Vim scripting cheatsheet

Start hacking

let name = "John"
echo "Hello, " . name

You can either put this in a script (script.vim) and run it (:source script.vim), or you can type the commands individually in normal mode as :let and :echo.

Learn by example

function! SuperTab()
  let l:part = strpart(getline('.'),col('.')-2,1)
  if (l:part =~ '^\W\?$')
      return "\<Tab>"
  else
      return "\<C-n>"
  endif
endfunction

imap <Tab> <C-R>=SuperTab()<CR>

Here’s another example with functions, variables and mapping.

Variables

Defining

let var = "hello"

Variable prefixes

let g:ack_options = '-s -H'    " g: global
let s:ack_program = 'ack'      " s: local (to script)
let l:foo = 'bar'              " l: local (to function)

The s: prefix is also available in function names. See :help local-variables

Other prefixes

let w:foo = 'bar'    " w: window
let b:state = 'on'   " b: buffer
let t:state = 'off'  " t: tab
echo v:var           " v: vim special

let @/ = ''          " @  register (this clears last search pattern)
echo $PATH           " $  env

Vim options

echo 'tabstop is ' . &tabstop
if &insertmode
echo &g:option
echo &l:option

Prefix Vim options with &

Operators

a + b             " numbers only!
'hello ' . name   " concat

let var -= 2
let var += 5
let var .= 'string'   " concat

Strings

Strings

let str = "String"
let str = "String with \n newline"

let literal = 'literal, no \ escaping'
let literal = 'that''s enough'  " double '' => '

echo "result = " . re   " concatenation

Also see :help literal-string and :help expr-quote. See: Strings

String functions

strlen(str)    " length
len(str)       " same
strchars(str)  " character length

split("one two three")       "=> ['one', 'two', 'three']
split("one.two.three", '.')  "=> ['one', 'two', 'three']

join(['a', 'b'], ',')  "=> 'a,b'

tolower('Hello')
toupper('Hello')

Also see :help functions See: String functions

Functions

Functions

" prefix with s: for local script-only functions
function! s:Initialize(cmd, args)
  " a: prefix for arguments
  echo "Command: " . a:cmd

  return true
endfunction

See: Functions

Namespacing

function! myplugin#hello()

Calling functions

call s:Initialize()
call s:Initialize("hello")

Consuming return values

echo "Result: " . s:Initialize()

Abortable

function! myfunction() abort
endfunction

Aborts when an error occurs.

Var arguments

function! infect(...)
  echo a:0    "=> 2
  echo a:1    "=> jake
  echo a:2    "=> bella

  for s in a:000  " a list
    echon ' ' . s
  endfor
endfunction

infect('jake', 'bella')

See :help function-argument. See: Var arguments

Loops

for s in list
  echo s
  continue  " jump to start of loop
  break     " breaks out of a loop
endfor

while x < 5
endwhile

Custom commands

Custom commands

command! Save :set fo=want tw=80 nowrap

Custom commands start with uppercase letters. The ! redefines a command if it already exists.

Commands calling functions

command! Save call <SID>foo()

function! s:foo()
  ...
endfunction

Commands with arguments

command! -nargs=? Save call script#foo(<args>)

Flow

Conditionals

let char = getchar()
if char == "\<LeftMouse>"
  " ...
elseif char == "\<RightMouse>"
  " ...
else
  " ...
endif

Truthiness

if 1 | echo "true"  | endif
if 0 | echo "false" | endif

if 1       "=> 1 (true)
if 0       "=> 0 (false)
if "1"     "=> 1 (true)
if "456"   "=> 1 (true)
if "xfz"   "=> 0 (false)

No booleans. 0 is false, 1 is true. See: Truthiness

Operators

if 3 > 2
if a && b
if (a && b) || (c && d)
if !c

See :help expression-syntax. See: Operators

Strings

if name ==# 'John'     " case-sensitive
if name ==? 'John'     " case-insensitive
if name == 'John'      " depends on :set ignorecase

" also: is#, is?, >=#, >=?, and so on

Identity operators

a is b
a isnot b

Checks if it’s the same instance object.

Regexp matches

"hello" =~ 'xx*'
"hello" !~ 'xx*'
"hello" =~ '\v<\d+>'

\v enables “extended” regex mode which allows word boundary (<>), +, and more.

Single line

if empty(a:path) | return [] | endif
a ? b : c

Use | to join lines together.

Boolean logic

if g:use_dispatch && s:has_dispatch
  ···
endif

Lists

Lists

let mylist = [1, two, 3, "four"]

let first = mylist[0]
let last  = mylist[-1]

" Suppresses errors
let second = get(mylist, 1)
let second = get(mylist, 1, "NONE")

Functions

len(mylist)
empty(mylist)

sort(list)
let sortedlist = sort(copy(list))

split('hello there world', ' ')

Concatenation

let longlist = mylist + [5, 6]
let mylist += [7, 8]

Sublists

let shortlist = mylist[2:-1]
let shortlist = mylist[2:]     " same

let shortlist = mylist[2:2]    " one item

Push

let alist = [1, 2, 3]
let alist = add(alist, 4)

Map

call map(files, "bufname(v:val)")  " use v:val for value
call filter(files, 'v:val != ""')

Dictionaries

Dictionaries

let colors = {
  \ "apple": "red",
  \ "banana": "yellow"
}

echo colors["a"]
echo get(colors, "apple")   " suppress error

See :help dict

Using dictionaries

remove(colors, "apple")

" :help E715
if has_key(dict, 'foo')
if empty(dict)
keys(dict)
len(dict)

max(dict)
min(dict)

count(dict, 'x')
string(dict)

map(dict, '<>> " . v:val')

Iteration

for key in keys(mydict)
  echo key . ': ' . mydict(key)
endfor

Prefixes

keys(s:)

Prefixes (s:, g:, l:, etc) are actually dictionaries.

Extending

" Extending with more
let extend(s:fruits, { ... })

Casting

str2float("2.3")
str2nr("3")
float2nr("3.14")

Numbers

Numbers

let int = 1000
let int = 0xff
let int = 0755   " octal

See :help Number. See: Numbers

Floats

let fl = 100.1
let fl = 5.4e4

See :help Float

Arithmetic

3 / 2     "=> 1, integer division
3 / 2.0   "=> 1.5
3 * 2.0   "=> 6.0

Math functions

sqrt(100)
floor(3.5)
ceil(3.3)
abs(-3.4)

sin() cos() tan()
sinh() cosh() tanh()
asin() acos() atan()

Vim-isms

Execute a command

execute "vsplit"
execute "e " . fnameescape(filename)

Runs an ex command you typically run with :. Also see :help execute. See: Execute a command

Running keystrokes

normal G
normal! G   " skips key mappings

execute "normal! gg/foo\<cr>dd"

Use :normal to execute keystrokes as if you’re typing them in normal mode. Combine with :execute for special keystrokes. See: Running keystrokes

Getting filenames

echo expand("%")      " path/file.txt
echo expand("%:t")    " file.txt
echo expand("%:p:h")  " /home/you/path/file.txt
echo expand("%:r")    " path/file
echo expand("%:e")    " txt

See :help expand

Silencing

silent g/Aap/p

Suppresses output. See :help silent

Echo

echoerr 'oh it failed'
echomsg 'hello there'
echo 'hello'

echohl WarningMsg | echomsg "=> " . a:msg | echohl None

Settings

set number
set nonumber
set number!     " toggle
set numberwidth=5
set guioptions+=e

Prompts

let result = confirm("Sure?")
execute "confirm q"

Built-ins

has("feature")  " :h feature-list
executable("python")
globpath(&rtp, "syntax/c.vim")

exists("$ENV")
exists(":command")
exists("variable")
exists("+option")
exists("g:...")

Mapping

Mapping commands

nmap
vmap
imap
xmap
nnoremap
vnoremap
inoremap
xnoremap
...

Explanation

[nvixso](nore)map

 │       └ don't recurse
 │
 └ normal, visual, insert,
   eX mode, select, operator-pending

Arguments

Syntax

Highlights

hi Comment
  term=bold,underline
  gui=bold
  ctermfg=4
  guifg=#80a0ff

Filetype detection

augroup filetypedetect
  au! BufNewFile,BufRead *.json setf javascript
augroup END

au Filetype markdown setlocal spell

Conceal

set conceallevel=2
syn match newLine "<br>" conceal cchar=}
hi newLine guifg=green

Region conceal

syn region inBold concealends matchgroup=bTag start="<b>" end="</b>"
hi inBold gui=bold
hi bTag guifg=blue

Syntax

syn match :name ":regex" :flags

syn region Comment  start="/\*"  end="\*/"
syn region String   start=+"+    end=+"+	 skip=+\\"+

syn cluster :name contains=:n1,:n2,:n3...

flags:
  keepend
  oneline
  nextgroup=
  contains=
  contained

hi def link markdownH1 htmlH1

Include guards

if exists('g:loaded_myplugin')
  finish
endif

" ...

let g:loaded_myplugin = 1