Vim

Vim (Vi improved) is a text editor based on the vi text editor. It can be used from the command-line or as a standalone application with a graphical user interface.

Vim should not be confused with Neovim, a similar program which may be used in its place.

Installation

USE flags

Emerge

If X Window System support is not needed, install app-editors/vim:

Additional software

Gvim

To install Vim with both the ncurses-based interface (/usr/bin/vim) as well as the graphical interface (for the X Window System - /usr/bin/gvim), install the app-editors/gvim package:

Packages

Vim has support for packages, which provide a native mechanism to extend functionality. Read the built-in packages documentation for more information: :help packages

Plugins

The category app-vim provides a lot of additional syntax definitions, plugins and other Vim related stuff.

Use emerge or eix to get an overview of available packages in the app-vim category:

Not all Vim plugins will be available in the Gentoo repository. Vim now includes native packages, as a way to install plugins, and there are also several plugin managers for Vim.

Configuration

Files

Vim can be configured on a per-user basis or through a system-wide configuration file:

• /etc/vim/vimrc - The system wide (global) settings file.
• ~/.vimrc - The user-specific (local) configuration file. The tilde (~) means it is in the user's home directory.
• ~/.vim/pack/foo - Location where plugins are installed (vim 8 and higher).^[1] Substitute foo for the name of each plugin.

From version 9.1.0327 Vim adopts freedesktop XDG Base Directory Specification: that means, you can now place your configuration files under ~/.config/vim/ so Vim will stop littering your home directory.

Want to share the same config for root or other users? Softlink it:

Color schemes

About a dozen color schemes are shipped with the core Vim package. They can be listed in last line mode by typing colorscheme (followed by a space), then pressing either + or pressing the key twice:

blue darkblue default delek desert elflord evening industry koehler morning murphy pablo peachpuff ron shine slate torte zellner

They can be changed in Vim by using the colorscheme (alternatively use colo) command while in last line mode:

Color schemes can be permanently applied in the .vimrc file. Note that the syntax on line is also needed for activation:

colorscheme peachpuff
syntax on

The first line sets the default color scheme while the last line activates the color scheme.

Selecting vi editor and system default editor

If Vim - and only Vim - is installed, the vi command should launch Vim. If other vi-like editors are installed, eselect may be used to choose which editor the vi command launches.

The text editor article may also be of interest for setting a system default editor, if Vim is to be set as the default.

Gentoo syntax

To enable support for the Gentoo syntax plugin (app-vim/gentoo-syntax) within vim, add the following lines to the user's ~/.vimrc file:

filetype plugin on
filetype indent on

Usage

Invocation

From the command line:

vim --help
VIM - Vi IMproved 8.2 (2019 Dec 12, compiled Nov 26 2021 11:56:27)
 
Usage: vim [arguments] [file ..] edit specified file(s)
 or: vim [arguments] - read text from stdin
 or: vim [arguments] -t tag edit file where tag is defined
 or: vim [arguments] -q [errorfile] edit file with first error
 
Arguments:
 --			Only file names after this
 -v			Vi mode (like "vi")
 -e			Ex mode (like "ex")
 -E			Improved Ex mode
 -s			Silent (batch) mode (only for "ex")
 -d			Diff mode (like "vimdiff")
 -y			Easy mode (like "evim", modeless)
 -R			Readonly mode (like "view")
 -Z			Restricted mode (like "rvim")
 -m			Modifications (writing files) not allowed
 -M			Modifications in text not allowed
 -b			Binary mode
 -l			Lisp mode
 -C			Compatible with Vi: 'compatible'
 -N			Not fully Vi compatible: 'nocompatible'
 -V[N][fname]		Be verbose [level N] [log messages to fname]
 -D			Debugging mode
 -n			No swap file, use memory only
 -r			List swap files and exit
 -r (with file name)	Recover crashed session
 -L			Same as -r
 -A			Start in Arabic mode
 -H			Start in Hebrew mode
 -T <terminal>	Set terminal type to <terminal>
 --not-a-term		Skip warning for input/output not being a terminal
 --ttyfail		Exit if input or output is not a terminal
 -u <vimrc>		Use <vimrc> instead of any .vimrc
 --noplugin		Don't load plugin scripts
 -p[N]		Open N tab pages (default: one for each file)
 -o[N]		Open N windows (default: one for each file)
 -O[N]		Like -o but split vertically
 +			Start at end of file
 +<lnum>		Start at line <lnum>
 --cmd <command>	Execute <command> before loading any vimrc file
 -c <command>		Execute <command> after loading the first file
 -S <session>		Source file <session> after loading the first file
 -s <scriptin>	Read Normal mode commands from file <scriptin>
 -w <scriptout>	Append all typed commands to file <scriptout>
 -W <scriptout>	Write all typed commands to file <scriptout>
 -x			Edit encrypted files
 --startuptime <file>	Write startup timing messages to <file>
 -i <viminfo>		Use <viminfo> instead of .viminfo
 --clean		'nocompatible', Vim defaults, no plugins, no viminfo
 -h or --help	Print Help (this message) and exit
 --version		Print version information and exit

The vi command may also be used to launch Vim, if so configured.

Specify a name, to open an existing file, or to create a new one:

Tutorial

Vim has a built-in tutorial which should require around 30 minutes to go through. Start it using the vimtutor command:

Tips and tricks

Using Vim like ex or ed from the command line

It is possible to use Vim for one-liners — commands that can be used in scripts or on the command-line to make changes in an unattended manner.

For instance, the following command adds # to the beginning of each line in the file.txt file:

What happens is that Vim interprets the passed on commands (through the -c option). The first command is Vim's substitution command (which is very similar to sed's), the second one is Vim's instruction to save and exit the editor.

Change file encoding

To change the file encoding of a file to UTF-8, use the following command (in last line mode):

As shown in the previous trick, it is possible to do this from the command line as well:

Troubleshooting

I'm trapped in vim!

For someone entering vim without first having learned how to use it, it may not be obvious how to quit.

Press several times, then , , . To quit without saving, press several times, then , , , .

If several files are open, try pressing several times, then , , , . To quit without saving, press several times, then , , , , .

If this doesn't help, and desperate measures are needed, something like killall vim may be a last ditch solution (from another terminal). Beware that this will terminate all the vim sessions for a user, without saving. If run as root, such a command will terminate all vim sessions for all users on the system.

Pastes are being tabbed

Say the following text is trying to be pasted into a Vim buffer:

some:
 yaml:
 - data
 - structured
 in:
 - this
 - shape
 that:
 - VIM
 - may 
not: like

Vim may interpret this with autotabbing, breaking the paste:

some:
 yaml:
 - data
 - structured
	 in:
	 - this
		 - shape
		 that:
		 - VIM
			 - may 
			 not: like

To correct this, run the following command: :set paste to enable Vim's paste mode, once the paste is completed, :set nopaste can be used to go back to the previous settings.

E1187

E1187: Failed to source defaults.vim
Press ENTER or type command to continue

Seems solved by destabilize 8.2.4328.

See also

• Knowledge Base:Edit a configuration file
• Neovim — a hyperextensible -based text editor.
• Text editor — a program to create and edit text files.
• Useful plugin: app-vim/gentoo-syntax
• Vi — a powerful modal text-based editor with a long history in the Unix(like) operating system.
• Vim/Guide — explain basic usage for users new to vi-like text editors in general, and vim in particular.
• Emacs — a class of powerful, extensible, self-documenting text editors.

External resources

• Vim Documentation Includes Manuals (aka ":help" and Free VIM OPL Book), FAQS, HOWTO's, Tutorials, in HTML PDF, and PS formats.
• A vim Tutorial and Primer - An excellent vim tutorial/primer. Read this first.
• VIM Scripts/Plugins
• Vim for Humans (free ebook) - Clone and cd into the sources directory, mkdir dist, change sphinx2-build to sphinx-build for SPHINXBUILD in rst/en/Makefile. Run ./makedist.sh. Read PDF in ./dist/vimpourleshumains/.
• Learning the vi and Vim Editors, 7th Edition  O'Reilly  Print ISBN: 978-0-596-52983-3, Ebook ISBN: 978-0-596-15935-1
• Vim anti-patterns - A blog entry on maintaining flow with Vim.
• Vim Tips Wiki - Previously known as Wikia, Vim Tips Wiki is now on Fandom.com.
• Vim: Seven habits of effective text editing - A guide written in the year 2000 that still is relevant today!
• vimcolorschemes.com - A website that offers many more options for color schemes.

References