Better bindings. Use ibuffer.

.emacs

@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@
        ;; If we cannot detect the theme, default to light 
        (load-theme light-theme t)))))
 
+
 ;; Apply theme at startup
 (my/set-theme-based-on-appearance)
 
@@ -101,6 +102,9 @@
 ;; UI Customizations
 ;; ===========================
 
+;; Use ibuffer, instead of Buffer-menu-mode.
+(global-set-key (kbd "C-x C-b") 'ibuffer)
+
 ;; Replace yes-no prompts to y-n
 (defalias 'yes-or-no-p 'y-or-n-p)
 
@@ -169,28 +173,64 @@
 (use-package evil
   :ensure t
   :init
-  (setq evil-want-integration t)
-  (setq evil-want-keybinding nil)
+  (setq evil-want-integration t
+        evil-want-keybinding nil)
   :config
-  (evil-mode 1)) ;; Enable Evil Mode globally
+  (evil-mode 1)
+
+  ;; Force modes to start in Emacs state
+  (dolist (mode '(;;Buffer-menu-mode
+                  ;;ibuffer-mode
+                  dired-mode
+                  help-mode
+                  bookmark-bmenu-mode
+                  gnus-summary-mode
+                  gnus-group-mode
+                  package-menu-mode))
+    (evil-set-initial-state mode 'emacs))
+
+  ;; Correct keybindings for minibuffer maps using actual keymap objects
+  (dolist (keymap '(minibuffer-local-map
+                    minibuffer-local-ns-map
+                    minibuffer-local-completion-map
+                    minibuffer-local-must-match-map
+                    minibuffer-local-isearch-map))
+    (define-key (symbol-value keymap) [escape] 'minibuffer-keyboard-quit))
+
+  ;; Set escape to quit in Evil states
+  (with-eval-after-load 'evil-maps
+    (define-key evil-normal-state-map [escape] 'keyboard-quit)
+    (define-key evil-visual-state-map [escape] 'keyboard-quit))
+
+  (keymap-global-set "C-u" 'evil-scroll-up))
 
 (use-package evil-collection
-  :init
   :after evil
   :ensure t
   :config
   (evil-collection-init))
 
-(keymap-global-set "C-u" 'evil-scroll-up)
+(defun my/buffer-menu-evil-fix ()
+  "Disable Evil's C-n and C-p in `Buffer-menu-mode'."
+  (evil-define-key 'normal Buffer-menu-mode-map
+    (kbd "C-n") nil
+    (kbd "C-p") nil))
+
+(add-hook 'buffer-menu-mode-hook #'my/buffer-menu-evil-fix)
 
 ;; ===========================
 ;; Additional Packages
 ;; ===========================
 
-;; Install and enable Helm
-(use-package helm
-  :config
-  (helm-mode 1))
+;; Skip helm for now, since it interferes with evil
+;;(use-package helm
+  ;;:ensure t
+  ;;:init
+  ;;(setq helm-display-function #'helm-default-display-buffer) ;; Fix potential display issues
+  ;;:config
+  ;;(helm-mode 1)
+  ;;(define-key helm-map (kbd "<tab>") 'helm-execute-persistent-action) ;; Better navigation
+  ;;(define-key helm-map (kbd "C-z") 'helm-select-action)) ;; Show actions list
 
 ;; Install and enable Company Mode globally
 (use-package company
@@ -297,7 +337,7 @@
  ;; If there is more than one, they won't work right.
  '(helm-minibuffer-history-key "M-p")
  '(package-selected-packages
-   '(rainbow-delimiters rainbow-delimiter catppuccin-theme lsp-pyright zenburn-theme which-key solarized-theme rust-mode projectile poetry magit lsp-ui lsp-treemacs kotlin-mode helm flycheck evil-collection dracula-theme company better-defaults)))
+   '(helm-evil rainbow-delimiters rainbow-delimiter catppuccin-theme lsp-pyright zenburn-theme which-key solarized-theme rust-mode projectile poetry magit lsp-ui lsp-treemacs kotlin-mode helm flycheck evil-collection dracula-theme company better-defaults)))
 (custom-set-faces
  ;; custom-set-faces was added by Custom.
  ;; If you edit it by hand, you could mess it up, so be careful.