How to debug Aquamacs

Question

I'm trying to debug Aquamacs. With other emacsen, I've just done emacs --debug-init, but when I try it with aquamacs --debug-init, I get

touch: illegal option -- -
usage:
touch [-A [-][[hh]mm]SS] [-acfhm] [-r file] [-t [[CC]YY]MMDDhhmm[.SS]] file ...
open: unrecognized option `--debug-init'
Usage: open [-e] [-t] [-f] [-W] [-R] [-n] [-g] [-h] [-b <bundle identifier>] [-a <application>] [filenames] [--args arguments]
Help: Open opens files from a shell.
      By default, opens each file using the default application for that file.  
      If the file is in the form of a URL, the file will be opened as a URL.
Options: 
      -a                Opens with the specified application.
      -b                Opens with the specified application bundle identifier.
      -e                Opens with TextEdit.
      -t                Opens with default text editor.
      -f                Reads input from standard input and opens with TextEdit.
      -F  --fresh       Launches the app fresh, that is, without restoring windows. Saved persistent state is lost, excluding Untitled documents.
      -R, --reveal      Selects in the Finder instead of opening.
      -W, --wait-apps   Blocks until the used applications are closed (even if they were already running).
          --args        All remaining arguments are passed in argv to the application's main() function instead of opened.
      -n, --new         Open a new instance of the application even if one is already running.
      -j, --hide       

 Launches the app hidden.
      -g, --background  Does not bring the application to the foreground.
      -h, --header      Searches header file locations for headers matching the given filenames, and opens them.
rm: illegal option -- -
usage: rm [-f | -i] [-dPRrvW] file ...
       unlink file

My version is GNU Emacs 24.1.50.3 (i386-apple-darwin9.8.0, NS apple-appkit-949.54) of 2012-06-24 on braeburn.aquamacs.org - Aquamacs Distribution 3.xdev (On Mac 10.7 Lion).

Thanks

Answer 1

Does aquamacs --help work? I suspect it does not because if you are using the command that was installed by Aquamacs itself (which is /usr/local/bin/aquamacs) it is simply a Perl script that call OS X open command, which may have difficulty when parsing options.

It is better to just create an alias or a symbolic link to /Applications/Aquamacs.app/Contents/MacOS/Aquamacs.

% /Applications/Aquamacs.app/Contents/MacOS/Aquamacs --help
Usage: /Applications/Aquamacs.app/Contents/MacOS/Aquamacs [OPTION-OR-FILENAME]...

Run Emacs, the extensible, customizable, self-documenting real-time
display editor.  The recommended way to start Emacs for normal editing
is with no options at all.

Run M-x info RET m emacs RET m emacs invocation RET inside Emacs to
read the main documentation for these command-line arguments.

Initialization options:

--batch                     do not do interactive display; implies -q
--chdir DIR                 change to directory DIR
--daemon                    start a server in the background
--debug-init                enable Emacs Lisp debugger for init file
--%<--------

You can also safely run

% /Applications/Aquamacs.app/Contents/MacOS/Aquamacs -nw --debug-init

to get Aquamacs running in your preferred Terminal emulator. More information can be found on EmacsWiki, Customize Aquamacs.