# Wilfred/helpful

A better Emacs *help* buffer

Repository: https://github.com/Wilfred/helpful
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/helpful
Language: Emacs Lisp
License Family: other
Topics: emacs, help
Last push: 2025-04-08T03:34:21+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 39/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 15, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3441, "days_push": 512, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1299, forks 72 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:17.404305+00:00)

## What it is
Helpful is an Emacs package that replaces the built-in help system with a richer *help* buffer. It adds contextual information such as source code, callers, prettier docstrings, and symbol properties.

## Use cases
- look up Emacs function documentation with source code
- find where a function is called in Emacs Lisp
- replace default C-h help keybindings in Emacs
- view docstrings with cross-references and Info links
- inspect symbol properties and aliases in Emacs

## When to choose
- you use Emacs daily and want richer, more contextual help than describe-function/describe-variable
- you want to see source code and callers directly in the help buffer

## When to avoid
- you don't use Emacs
- you only need minimal built-in help without extra packages

## Facets
- artifact type: plugin
- maturity: active
- function: documentation, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, text-editors
- platform: editor-plugin, cross-platform
- tags: emacs, emacs-lisp, help-buffer, melpa, introspection

## Member repositories
- Wilfred/helpful (main) score 39

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:17.404305+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:53:25.082365+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/Wilfred/helpful (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:17.404305+00:00, sha d594f7fbb740)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.