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Problem: Cannot use clientserver over Unix domain socket Solution: Implement socketserver functionality (Foxe Chen). fixes: #3509 closes: #17839 Signed-off-by: Foxe Chen <chen.foxe@gmail.com> Signed-off-by: Christian Brabandt <cb@256bit.org>
490 lines
22 KiB
Groff
490 lines
22 KiB
Groff
VIM(1) General Commands Manual VIM(1)
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NAME
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vim - Vi IMproved, a programmer's text editor
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SYNOPSIS
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vim [options] [file ..]
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vim [options] -
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vim [options] -t tag
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vim [options] -q [errorfile]
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ex
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view
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gvim gview evim eview
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rvim rview rgvim rgview
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DESCRIPTION
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Vim is a text editor that is upwards compatible to Vi. It can be used
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to edit all kinds of plain text. It is especially useful for editing
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programs.
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There are a lot of enhancements above Vi: multi level undo, multi win‐
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dows and buffers, syntax highlighting, command line editing, filename
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completion, on-line help, visual selection, etc.. See ":help
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vi_diff.txt" for a summary of the differences between Vim and Vi.
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While running Vim a lot of help can be obtained from the on-line help
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system, with the ":help" command. See the ON-LINE HELP section below.
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Most often Vim is started to edit a single file with the command
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vim file
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More generally Vim is started with:
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vim [options] [filelist]
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If the filelist is missing, the editor will start with an empty buffer.
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Otherwise exactly one out of the following four may be used to choose
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one or more files to be edited.
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file .. A list of filenames. The first one will be the current
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file and read into the buffer. The cursor will be posi‐
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tioned on the first line of the buffer. You can get to the
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other files with the ":next" command. To edit a file that
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starts with a dash, precede the filelist with "--".
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- The file to edit is read from stdin. Commands are read
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from stderr, which should be a tty.
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-t {tag} The file to edit and the initial cursor position depends on
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a "tag", a sort of goto label. {tag} is looked up in the
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tags file, the associated file becomes the current file and
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the associated command is executed. Mostly this is used
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for C programs, in which case {tag} could be a function
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name. The effect is that the file containing that function
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becomes the current file and the cursor is positioned on
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the start of the function. See ":help tag-commands".
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-q [errorfile]
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Start in quickFix mode. The file [errorfile] is read and
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the first error is displayed. If [errorfile] is omitted,
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the filename is obtained from the 'errorfile' option (de‐
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faults to "AztecC.Err" for the Amiga, "errors.err" on other
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systems). Further errors can be jumped to with the ":cn"
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command. See ":help quickfix".
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Vim behaves differently, depending on the name of the command (the exe‐
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cutable may still be the same file).
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vim The "normal" way, everything is default.
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ex Start in Ex mode. Go to Normal mode with the ":vi" command.
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Can also be done with the "-e" argument.
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view Start in read-only mode. You will be protected from writing
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the files. Can also be done with the "-R" argument.
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gvim gview
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The GUI version. Starts a new window. Can also be done with
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the "-g" argument.
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evim eview
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The GUI version in easy mode. Starts a new window. Can also
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be done with the "-y" argument.
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rvim rview rgvim rgview
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Like the above, but with restrictions. It will not be possi‐
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ble to start shell commands, or suspend Vim. Can also be
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done with the "-Z" argument.
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OPTIONS
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The options may be given in any order, before or after filenames. Op‐
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tions without an argument can be combined after a single dash.
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+[num] For the first file the cursor will be positioned on line
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"num". If "num" is missing, the cursor will be positioned
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on the last line.
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+/{pat} For the first file the cursor will be positioned in the
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line with the first occurrence of {pat}. See ":help
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search-pattern" for the available search patterns.
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+{command}
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-c {command}
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{command} will be executed after the first file has been
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read. {command} is interpreted as an Ex command. If the
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{command} contains spaces it must be enclosed in double
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quotes (this depends on the shell that is used). Example:
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vim "+set si" main.c
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Note: You can use up to 10 "+" or "-c" commands.
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-A If Vim has been compiled with ARABIC support for editing
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right-to-left oriented files and Arabic keyboard mapping,
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this option starts Vim in Arabic mode, i.e. 'arabic' is
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set. Otherwise an error message is given and Vim aborts.
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-b Binary mode. A few options will be set that makes it pos‐
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sible to edit a binary or executable file.
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-C Compatible. Set the 'compatible' option. This will make
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Vim behave mostly like Vi, even though a .vimrc file ex‐
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ists.
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-d Start in diff mode. There should between two to eight file
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name arguments. Vim will open all the files and show dif‐
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ferences between them. Works like vimdiff(1).
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-d {device}, -dev {device}
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Open {device} for use as a terminal. Only on the Amiga.
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Example: "-d con:20/30/600/150".
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-D Debugging. Go to debugging mode when executing the first
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command from a script.
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-e Start Vim in Ex mode, just like the executable was called
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"ex".
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-E Start Vim in improved Ex mode, just like the executable was
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called "exim".
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-f Foreground. For the GUI version, Vim will not fork and de‐
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tach from the shell it was started in. On the Amiga, Vim
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is not restarted to open a new window. This option should
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be used when Vim is executed by a program that will wait
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for the edit session to finish (e.g. mail). On the Amiga
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the ":sh" and ":!" commands will not work.
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-F If Vim has been compiled with FKMAP support for editing
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right-to-left oriented files and Farsi keyboard mapping,
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this option starts Vim in Farsi mode, i.e. 'fkmap' and
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'rightleft' are set. Otherwise an error message is given
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and Vim aborts.
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Note: Farsi support has been removed in patch 8.1.0932.
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-g If Vim has been compiled with GUI support, this option en‐
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ables the GUI. If no GUI support was compiled in, an error
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message is given and Vim aborts.
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-H If Vim has been compiled with RIGHTLEFT support for editing
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right-to-left oriented files and Hebrew keyboard mapping,
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this option starts Vim in Hebrew mode, i.e. 'hkmap' and
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'rightleft' are set. Otherwise an error message is given
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and Vim aborts.
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-i {viminfo}
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Specifies the filename to use when reading or writing the
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viminfo file, instead of the default "~/.viminfo". This
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can also be used to skip the use of the .viminfo file, by
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giving the name "NONE".
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-l Lisp mode. Sets the 'lisp' and 'showmatch' options on.
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-L Same as -r.
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-m Modifying files is disabled. Resets the 'write' option.
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You can still modify the buffer, but writing a file is not
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possible.
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-M Modifications not allowed. The 'modifiable' and 'write'
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options will be unset, so that changes are not allowed and
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files can not be written. Note that these options can be
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set to enable making modifications.
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-n No swap file will be used. Recovery after a crash will be
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impossible. Handy if you want to edit a file on a very
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slow medium (e.g. floppy). Can also be done with ":set
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uc=0". Can be undone with ":set uc=200".
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-N No-compatible mode. Resets the 'compatible' option. This
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will make Vim behave a bit better, but less Vi compatible,
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even though a .vimrc file does not exist.
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-nb Become an editor server for NetBeans. See the docs for de‐
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tails.
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-o[N] Open N windows stacked. When N is omitted, open one window
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for each file.
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-O[N] Open N windows side by side. When N is omitted, open one
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window for each file.
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-p[N] Open N tab pages. When N is omitted, open one tab page for
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each file.
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-P {parent-title}
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Win32 GUI only: Specify the title of the parent applica‐
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tion. When possible, Vim will run in an MDI window inside
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the application. {parent-title} must appear in the window
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title of the parent application. Make sure that it is spe‐
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cific enough. Note that the implementation is still primi‐
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tive. It won't work with all applications and the menu
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doesn't work.
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-r List swap files, with information about using them for re‐
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covery.
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-r {file} Recovery mode. The swap file is used to recover a crashed
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editing session. The swap file is a file with the same
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filename as the text file with ".swp" appended. See ":help
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recovery".
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-R Read-only mode. The 'readonly' option will be set. You
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can still edit the buffer, but will be prevented from acci‐
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dentally overwriting a file. If you do want to overwrite a
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file, add an exclamation mark to the Ex command, as in
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":w!". The -R option also implies the -n option (see
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above). The 'readonly' option can be reset with ":set
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noro". See ":help 'readonly'".
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-s Silent mode. Only when started as "Ex" or when the "-e"
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option was given before the "-s" option.
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-s {scriptin}
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The script file {scriptin} is read. The characters in the
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file are interpreted as if you had typed them. The same
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can be done with the command ":source! {scriptin}". If the
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end of the file is reached before the editor exits, further
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characters are read from the keyboard.
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-S {file} {file} will be sourced after the first file has been read.
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This is equivalent to -c "source {file}". {file} cannot
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start with '-'. If {file} is omitted "Session.vim" is used
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(only works when -S is the last argument).
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-T {terminal}
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Tells Vim the name of the terminal you are using. Only re‐
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quired when the automatic way doesn't work. Should be a
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terminal known to Vim (builtin) or defined in the termcap
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or terminfo file.
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-u {vimrc} Use the commands in the file {vimrc} for initializations.
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All the other initializations are skipped. Use this to
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edit a special kind of files. It can also be used to skip
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all initializations by giving the name "NONE". See ":help
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initialization" within vim for more details.
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-U {gvimrc} Use the commands in the file {gvimrc} for GUI initializa‐
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tions. All the other GUI initializations are skipped. It
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can also be used to skip all GUI initializations by giving
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the name "NONE". See ":help gui-init" within vim for more
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details.
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-v Start Vim in Vi mode, just like the executable was called
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"vi". This only has effect when the executable is called
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"ex".
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-V[N] Verbose. Give messages about which files are sourced and
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for reading and writing a viminfo file. The optional num‐
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ber N is the value for 'verbose'. Default is 10.
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-V[N]{filename}
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Like -V and set 'verbosefile' to {filename}. The result is
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that messages are not displayed but written to the file
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{filename}. {filename} must not start with a digit.
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-w{number} Set the 'window' option to {number}.
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-w {scriptout}
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All the characters that you type are recorded in the file
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{scriptout}, until you exit Vim. This is useful if you
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want to create a script file to be used with "vim -s" or
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":source!". If the {scriptout} file exists, characters are
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appended.
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-W {scriptout}
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Like -w, but an existing file is overwritten.
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-x If Vim has been compiled with encryption support, use en‐
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cryption when writing files. Will prompt for a crypt key.
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-X Don't connect to the X server. Shortens startup time in a
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terminal, but the window title and clipboard will not be
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used.
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-Y Don't connect to the wayland compositor
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-y Start Vim in easy mode, just like the executable was called
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"evim" or "eview". Makes Vim behave like a click-and-type
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editor.
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-Z Restricted mode. Works like the executable starts with
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"r".
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-- Denotes the end of the options. Arguments after this will
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be handled as a file name. This can be used to edit a
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filename that starts with a '-'.
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--clean Do not use any personal configuration (vimrc, plugins,
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etc.). Useful to see if a problem reproduces with a clean
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Vim setup.
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--cmd {command}
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Like using "-c", but the command is executed just before
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processing any vimrc file. You can use up to 10 of these
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commands, independently from "-c" commands.
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--echo-wid GTK GUI only: Echo the Window ID on stdout.
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--gui-dialog-file {name}
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When using the GUI, instead of showing a dialog, write the
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title and message of the dialog to file {name}. The file
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is created or appended to. Only useful for testing, to
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avoid that the test gets stuck on a dialog that can't be
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seen. Without the GUI the argument is ignored.
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--help, -h, -?
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Give a bit of help about the command line arguments and op‐
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tions. After this Vim exits.
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--literal Take file name arguments literally, do not expand wild‐
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cards. This has no effect on Unix where the shell expands
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wildcards.
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--log {filename}
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If Vim has been compiled with eval and channel feature,
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start logging and write entries to {filename}. This works
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like calling ch_logfile({filename}, 'ao') very early during
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startup.
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--nofork Foreground. For the GUI version, Vim will not fork and de‐
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tach from the shell it was started in.
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--noplugin Skip loading plugins. Implied by -u NONE.
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--not-a-term
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Tells Vim that the user knows that the input and/or output
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is not connected to a terminal. This will avoid the warn‐
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ing and the two second delay that would happen.
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--remote Connect to a Vim server and make it edit the files given in
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the rest of the arguments. If no server is found a warning
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is given and the files are edited in the current Vim.
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--remote-expr {expr}
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Connect to a Vim server, evaluate {expr} in it and print
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the result on stdout.
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--remote-send {keys}
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Connect to a Vim server and send {keys} to it.
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--remote-silent
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As --remote, but without the warning when no server is
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found.
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--remote-wait
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As --remote, but Vim does not exit until the files have
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been edited.
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--remote-wait-silent
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As --remote-wait, but without the warning when no server is
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found.
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--serverlist
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List the names of all Vim servers that can be found.
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--servername {name}
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Use {name} as the server name. Used for the current Vim,
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unless used with a --remote argument, then it's the name of
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the server to connect to. If the socketserver backend is
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being used, if the name starts with "/", "./", or "../", it
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is taken as either an absolute, relative or relative path
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to the socket.
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--clientserver {backend}
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Use {backend} as the backend for clientserver functional‐
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ity, either "socket" or "x11" respectively. Only available
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when compiled with both socketserver and X11 features
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present
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--socketid {id}
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GTK GUI only: Use the GtkPlug mechanism to run gVim in an‐
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other window.
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--startuptime {file}
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During startup write timing messages to the file {fname}.
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--ttyfail When stdin or stdout is not a a terminal (tty) then exit
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right away.
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--version Print version information and exit.
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--windowid {id}
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Win32 GUI only: Make gVim try to use the window {id} as a
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parent, so that it runs inside that window.
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ON-LINE HELP
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Type ":help" in Vim to get started. Type ":help subject" to get help
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on a specific subject. For example: ":help ZZ" to get help for the
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"ZZ" command. Use <Tab> and CTRL-D to complete subjects (":help cmd‐
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line-completion"). Tags are present to jump from one place to another
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(sort of hypertext links, see ":help"). All documentation files can be
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viewed in this way, for example ":help syntax.txt".
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FILES
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/usr/local/share/vim/vim??/doc/*.txt
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The Vim documentation files. Use ":help doc-file-list"
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to get the complete list.
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vim?? is short version number, like vim91 for Vim 9.1
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/usr/local/share/vim/vim??/doc/tags
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The tags file used for finding information in the docu‐
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mentation files.
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/usr/local/share/vim/vim??/syntax/syntax.vim
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System wide syntax initializations.
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/usr/local/share/vim/vim??/syntax/*.vim
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Syntax files for various languages.
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/usr/local/share/vim/vimrc
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System wide Vim initializations.
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~/.vimrc, ~/.vim/vimrc, $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vim/vimrc
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Your personal Vim initializations (first one found is
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used).
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/usr/local/share/vim/gvimrc
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System wide gvim initializations.
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~/.gvimrc, ~/.vim/gvimrc, $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vim/gvimrc
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Your personal gVim initializations (first one found is
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used).
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/usr/local/share/vim/vim??/optwin.vim
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Script used for the ":options" command, a nice way to
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view and set options.
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/usr/local/share/vim/vim??/menu.vim
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System wide menu initializations for gVim.
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/usr/local/share/vim/vim??/bugreport.vim
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Script to generate a bug report. See ":help bugs".
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/usr/local/share/vim/vim??/filetype.vim
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Script to detect the type of a file by its name. See
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":help 'filetype'".
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/usr/local/share/vim/vim??/scripts.vim
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Script to detect the type of a file by its contents.
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See ":help 'filetype'".
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/usr/local/share/vim/vim??/print/*.ps
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Files used for PostScript printing.
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For recent info read the VIM home page:
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<URL:http://www.vim.org/>
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SEE ALSO
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vimtutor(1)
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AUTHOR
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Most of Vim was made by Bram Moolenaar, with a lot of help from others.
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See ":help credits" in Vim.
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Vim is based on Stevie, worked on by: Tim Thompson, Tony Andrews and
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G.R. (Fred) Walter. Although hardly any of the original code remains.
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BUGS
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Probably. See ":help todo" for a list of known problems.
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Note that a number of things that may be regarded as bugs by some, are
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in fact caused by a too-faithful reproduction of Vi's behaviour. And
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if you think other things are bugs "because Vi does it differently",
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you should take a closer look at the vi_diff.txt file (or type :help
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vi_diff.txt when in Vim). Also have a look at the 'compatible' and
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'cpoptions' options.
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2025 Jun 27 VIM(1)
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