How to check if a minor mode is active?

[new:DrewAdams:2009-02-25 15:08 UTC]
Test the value of the mode variable. Example: ##(if delete-selection-mode ...)##

[new:RobbieMorrison:2012-08-22 12:00 UTC]
The mode variable might not be known, so you can add this protection:
<pre>
(if (bound-and-true-p unknown-mode)
    ...)
</pre>

[new:rubikitch:2009-02-25 15:15 UTC]
But some minor modes don't have a variable, e.g., auto-fill-mode. -- [[rubikitch]]

[new:DrewAdams:2009-02-25 17:45 UTC]
True. I was going to say "File a bug", but checking the code defining `auto-fill-mode' I see this comment:

<pre>
(put 'auto-fill-function :minor-mode-function 'auto-fill-mode)
;; FIXME: turn into a proper minor mode.
;; Add a global minor mode version of it.
(defun auto-fill-mode (&optional arg)
...
</pre>
So I guess the answer is: (1) file a bug, (2) volunteer to fix the code. ;-) -- DrewAdams

[new:DrewAdams:2009-02-25 18:03 UTC]
I filed a bug: [http://emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=2470|#2470]. -- DrewAdams

----

How do I ensure that a mode is always active/enabled? For example, I'd like electric-pair-mode to always be on.

-- wickedjargon 2017-12-20 05:10 UTC


----

From the manual: "Some minor modes are global: while enabled, they affect everything
you do in the Emacs session, in all buffers.  Other minor modes are
buffer-local; they apply only to the current buffer, so you can enable
the mode in certain buffers and not others."

Some modes offer both, ##some-mode## and ##global-some-mode##. If the minor mode you are interested in does not offer that, you could still add it to a hook. One very generic hook would be ##find-file-hook##, for example.

-- Alex Schroeder 2017-12-20 06:23 UTC