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Version: 8.0
Short description:
Vim is a word processor that is upward compatible with Vi. Can be used to edit all types of plain text. Particularly useful when editing programs.
Man page output
man vi
man vimVIM(1) General Commands Manual VIM(1)
NAME
vim - Vi IMproved, a programmers text editor
SYNOPSIS
vim [options] [file ..]
vim [options] -
vim [options] -t tag
vim [options] -q [errorfile]
ex
view
gvim gview evim eview
rvim rview rgvim rgview
DESCRIPTION
Vim is a text editor that is upwards compatible to Vi. It can be used to edit
all kinds of plain text. It is especially useful for editing programs.
There are a lot of enhancements above Vi: multi level undo, multi windows and
buffers, syntax highlighting, command line editing, filename completion, on-line
help, visual selection, etc.. See ":help vi_diff.txt" for a summary of the dif‐
ferences between Vim and Vi.
While running Vim a lot of help can be obtained from the on-line help system,
with the ":help" command. See the ON-LINE HELP section below.
Most often Vim is started to edit a single file with the command
vim file
More generally Vim is started with:
vim [options] [filelist]
If the filelist is missing, the editor will start with an empty buffer. Other‐
wise exactly one out of the following four may be used to choose one or more
files to be edited.
file .. A list of filenames. The first one will be the current file and
read into the buffer. The cursor will be positioned on the first
line of the buffer. You can get to the other files with the ":next"
command. To edit a file that starts with a dash, precede the
filelist with "--".
- The file to edit is read from stdin. Commands are read from stderr,
which should be a tty.
-t {tag} The file to edit and the initial cursor position depends on a "tag",
a sort of goto label. {tag} is looked up in the tags file, the
associated file becomes the current file and the associated command
is executed. Mostly this is used for C programs, in which case
{tag} could be a function name. The effect is that the file con‐
taining that function becomes the current file and the cursor is
positioned on the start of the function. See ":help tag-commands".
-q [errorfile]
Start in quickFix mode. The file [errorfile] is read and the first
error is displayed. If [errorfile] is omitted, the filename is
obtained from the 'errorfile' option (defaults to "AztecC.Err" for
the Amiga, "errors.err" on other systems). Further errors can be
jumped to with the ":cn" command. See ":help quickfix".
Vim behaves differently, depending on the name of the command (the executable
may still be the same file).
vim The "normal" way, everything is default.
ex Start in Ex mode. Go to Normal mode with the ":vi" command. Can also
be done with the "-e" argument.
view Start in read-only mode. You will be protected from writing the
files. Can also be done with the "-R" argument.
gvim gview
The GUI version. Starts a new window. Can also be done with the "-g"
argument.
evim eview
The GUI version in easy mode. Starts a new window. Can also be done
with the "-y" argument.
rvim rview rgvim rgview
Like the above, but with restrictions. It will not be possible to
start shell commands, or suspend Vim. Can also be done with the "-Z"
argument.
OPTIONS
The options may be given in any order, before or after filenames. Options with‐
out an argument can be combined after a single dash.
+[num] For the first file the cursor will be positioned on line "num". If
"num" is missing, the cursor will be positioned on the last line.
+/{pat} For the first file the cursor will be positioned in the line with
the first occurrence of {pat}. See ":help search-pattern" for the
available search patterns.
+{command}
-c {command}
{command} will be executed after the first file has been read.
{command} is interpreted as an Ex command. If the {command} con‐
tains spaces it must be enclosed in double quotes (this depends on
the shell that is used). Example: Vim "+set si" main.c
Note: You can use up to 10 "+" or "-c" commands.
-S {file} {file} will be sourced after the first file has been read. This is
equivalent to -c "source {file}". {file} cannot start with '-'. If
{file} is omitted "Session.vim" is used (only works when -S is the
last argument).
--cmd {command}
Like using "-c", but the command is executed just before processing
any vimrc file. You can use up to 10 of these commands, indepen‐
dently from "-c" commands.
-A If Vim has been compiled with ARABIC support for editing right-to-
left oriented files and Arabic keyboard mapping, this option starts
Vim in Arabic mode, i.e. 'arabic' is set. Otherwise an error mes‐
sage is given and Vim aborts.
-b Binary mode. A few options will be set that makes it possible to
edit a binary or executable file.
-C Compatible. Set the 'compatible' option. This will make Vim behave
mostly like Vi, even though a .vimrc file exists.
-d Start in diff mode. There should be two, three or four file name
arguments. Vim will open all the files and show differences between
them. Works like vimdiff(1).
-d {device} Open {device} for use as a terminal. Only on the Amiga. Example:
"-d con:20/30/600/150".
-D Debugging. Go to debugging mode when executing the first command
from a script.
-e Start Vim in Ex mode, just like the executable was called "ex".
-E Start Vim in improved Ex mode, just like the executable was called
"exim".
-f Foreground. For the GUI version, Vim will not fork and detach from
the shell it was started in. On the Amiga, Vim is not restarted to
open a new window. This option should be used when Vim is executed
by a program that will wait for the edit session to finish (e.g.
mail). On the Amiga the ":sh" and ":!" commands will not work.
--nofork Foreground. For the GUI version, Vim will not fork and detach from
the shell it was started in.
-F If Vim has been compiled with FKMAP support for editing right-to-
left oriented files and Farsi keyboard mapping, this option starts
Vim in Farsi mode, i.e. 'fkmap' and 'rightleft' are set. Otherwise
an error message is given and Vim aborts.
-g If Vim has been compiled with GUI support, this option enables the
GUI. If no GUI support was compiled in, an error message is given
and Vim aborts.
-h Give a bit of help about the command line arguments and options.
After this Vim exits.
-H If Vim has been compiled with RIGHTLEFT support for editing right-
to-left oriented files and Hebrew keyboard mapping, this option
starts Vim in Hebrew mode, i.e. 'hkmap' and 'rightleft' are set.
Otherwise an error message is given and Vim aborts.
-i {viminfo}
When using the viminfo file is enabled, this option sets the file‐
name to use, instead of the default "~/.viminfo". This can also be
used to skip the use of the .viminfo file, by giving the name
"NONE".
-L Same as -r.
-l Lisp mode. Sets the 'lisp' and 'showmatch' options on.
-m Modifying files is disabled. Resets the 'write' option. You can
still modify the buffer, but writing a file is not possible.
-M Modifications not allowed. The 'modifiable' and 'write' options
will be unset, so that changes are not allowed and files can not be
written. Note that these options can be set to enable making modi‐
fications.
-N No-compatible mode. Reset the 'compatible' option. This will make
Vim behave a bit better, but less Vi compatible, even though a
.vimrc file does not exist.
-n No swap file will be used. Recovery after a crash will be impossi‐
ble. Handy if you want to edit a file on a very slow medium (e.g.
floppy). Can also be done with ":set uc=0". Can be undone with
":set uc=200".
-nb Become an editor server for NetBeans. See the docs for details.
-o[N] Open N windows stacked. When N is omitted, open one window for each
file.
-O[N] Open N windows side by side. When N is omitted, open one window for
each file.
-p[N] Open N tab pages. When N is omitted, open one tab page for each
file.
-R Read-only mode. The 'readonly' option will be set. You can still
edit the buffer, but will be prevented from accidentally overwriting
a file. If you do want to overwrite a file, add an exclamation mark
to the Ex command, as in ":w!". The -R option also implies the -n
option (see below). The 'readonly' option can be reset with ":set
noro". See ":help 'readonly'".
-r List swap files, with information about using them for recovery.
-r {file} Recovery mode. The swap file is used to recover a crashed editing
session. The swap file is a file with the same filename as the text
file with ".swp" appended. See ":help recovery".
-s Silent mode. Only when started as "Ex" or when the "-e" option was
given before the "-s" option.
-s {scriptin}
The script file {scriptin} is read. The characters in the file are
interpreted as if you had typed them. The same can be done with the
command ":source! {scriptin}". If the end of the file is reached
before the editor exits, further characters are read from the key‐
board.
-T {terminal}
Tells Vim the name of the terminal you are using. Only required
when the automatic way doesn't work. Should be a terminal known to
Vim (builtin) or defined in the termcap or terminfo file.
-u {vimrc} Use the commands in the file {vimrc} for initializations. All the
other initializations are skipped. Use this to edit a special kind
of files. It can also be used to skip all initializations by giving
the name "NONE". See ":help initialization" within vim for more
details.
-U {gvimrc} Use the commands in the file {gvimrc} for GUI initializations. All
the other GUI initializations are skipped. It can also be used to
skip all GUI initializations by giving the name "NONE". See ":help
gui-init" within vim for more details.
-V[N] Verbose. Give messages about which files are sourced and for read‐
ing and writing a viminfo file. The optional number N is the value
for 'verbose'. Default is 10.
-v Start Vim in Vi mode, just like the executable was called "vi".
This only has effect when the executable is called "ex".
-w {scriptout}
All the characters that you type are recorded in the file
{scriptout}, until you exit Vim. This is useful if you want to cre‐
ate a script file to be used with "vim -s" or ":source!". If the
{scriptout} file exists, characters are appended.
-W {scriptout}
Like -w, but an existing file is overwritten.
-x Use encryption when writing files. Will prompt for a crypt key.
-X Don't connect to the X server. Shortens startup time in a terminal,
but the window title and clipboard will not be used.
-y Start Vim in easy mode, just like the executable was called "evim"
or "eview". Makes Vim behave like a click-and-type editor.
-Z Restricted mode. Works like the executable starts with "r".
-- Denotes the end of the options. Arguments after this will be han‐
dled as a file name. This can be used to edit a filename that
starts with a '-'.
--echo-wid GTK GUI only: Echo the Window ID on stdout.
--help Give a help message and exit, just like "-h".
--literal Take file name arguments literally, do not expand wildcards. This
has no effect on Unix where the shell expands wildcards.
--noplugin Skip loading plugins. Implied by -u NONE.
--remote Connect to a Vim server and make it edit the files given in the rest
of the arguments. If no server is found a warning is given and the
files are edited in the current Vim.
--remote-expr {expr}
Connect to a Vim server, evaluate {expr} in it and print the result
on stdout.
--remote-send {keys}
Connect to a Vim server and send {keys} to it.
--remote-silent
As --remote, but without the warning when no server is found.
--remote-wait
As --remote, but Vim does not exit until the files have been edited.
--remote-wait-silent
As --remote-wait, but without the warning when no server is found.
--serverlist
List the names of all Vim servers that can be found.
--servername {name}
Use {name} as the server name. Used for the current Vim, unless
used with a --remote argument, then it's the name of the server to
connect to.
--socketid {id}
GTK GUI only: Use the GtkPlug mechanism to run gvim in another win‐
dow.
--version Print version information and exit.
ON-LINE HELP
Type ":help" in Vim to get started. Type ":help subject" to get help on a spe‐
cific subject. For example: ":help ZZ" to get help for the "ZZ" command. Use
<Tab> and CTRL-D to complete subjects (":help cmdline-completion"). Tags are
present to jump from one place to another (sort of hypertext links, see
":help"). All documentation files can be viewed in this way, for example ":help
syntax.txt".
FILES
/usr/share/vim/vim80/doc/*.txt
The Vim documentation files. Use ":help doc-file-list" to get
the complete list.
/usr/share/vim/vim80/doc/tags
The tags file used for finding information in the documentation
files.
/usr/share/vim/vim80/syntax/syntax.vim
System wide syntax initializations.
/usr/share/vim/vim80/syntax/*.vim
Syntax files for various languages.
/usr/share/vim/vimrc
System wide Vim initializations.
~/.vimrc Your personal Vim initializations.
/usr/share/vim/gvimrc
System wide gvim initializations.
~/.gvimrc Your personal gvim initializations.
/usr/share/vim/vim80/optwin.vim
Script used for the ":options" command, a nice way to view and
set options.
/usr/share/vim/vim80/menu.vim
System wide menu initializations for gvim.
/usr/share/vim/vim80/bugreport.vim
Script to generate a bug report. See ":help bugs".
/usr/share/vim/vim80/filetype.vim
Script to detect the type of a file by its name. See ":help
'filetype'".
/usr/share/vim/vim80/scripts.vim
Script to detect the type of a file by its contents. See ":help
'filetype'".
/usr/share/vim/vim80/print/*.ps
Files used for PostScript printing.
For recent info read the VIM home page:
<URL:http://www.vim.org/>
SEE ALSO
vimtutor(1)
AUTHOR
Most of Vim was made by Bram Moolenaar, with a lot of help from others. See
":help credits" in Vim.
Vim is based on Stevie, worked on by: Tim Thompson, Tony Andrews and G.R. (Fred)
Walter. Although hardly any of the original code remains.
BUGS
Probably. See ":help todo" for a list of known problems.
Note that a number of things that may be regarded as bugs by some, are in fact
caused by a too-faithful reproduction of Vi's behaviour. And if you think other
things are bugs "because Vi does it differently", you should take a closer look
at the vi_diff.txt file (or type :help vi_diff.txt when in Vim). Also have a
look at the 'compatible' and 'cpoptions' options.
2006 Apr 11 VIM(1)
Help output
vi --helpVIM - Vi IMproved 8.0 (2016 Sep 12, compiled Jun 21 2019 04:10:35) 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 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") -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 -C Compatible with Vi: 'compatible' -N Not fully Vi compatible: 'nocompatible' -V[N][fname] Be verbose [level N] [log messages to fname] -n No swap file, use memory only -r List swap files and exit -r (with file name) Recover crashed session -L Same as -r -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> -h or --help Print Help (this message) and exit --version Print version information and exit
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