Display Line Numbers Separately from Text in Emacs

Line number displays in Emacs can feel cramped without proper spacing. Modern Emacs provides built-in control over line number formatting and width—no external packages needed.

Using display-line-numbers-mode

display-line-numbers-mode is the standard in Emacs 25+ and should be your default choice. It’s faster and more maintainable than the older linum-mode.

Enable it globally:

(global-display-line-numbers-mode t)

To add spacing between line numbers and text, set an explicit width:

(setq display-line-numbers-width 4)

This allocates a 4-character space for line numbers plus padding. Adjust the number based on your file size and preference. For files with 100+ lines, use 4 or 5. For smaller files, 3 works fine.

Alternatively, let Emacs calculate width dynamically based on your file’s total line count:

(setq display-line-numbers-width-start t)

This is useful if you want automatic adjustment without manual tuning.

Control line number appearance

Customize how line numbers look using the line-number and line-number-current-line faces:

(custom-set-faces
 '(line-number ((t (:foreground "#555555" :background "#f5f5f5"))))
 '(line-number-current-line ((t (:foreground "#000000" :background "#ffffff" :weight bold)))))

The current line number stands out with bold text and contrasting background.

Enable line numbers selectively

You don’t always need line numbers everywhere. Hook into specific modes:

(add-hook 'prog-mode-hook #'display-line-numbers-mode)
(add-hook 'text-mode-hook #'display-line-numbers-mode)

To disable in specific modes:

(add-hook 'org-mode-hook (lambda () (display-line-numbers-mode -1)))

Visual vs. absolute line numbers

By default, display-line-numbers-mode shows absolute line numbers. To count wrapped lines instead:

(setq display-line-numbers-type 'visual)

Use 'relative' for relative numbering (useful with evil-mode or vim keybindings):

(setq display-line-numbers-type 'relative)

Legacy linum-mode

If you’re on older Emacs or must use linum-mode, customize the format string:

(require 'linum)
(global-linum-mode t)

(setq linum-format (lambda (line)
  (let ((w (length (number-to-string (count-lines (point-min) (point-max))))))
    (propertize (format (concat "%" (number-to-string w) "d ") line)
                'face 'linum))))

The space after d adds padding. Use two spaces for more breathing room:

(setq linum-format (lambda (line)
  (let ((w (length (number-to-string (count-lines (point-min) (point-max))))))
    (propertize (format (concat "%" (number-to-string w) "d  ") line)
                'face 'linum))))

Note: linum-mode recalculates on every buffer change and is noticeably slower on large files (10,000+ lines). Avoid it if possible.

Apply changes

Evaluate your configuration with M-x eval-buffer or restart Emacs. Test with different display-line-numbers-width values to find your preferred spacing.