What it is
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.
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.
Why it’s here
- Everywhere. The same editor on your desktop and over SSH on any server.
- Fast to start, fast to edit. It opens instantly and keeps your hands on the keyboard.
- The vi family. Learn it here and Neovim,
viand Vim modes in other editors feel familiar.
On CoreDesktop
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.
update keeps Vim current with the rest of the pacman packages, and vi with the AUR packages.