There could be one maintainer for all of the above, or several to share the work as they see fit. I’ve had a lot of fun maintaining ada-mode over the years (I’ve lost track of when I started; sometime around 1995?). While I was working at NASA writing Ada for dynamic simulators, it was very nice to be able to just fix ada-mode to do what I wanted. Adding error correction and incremental parsing to the parser was very challenging, and very satisfying when it worked. The occasional thanks from users is also very satisfying. There are several paths forward for a new maintainer: 1. Learn all the current code, and maintain it. 2. Drop the wisitoken parser generator and runtime, use tree-sitter instead. This requires writing a wrapper for tree-sitter to match the wisitoken syntax-tree API; then the current wisi indentation code can be used. 3. Drop everything except the grammar; use tree-sitter parser and emacs tree-sitter queries for indentation, face, navigation. 4. Just use eglot and AdaCore ada\_language\_server. If you are interested in handling all or part of this work, contact me via the Emacs ada-mode mailing list ([Emacs Ada mode - Mailing Lists [Savannah]](https://savannah.nongnu.org/mail/?group=ada-mode)) or directly at [stephen\_leake@stephe-leake.org](mailto:stephen_leake@stephe-leake.org). ---
**Author:** ![DirkCraeynest](https://forum.ada-lang.io/user_avatar/forum.ada-lang.io/dirkcraeynest/32/94_2.png) [@DirkCraeynest](https://forum.ada-lang.io/u/DirkCraeynest)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 7:17am UTC](https://forum.ada-lang.io/t/gnu-emacs-ada-mode-passing-the-torch/518/2 "2023-11-05T07:17:59Z")
Thanks Stephe for all the work you’ve done over so many years on the Emacs Ada mode! Most appreciated! I’ve been privileged to work for most of my “industrial career” in a team that values Ada and Emacs, and which supported your efforts. I hope the handover to new maintainers goes smoothly. All the best, and enjoy spending time with your granddaughter. ---
**Author:** ![ebriot](https://forum.ada-lang.io/user_avatar/forum.ada-lang.io/ebriot/32/156_2.png) [@ebriot](https://forum.ada-lang.io/u/ebriot)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2023, 3:34pm UTC](https://forum.ada-lang.io/t/gnu-emacs-ada-mode-passing-the-torch/518/3 "2023-11-11T15:34:35Z")
Thanks Stephe for all the work on ada-mode. I think you might have taken over the maintenance in 2002 (I think that’s when I handed it to you, as GPS was starting to work reasonably well at the time). Although I haven’t used Emacs in a very long time, I have noticed the extensive changes and clean ups you did. As you mentioned in your message, the future maintainers will likely make their own significant changes, it will be interesting to see where things go from there. Emmanuel ---
**Author:** ![Irvise](https://forum.ada-lang.io/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Irvise](https://forum.ada-lang.io/u/Irvise)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 9:36am UTC](https://forum.ada-lang.io/t/gnu-emacs-ada-mode-passing-the-torch/518/4 "2026-04-22T09:36:05Z")
Dear all, Divyá Ranjan may start working on the Ada-mode code soon in this repository, in case you would like to help or check it out as it evolves: [MonadicSheep/ada-mode: Emacs' Ada-Mode. Mirrored from upsream ELPA: https://cgit.git.savannah.nongnu.org/cgit/ada-mode.git - Codeberg.org](https://codeberg.org/monadicsheep/ada-mode) He is a well known lisper and has been working on some major tools for the Emacs community, so I trust he will make good use of the work by Stephen 🙂 I will keep the forums updated with any major updates. Best regards, Fer ---
**Author:** ![tomekw](https://forum.ada-lang.io/user_avatar/forum.ada-lang.io/tomekw/32/883_2.png) [@tomekw](https://forum.ada-lang.io/u/tomekw)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 8:07pm UTC](https://forum.ada-lang.io/t/gnu-emacs-ada-mode-passing-the-torch/518/5 "2026-04-22T20:07:38Z")
I know this exists. Curious how useful it can be: > **[GitHub - brownts/ada-ts-mode: Ada major mode using tree-sitter for Emacs](https://github.com/brownts/ada-ts-mode)** > > Ada major mode using tree-sitter for Emacs