32 lines
1.5 KiB
Markdown
32 lines
1.5 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Vim"
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category: "Code editors"
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tagline: "The classic modal text editor, installed alongside the original vi."
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source: "pacman"
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package: "vim"
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command: "vim"
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website: "https://www.vim.org/"
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code: "https://github.com/vim/vim"
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links:
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- name: "The original vi (ex-vi)"
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url: "https://ex-vi.sourceforge.net/"
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---
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## What it is
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Vim is a text editor that runs in the terminal and is driven entirely from the keyboard. It's modal: in normal mode keys move around and edit, in insert mode they type text, and short commands combine into precise edits, such as `dw` to delete a word or `ci"` to change the text inside quotes.
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It's found on almost every Unix-like system, so the skills carry over to any server you log in to. Run `vimtutor` for a half-hour introduction.
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## Why it's here
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- **Everywhere.** The same editor on your desktop and over SSH on any server.
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- **Fast to start, fast to edit.** It opens instantly and keeps your hands on the keyboard.
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- **The vi family.** Learn it here and Neovim, `vi` and Vim modes in other editors feel familiar.
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## On CoreDesktop
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Vim is installed from pacman. CoreDesktop also installs `vi` from the AUR package of the same name: the original ex/vi editor from the 1970s, kept for anyone who wants the real thing. CoreDesktop's own editor shortcuts, `n` and `eff`, open Neovim, which is set up with kickstart.nvim. `eff` uses `$EDITOR` if you've set it, so `export EDITOR=vim` makes it open Vim instead.
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`update` keeps Vim current with the rest of the pacman packages, and `vi` with the AUR packages.
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