How Breaking Windows 30 Years Ago Turned Me Into a Software Developer and Linux Professional

Every technology professional has an origin story. Mine began in 1995, centered around a Packard Bell corner computer running Windows 95. This beige chassis dominating the desk instantly transports me back to the very beginning of my career. I do not just see outdated hardware; I feel a profound nostalgia for the quiet, uninterrupted hours I spent discovering the inner workings of operating systems and programming languages. That computer was my gateway into the digital realm. First programming language The idea of computers controlling vehicles and medical devices remotely with artificial intelligence, as depicted in the science-fiction movies I watched … Continue reading →

Vim Plugin: pathaction - A Vim plugin for executing pathaction, the universal Makefile, for any file in your filesystem

The vim-pathaction Vim plugin provides an interface for executing .pathaction.yaml rules directly from Vim through the pathaction cli, a flexible tool for running commands on files and directories. Think of pathaction like a Makefile for any file or directory in the filesystem. It uses a .pathaction.yaml file to figure out which command to run, and you can even use Jinja2 templating to make those commands dynamic. You can also use tags to define multiple actions for the exact same file type, like setting up one tag to run a script, and another to debug it. This tool is for software … Continue reading →

Lightvim - The Efficient Vim/Neovim Configuration

The Lightvim project is a Vim configuration that is intended to serve as a solid foundation for a Vim configuration. The author began developing this configuration upon first adopting Vim and has continuously refined it over 25 years of research and testing to identify the most effective parameters and optimizations for a Vim configuration file. This Vim configuration does not install any plugins. It lets you choose exactly which plugins to use, giving you the freedom to build a setup suited to your specific needs without unnecessary dependencies or bloat. Installation Clone the repository into ~/.lightvim: git clone https://github.com/jamescherti/lightvim ~/.lightvim … Continue reading →

Set up Vim to use Fasd for quickly jumping to directories

Fasd is a command-line tool that enhances productivity by providing quick access to files and directories. It is inspired by autojump, z and v. By using the code provided below, you can configure Vim to leverage Fasd for swiftly jumping to directories:

Vim: Quickly replace the word that is under the cursor

vim-client - send commands to the Vim editor

The vim-client command-line tools vim-client-edit, vim-client-diff and the Python module vim_client will allow you to connect to a Vim server and make it: - Edit files or directories in new tabs, - Compare files (similar to vimdiff), - Evaluate expressions and return their result, - Send commands to Vim. It will allow you, for example, to make Vim edit or diff files from outside of Vim (e.g. from a shell like Bash, Zsh, etc.). License Copyright (C) 2022-2026 James Cherti. Distributed under terms of the MIT license. Requirements Python >= 3.0 The Vim editor ('vim' or 'gvim' in $PATH. Vim … Continue reading →

Vim: Edit all the files in the current directory of a Git repository in new tabs (git ls-files)

Here is how to edit all the files in the current directory of a Git repository in new tabs (git ls-files):

Vim theme: tomorrow-night-deepblue, a refreshing color scheme with a deep blue background

Vim: Open documentation in a new tab for the word under the cursor (Vim help, Python, man pages, Markdown, Ansible...)

The following Vim script (VimL) function can be used to make Vim open the documentation of the word under the cursor in a new tab for various languages and tools such as Vim help (:help), Python (Pydoc), Markdown (sdcv dictionary), man pages (Vim's built-in ':Man'), and Ansible (ansible-doc). The VimL function is also extensible, meaning that you can adapt it to work with any other documentation tool. By default, the key mapping upper-case "K" can be used to open the documentation for the word under the cursor in a new tab.

Vim: Tango color scheme for Vim's built-in Terminal

The following code snippet will allow you to apply the Tango Dark color scheme to the Vim's built-in terminal and ensure that the terminal's color scheme remains consistent, even if you change the Vim color scheme with the ':colorscheme' command. The snippet uses autocmd to ensures that the Vim terminal's color scheme remains Tango Dark. For more information about Vim's built-in terminal:

Vim: Enhance Vim tabs (file name only, file status, and the ability to rename tabs)

Vim script: Replace the home directory with a tilde ~

The following Vim script (VimL) code snippet can be used to replace the full path of a home directory in a string with a tilde ("~"). This can be useful as a way to shorten the path to a file or directory, making it more readable.

A Vim function that returns all monospaced fonts (UNIX / Linux only)

vim-easysession - Manage Vim sessions effortlessly

The EasySession Vim plugin offers a convenient and effortless way to persist and restore Vim editing sessions. It can significantly increase productivity and save a lot of time for users who frequently switch between different projects and those who frequently open and close the Vim editor. In addition to its automatic session management capabilities, the EasySession Vim plugin also offers a variety of useful Vim commands that allow users to save, load, list and delete sessions manually. Author and license Copyright (C) 2022-2026 James Cherti. Distributed under terms of the MIT license. Features Automatically save and restore the Vim editing … Continue reading →

hjklmode.vim - Add HJKL navigation to all Vim modes!

Vim's popularity is largely due to its ability to increase productivity through efficient navigation and editing techniques. One such technique is HJKL navigation, which allows using the H, J, K, and L keys to move the cursor left, down, up, and right. This method of navigation may seem strange at first, but it is actually a very efficient way to navigate through text and can greatly increase productivity when using Vim. The Vim plugin hjklmode can be used to: Learn HJKL navigation: Hjklmode forces you to learn HJKL navigation as it disables certain keys that require moving the hand away … Continue reading →

James Cherti

Linux, Emacs, and Software Development

Tag Archives: vim