Buffer Explorer for vim - vim

Question

What do people recommend for easier manipulation of buffers in vim?
Using ls and b1, bn and bp commands is good but maybe there is a better way.
Is lusty explorer the best option?
I am using vim 7.3.

Answer 1

You should test all of them and see which one is the best according to your tastes and requirements.
I've used LustyExplorer for a while and loved it until I tried CtrlP which I find faster and more intuitive. I have :CtrlPBuffer mapped to ,b and see no reason to complain: it's both elegant, fast and intuitive.
You don't have to rely on plugins, though: :b <tab> allows you to tab through a list of all available buffers. You can do :b pattern<Tab> to get a smaller list.

Answer 2

Unite.vim is a new plugin and is what I switched to from CtrlP.
This is a good starting point if you want to explore what it can do.

Answer 3

I use minibufexpl.vim. I guess its main advantage is that it takes up very little space.

Answer 4

FuzzyFinder is another excellent add-on for buffer/file navigation:
http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=1984
Whichever plugin you choose for this, it's worth investing some time to find out all the ways it can help you.

Answer 5

If you are fine with having vim compiled with ruby support and have dev toolchain installed on the system (make, gcc, maybe something else — Gentoo users like me already have all of this) then Command-T is a good choice. To use it for switching buffers you should map something to :CommandTBuffer, I have
nnoremap ,b :CommandTBuffer<CR>

Answer 6

I used many plugins before, including minibufexpl and Bufexplorer, but there was something in all of them that used to annoy me.
Now I use young plugin Buffet, and I would recommend it because it seems to be really the best one for me: it is really fast and easy to use.
Personally i would like to switch my buffers by Ctrl+Tab and Shift+Ctrl+Tab, and buffers should be ordered in most-recently-used order.
Here is my buffet's config to achieve <C-Tab> and <S-C-Tab> switching:
noremap <silent> <C-Tab> :Bufferlistsw<CR>
noremap <silent> <C-S-Tab> :Bufferlistsw<CR>kk
if !has('gui')
map <S-q> :Bufferlistsw<CR>
endif
augroup BuffetAdd
if !exists("g:BuffetAdded")
let g:BuffetAdded = 1
au BufWinEnter buflisttempbuffer* map <buffer> <Tab> <CR>
au BufWinEnter buflisttempbuffer* map <buffer> <C-Tab> j
au BufWinEnter buflisttempbuffer* map <buffer> <C-S-Tab> k
" in console Vim we can't use <C-Tab> mappings (almost always),
" so this is temporary solution: <S-q>
if !has('gui')
au BufWinEnter buflisttempbuffer* map <buffer> <S-q> j
au BufWinEnter buflisttempbuffer* map <buffer> q <CR>
endif
" workaround Surround plugin issue in Buffet's window:
" disable "ds" mapping in the Buffet window (to make "d" work fast)
au BufEnter buflisttempbuffer* nunmap ds
au BufLeave buflisttempbuffer* nmap ds <Plug>Dsurround
endif
augroup END
Just one issue: Vim does not allow you to map release of some key, so, you need to press Tab again to really switch to buffer.
Anyway, if you don't need <C-Tab> switching, Buffet plugin works nice without it.

Answer 7

Update June 2019
BufExplorer is my unequivocal first-choice for buffer management.
" Buffer explorer
" ,be to open, q to close, d to delete buffer
Plug 'jlanzarotta/bufexplorer'
Highly rate the above plugin. It's simple and effective. Further details in the readme.
If you're looking for some "extras" in addition to the above (optional), I do also use:
" Close buffers but keep splits
Plug 'moll/vim-bbye'
and:
Plug '/usr/local/opt/fzf'
Plug 'junegunn/fzf.vim'
" this setting for quick search across buffers
nmap <silent> <leader>b :Buffers<cr>