Because I use vim (and obviously like it) while working in the command line, I often go through a few keystrokes before I realize I'm not in vim anymore. That's not a huge problem, but when entering a lot of commands on one line, vim-like navigation would really speed things up on the extremely rare occasion cough I make a typo. It would be great it there were a way to make command line typing act at least a little like vim (e.g. Normal mode, Insert mode, movement from the home keys, etc.)
I am open to using a different shell, but would prefer something I can use without learning a ton of new commands (e.g. command line or BASH like). I have else compiled many of my frequent command sequences into .bat files, which I would prefer not to have to change too much to get to work properly.
When using Windows, a good option would be to install Git, which gives you "Git Bash", which is their distribution of mingw.
Now that you have bash, you can use set -o vi which puts your readline in Vim mode.
https://sanctum.geek.nz/arabesque/vi-mode-in-bash/
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Clink. It works with cmd.exe, and has support for Vim (well, technically, Vi) key mappings. Sadly, the documentation seems unfinished (to say the least); that said, I have found it to be quite stable, and have used it for a few years now. Doing a quick search yields information on how to set the default editing mode to Vi (versus Emacs).
In short Control+Alt+J switches to Vi mode (assuming one is currently in the default Emacs mode), and a standard Readline inputrc in the right place (my file path is %HOMEPATH%\AppData\Local\clink\clink_inputrc), with the right directive (set editing-mode vi) ensures that a new cmd.exe invocation starts off in Vi mode.
I am open to using a different shell, but would prefer something I can use without learning a ton of new commands (e.g. command line or BASH like)
In bash you can enter vi-mode with the command:
set -o vi
This will make shell-editing very similar to Vim-editing. For a cheat-sheet of vim-mode commands see: https://github.com/pkrumins/bash-vi-editing-mode-cheat-sheet/blob/master/bash-vi-editing-mode-cheat-sheet.txt
Numerous sources indicate that running a "bang" command such as :! wc % will display the results in Vim below the editor window. (For instance, this tip sheet states that as the expected behavior.)
Specifically, I'm following along with this Vimcast tutorial on Tim Pope's Fugitive plugin, and in that Drew Neil states that running the :Git command will allow the user to run any arbitrary git command from inside Vim--and the output of the command will be displayed within Vim at the bottom of the screen.
This is not the behavior I am experiencing. Instead my Vim session is in essence sent to the background, and I'm popped back to my terminal to see the output. It's all very disorienting--specifically because I lose the useful visual context provided by my Vim session including the "bang" command that generated the output.
I'd love it if Vim actually did display the externally generated output in Vim below the editor window. I found some similar types of questions, but in all of them the user wanted to output the content to a new buffer rather than just see it momentarily printed at the bottom of the editor window. In other words, I've not found anyone else describing the behavior I'm seeing.
I was able to get the desired behavior in gVim, but gVim isn't always a viable option, so I'd like to know whether there is a broader solution that will allow the expected behavior in terminal-based Vim.
I'm using Vim 8.0 on Ubuntu 16.04. My terminal is gnome-terminal with the zsh shell. I tried some other terminals on my machine and the bash shell, and I'm experiencing this behavior regardless of which combination I use.
Here are two screenshots that demonstrate the behavior I'm seeing. On the left is a terminal-based Vim, and on the right is gVim. Notice how running :! wc % has the expected/desired behavior in gVim on the right, but not in regualar Vim on the left.
Screenshot before running command:
Screenshot after running command:
Is anyone else experiencing this? Does anyone else get the desired behavior from their terminal-based Vim? (Perhaps this is all some kind of documentation oversight and terminal-based Vim was never expected to behave in the desired way?)
Thanks!
It's GVim (or MacVim) that shows the output of external command at the bottom of the window because it comes with a very minimal terminal emulator. Plain Vim is incapable of doing that.
You could emulate that behavior with tmux via any of the many Vim plugins that provide tmux integration or, since you are using Vim 8.0, the new built-in :help :terminal emulator.
For your example:
:term wc %
An alternative that I stumbled across is to use AsyncRun from this plugin. It acts as alternative to the shebang command, runs the command in the background, and sends the output to the quickfix window.
While I still think the accepted answer is the right one (i.e. that a TUI Vim always outputs to the terminal shell instead of the internal shell), someone else coming across this thread might find AsyncRun to be a better alternative to "that's just how it works".
How could I exit Vim, not :q, and then go back to continue editing?
Assuming terminal Vim on a flavor of *nix:
To suspend your running Vim
Ctrl + Z
will suspend the process and get back to your shell
fg
will resume (bring to foreground) your suspended Vim.
To start a new shell
Start a subshell using:
:sh
(as configured by)
:set shell?
or
:!bash
followed by:
Ctrl+D (or exit, but why type so much?)
to kill the shell and return to Vim.
You can use :sh to exit to your default shell then typing $ exit at the shell prompt will return you to Vim.
You can switch to shell mode temporarily by:
:! <command>
such as
:! ls
You can also do that by :sus to fall into shell and back by fg.
If you frequently need to go back and forth between shell and vim, probably what you really want is have only one vim instance in the shell, and use it to open any file in the workspace. If so, check this question. Once you set it up correctly, you can :sus or C-z to return to the shell, then just v or v <newfile> to get back to vim.
And my answer is almost my daily routine.
If you are on a Unix system, Ctrl + Z will suspend Vim and give you a shell.
Type fg to go back. Note that Vim creates a swap file while editing, and suspending Vim wouldn't delete that file (you aren't exiting Vim after all). On dumb terminals, this method was pretty standard for edit-compile-edit cycles using vi. I just found out that for me, gVim minimizes on typing Z.
If you're using Neovim, you can do the following:
:terminal command to bring up a terminal window.
Do your terminal stuff
Type exit to kill the terminal process
Press any key to return to Neovim
Just put in fg and go back to your most recently suspended program.
There are several ways to exit Vim and have everything the same when you return. There is very good documentation within Vim itself explaining the various ways this can be done. You can use the following command within vim to access the relevant help page: :help usr_21
To give you a brief summary, here are the different methods of quitting and returning with your session intact:
Suspend and resume - You don't actually quit Vim with this; you simply hide your session in the background until you need it. If you reset your computer or issue a kill command to Vim, you will lose your session. This is good for when you want to switch to another task temporarily, but if this is the case, then you might want to look into using the GNU Screen utility instead.
Sessions - This is the true way of saving your session between instances of Vim. Even if you truly quit Vim, your session will be there for you when you return. This is probably what you are looking for.
To extend user Zen's answer, you could add the following line in your ~/.vimrc file to allow quick toggling between Bash and Vim:
noremap <C-d> :sh<cr>
If you don't mind using your mouse a little bit:
Start your terminal,
select a file,
select Open Tab.
This creates a new tab on the terminal which you can run Vim on. Now use your mouse to shift to/from the terminal. I prefer this instead of always having to type (:shell and exit).
I am used to Emacs, but I am trying out Vim to see which one I like better.
One thing that I like about Emacs is the ability to run a terminal inside Emacs. Is this possible inside of Vim? I know that you can execute commands from Vim, but I would like to be able to run a terminal inside of a tab.
Outdated from August 2011
Check out Conque Shell (also on GitHub). Lets you run any interactive program inside vim, not just a shell.
I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to achieve (I've never used Emacs), but you can run commands in Vim by typing:
:! somecommand [ENTER]
And if you want to type in several commands, or play around in a shell for a while, you can always use:
:! bash (or your favourite shell) [ENTER]
Once the command or shell terminates, you'll be given the option to press Enter to return to your editor window
Vim is intentionally lightweight and lacking in the ability to do non-editorish type things, just as running a full-blown shell inside a Vim pane/tab, but as mentioned above there are third-party addons such as vim-shell that allow you to do that sort of thing.
Typically if I want to switch between Vim and my shell (Bash), I just hit CTRL+Z to pause the Vim process, play around in my shell, then type 'fg' when I want to go back to Vim - keeping my editor and my shell nice and separate.
Updated answer (11 years later...):
I would recommend using tmux instead of screen as suggested in the original answer below, if you choose to use that solution.
Vim 8.1 now has a built in terminal that can be opened with the :term command. This provides much more complete integration with the rest of the Vim features.
I would definitely recommend screen for something like this. Vim is a text editor, not a shell.
I would use Ctrl+AS to split the current window horizontally, or in Ubuntu's screen and other patched versions, you can use Ctrl+A|(pipe) to split vertically. Then use Ctrl+ATab (or equivalently on some systems, Ctrl+ACtrl+I which may be easier to type) to switch between the windows. There are other commands to change the size and arrangement of the windows.
Or a less advanced use of screen is just to open multiple full-screen windows and toggle between them. This is what I normally do, I only use the split screen feature occasionally.
The GNU Screen Survival Guide question has a number of good tips if you're unfamiliar with its use.
The way that I get around this is:
pause Vim with Ctrl + Z,
play in the terminal,
then return to exactly where you left with Vim by just typing the command fg.
If enabled in your version of Vim, a terminal can be started with the :term command.
Terminal window support was added to Vim 8. It is an optional feature that can be enabled when compiling Vim with the +terminal feature. If your version of Vim has terminal support, :echo has('terminal') will output "1".
Entering :term will place you in Terminal-Job mode, where you can use the terminal as expected.
Within Terminal-Job mode, pressing Ctrl-W N or Ctrl-\ Ctrl-N switches the mode to Terminal-Normal, which allows the cursor to be moved and commands to be ran similarly to Vim's Normal mode. To switch back to Terminal-Job mode, press i.
Other answers mention similar functionality in Neovim.
:sh then Ctrl+D to get back in (bash)
Update:
You could map Ctrl+D in vim to run :sh, which allows you to toggle between bash and vim quickly.
noremap <C-d> :sh<cr>
The main new feature of Vim 8.1 is support for running a terminal in a Vim window.
:term will open the terminal in another window inside Vim.
:term
Added in Vim 8.1.
Keep in mind that whenever a terminal window is active, most keystrokes will simply be passed to the terminal instead of having their usual functions. Ctrl-W and its subcommands are the main exception. To send a literal ^W input to the terminal, press Ctrl-W .. You can also open the Vim : command line by pressing Ctrl-W :. The other Ctrl-W commands work as normal, so managing windows works the same no matter what type of window is currently selected.
Eventually a native :terminal command was added to vim in 2017.
Here is an excerpt from the :terminal readme:
This feature is for running a terminal emulator in a Vim window. A
job can be started connected to the terminal emulator. For example, to
run a shell:
:term bash
Or to run build command:
:term make myprogram
The job runs asynchronously from Vim, the window will be updated to
show output from the job, also while editing in another window.
This question is rather old, but for those finding it, there's a new possible solution: Neovim contains a full-fledged, first-class terminal emulator, which does exactly what ConqueTerm tried to. Simply run :term <your command here>.
<C-\><C-n> will exit term mode back to normal-mode. If you're like me and prefer that escape still exit term mode, you can add this to your nvimrc:
tnoremap <ESC><ESC> <C-\><C-N>
And then hitting ESC twice will exit terminal mode back to normal-mode, so you can manipulate the buffer that the still-running command is writing to.
Though keep in mind, as nvim is under heavy development at the time I'm posting this answer, another way to exit terminal mode may be added. As Ctrl+\Ctrl+n switches to normal mode from almost any mode, I don't expect that this answer will become wrong, but be aware that if it doesn't work, this answer might be out of date.
https://github.com/neovim/neovim
I know that I'm not directly answering the question, but I think it's a
good approach. Nobody has mentioned tmux (or at least not as a
standalone answer). Tmux is a terminal multiplexor like screen. Most
stuff can be made in both multiplexors, but afaik tmux it's more easily
to configure. Also tmux right now is being more actively developed than
screen and there's quite a big ecosystem around it, like tools that help
the configuration, ecc.
Also for vim, there's another plugin: ViMUX, that helps a lot in
the interaction between both tools. You can call commands with:
:call VimuxRunCommand("ls")
That command creates a small horizontal split below the current pane vim
is in.
It can also let you run from a prompt in case you don't want to run the
whole command:
<Leader>vp :VimuxPromptCommand<CR>
As it weren't enought, there are at least 6 'platform specific plugins':
vim-vroom: runner for rspec, cucumber and test/unit; vimux support via g:vroom_use_vimux
vimux-ruby-test: a set of commands to easily run ruby tests
vimux-cucumber: run Cucumber Features through Vimux
vim-turbux: Turbo Ruby testing with tmux
vimux-pyutils: A set of functions for vimux that allow to run code blocks in ipython
vimux-nose-test: Run nose tests in vimux
Here is a nice "use case": Tests on demand using Vimux and Turbux with Spork and Guard
Someone already suggested https://github.com/Shougo/vimshell.vim, but they didn't mention why. Consequently, when I came away from this question I wasted a lot of other time trying the other (much higher ranked) options.
Shougo/vimshell is the answer. Here's why:
In addition to being a terminal emulator, VimShell allows you to navigate through terminal output in normal and visual mode. Thus, if a command you run results in output that you'd like to copy and paste using the keyboard only...VimShell covers this.
None of the other options mentioned, including the :terminal command in NeoVim do this. Neovim's :terminal comes close, but falls short in at least the following ways as of 2/18/2017:
Moves the cursor to the end of the buffer, instead of at the last keeping it in the same spot like VimShell does. Huge waste of time.
Doesn't support modifiable = 1 see a discussion on this at Github, so helpful plugins like vim-easymotion can't be used.
Doesn't support the display of line numbers like Vimshell does.
Don't waste time on the other options, including Neovim's :terminal. Go with VimShell.
It's possible to open a new tab with a terminal in vim since 2017 as #fjardon said:
Just type: :terminal. It will open a tab by default above your current tab.
If you want it to open in another place you can try the following options:
:below terminal : open the terminal below current tab.
:below vertical terminal : open the terminal always vertically to the right.
You can play with these until you find what you like. After this you can set a map in your .vimrc configuration file, for me, I use:
nmap <leader>tt :below vertical terminal<CR>
This way I can type <space>tt (space my leader key) to open it quickly.
As a side note:
You can switch between your tabs (terminal and other buffers) with Ctrl+W Ctrl+W.
You can enter an editable mode in your terminal if you want to copy your commands with Ctrl+W N and go to normal terminal mode with i or a.
Cheers!
You might want to take a look at the :sh command (see :help sh in Vim).
Various commands
No, you cannot:
http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/htmldoc/tips.html#shell-window
By far, I have tried a lot of solutions mentioned here, what I really wanted is to keep the terminal open while coding a similar experience in VsCode. Then I came across this solution which is working perfectly for me.
Before Installing:
I am using Nvim 0.5 but I think it can work for any version and checked also on vim
I am using macOS Catalina Version 10.15.7
Setup your integrated terminal
Step -1-
Create a script with the name myQuickTerminal.vim or whatever name you want.
Put the following script
"==============================================================================
"
" ▒█▀▀█ █░░█ ░▀░ █▀▀ █░█ ▀▀█▀▀ █▀▀ █▀▀█ █▀▄▀█ ░▀░ █▀▀▄ █▀▀█ █░░
" ▒█░▒█ █░░█ ▀█▀ █░░ █▀▄ ░▒█░░ █▀▀ █▄▄▀ █░▀░█ ▀█▀ █░░█ █▄▄█ █░░
" ░▀▀█▄ ░▀▀▀ ▀▀▀ ▀▀▀ ▀░▀ ░▒█░░ ▀▀▀ ▀░▀▀ ▀░░░▀ ▀▀▀ ▀░░▀ ▀░░▀ ▀▀▀
"
"==============================================================================
" " This is a script that will trigger a terminal quickly than the FloatTerminal
" open new split panes to right and below
"link: https://betterprogramming.pub/setting-up-neovim-for-web-development-in-2020-d800de3efacd
"==============================================================================
set splitright
set splitbelow
" turn terminal to normal mode with escape
tnoremap <Esc> <C-\><C-n>
" start terminal in insert mode
au BufEnter * if &buftype == 'terminal' | :startinsert | endif
" open terminal on ctrl+n
function! OpenTerminal()
split term://zsh
resize 10
endfunction
nnoremap <leader> n :call OpenTerminal()<CR>
NOTE: if you want to run bash instead of zsh for a particular reason then replace zsh with bash.
Step -2-
Lets source it, put this in init.vim for neovim or `.vimrc' for vim
source $HOME/.config/nvim/modules/mySpecialScripts/myQuickTerminal.vim
This will be preloaded ahead as you save and resource it, you can use source $MYVIMRC for quick reloading the init.vim file.
Step -3-
I mapped as you can see in the script n to open a terminal in a new pane, my is the (Space bar) and once I click (space + n) a terminal will be triggered and I will enjoy writing my code while the terminal is opened.
To quit insert mode in the terminal, press Esc.
Now, to switch to the code editor pane, use CTRL+w w. This shortcut can get annoying once you have more than two panels open, so I added the following shortcuts too.
I mapped these too for quick jumping among opened panes, use these
" Better window navigation
nnoremap <C-h> <C-w>h
nnoremap <C-j> <C-w>j
nnoremap <C-k> <C-w>k
nnoremap <C-l> <C-w>l
Optional
If you want your terminal to exit the current buffer with key. you can use
tnoremap <Esc> <C-\><C-n>:q!<CR>
But since I want to switch in between several buffers I use without close the terminal I use instead:
tnoremap <Leader><Esc> <C-\><C-n>:q!<CR>
Final results
Reference:
https://betterprogramming.pub/setting-up-neovim-for-web-development-in-2020-d800de3efacd
Only way I know of is by using vim-shell, a third-party patch.
I use this now, you may can try. VimShell
Split the screen and run command term ++curwin to run the terminal inside the Vim buffer. Following command does both and worked for me:
:bo 10sp | term ++curwin
If you are interested in quick answer, here is it: :vert term. It will split your screen vertically and open up terminal.
Try vterm, which is a pretty much full feature shell inside vim. It is slightly buggy with its history and clear functions, and still in development, but it still is pretty good
Assuming your version of vim supports +term command first, set shell for vim to use in one command (e.g. set=/usr/bin/zsh), and then run the command +term (i.e. bo 15vs +term). you may have to do some additional maneuvering of your windows (i.e. deleting one and rotating), but you'll have your terminal.
With vim 8.1.3741, just type :terminal to start a terminal inside of vim.
Try map :nnoremap ]t :terminal<CR> to do that quicker!
I acknowledge that I am not strictly answering your question, but what has worked better for me when using Vim and Terminals in the same window is Tmux (which is kind of a "run in the background software" like, similar to screen, although this one works better with splits and tabs).
This post will help you to understand how they work together: 'Tmux and Vim — even better together'.
This way we can convert Vim into a powerful IDE