Arch Linux

bala451987

Member

Registered: 2025-01-22

Posts: 38

Configuring VIM

I'm using Arch Linux with XFCE and would like to configure Vim for development purposes. I couldn’t find a .vimrc file, though I did find .viminfo. I’m looking to install useful plugins and set up Vim properly for development. Could someone please guide me through the process of successfully configuring it?

WorMzy

Administrator

From: Scotland

Registered: 2010-06-16

Posts: 13,477

Website

Re: Configuring VIM

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Vim#Configuration

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bala451987

Member

Registered: 2025-01-22

Posts: 38

Re: Configuring VIM

I understand that Vim’s user-specific configuration is typically located in

~/.vimrc

, and user Vim files reside in

~/.vim/

. Global configurations are in

/etc/vimrc

, and files like

defaults.vim

and archlinux.vim are found in /usr/share/vim/.

However, I don’t see the

~/.vimrc

file or the ~/.vim/ directory in my home folder. On the other hand, the global files do exist. When I checked

/etc/vimrc

, I noticed the following lines:

" do not load defaults if ~/.vimrc is missing
"let skip_defaults_vim=1 

Given this, should I manually create my own ~/.vimrc file and ~/.vim/ directory if I want to customize Vim for my user?

Last edited by bala451987 (2025-06-02 03:35:36)

dakota

Member

Registered: 2016-05-20

Posts: 417

Re: Configuring VIM

Given this, should I manually create my own ~/.vimrc file and ~/.vim/ directory if I want to customize Vim for my user?

Yes.

For example my ~/.vimrc

$ cat .vimrc 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
filetype plugin on
filetype indent on
syntax enable
set number
set noswapfile
set hlsearch
set ignorecase
set incsearch
set background=dark
colorscheme sorbet

... and my ~/.vim/ folder only has a single folder called "colors" which contains

ls ~/.vim/colors/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
elflord.vim  koehler.vim  modest.vim  solarized.vim  sorbet.vim  test.vim  torte.vim

Cheers,

Last edited by dakota (2025-06-02 03:49:36)

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bala451987

Member

Registered: 2025-01-22

Posts: 38

Re: Configuring VIM

But i don't find either .vim .vimrc at the home folder. So should i create one or to edit the file with in /etc/vimrc.

Last edited by bala451987 (2025-06-02 03:56:12)

cloverskull

Member

Registered: 2018-09-30

Posts: 277

Re: Configuring VIM

Create the ~/.vimrc from scratch in your home folder. Don't change the one in /etc/ - this should be a user level configuration, not a global one.

bala451987

Member

Registered: 2025-01-22

Posts: 38

Re: Configuring VIM

Yes created and given the above text within it and now my next question is, how can i add plugins for example any plugins like tree-view and s on.

seth

Member

From: Won't reply 2 private help req

Registered: 2012-09-03

Posts: 75,287

Re: Configuring VIM

By reading the wiki: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Vim#Plugins
https://slash7.com/2006/12/22/vampires/

Vim is extensively documented ( https://www.vim.org/docs.php ) and there's also https://vim.fandom.com/wiki/Vim_Tips_Wiki but the learning curve for the editor is steep.

If your plan is to ask a question for every step on the road ("ok, now how do I exit vim?"), the only usable feasible is to use sth. like nano or mcedit as console text editor.

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bala451987

Member

Registered: 2025-01-22

Posts: 38

Re: Configuring VIM

Thanks Seth. Understand. I am beginner. I have some basic comments how to use vim. But i think in the aspects of configuration could be careful.