I think NeoVim is extremely overhyped, while Vim — especially gVim — is drastically underrated. NeoVim changes hyper‑actively together with its plugins, so something that worked one day might stop working the next because of constant updates. Because of this, maintaining it can be a complete nightmare, even if someone is a Lua prodigy. In contrast, classic Vim is stable, reliable, and rock‑solid.

What makes NeoVim appealing compared to Vim is that it’s full of flashy plugins, but in reality most of those plugins are completely unnecessary for real projects. Plus, NeoVim users conveniently forget to mention that almost every important plugin has a proper equivalent in Vim. For example: Telescope → fzf.vim, nvim-tree → NERDTree, lualine → vim-airline, commenting → vim-commentary, surround → vim-surround, Git → vim-fugitive. And they’re much more straightforward. Thanks to Vimscript, configuring Vim is far easier than mindlessly copying Lua code. And there’s coc.nvim available for classic Vim as well, which can turn Vim into a very powerful IDE.

I’m sticking with gVim even if it’s probably the most despised version of Vim (in my opinion completely unjustifiably). Thanks to the GUI, it’s much better than a terminal program because it doesn’t depend on the terminal, and copy/paste from the clipboard works simply and flawlessly — exactly how a text and code editor should.

It’s a bit like how Arch Linux users tend to look down on Debian users, regardless of the fact that Arch isn’t exactly stable — it’s just well‑hyped and more rapidly developed, but it also breaks more easily. Meanwhile Debian is solid and stable.

I've been using vim now for the same amount of time I've been using Arch Linux pretty much.

What drew me to it was after installing Arch, I started watching different Linux videos and a lot of the config files were being edited with vim. And I was watching 3 or 4 content creators and they all, for the most part, were using vim to edit those config files. One guy would switch to something different like a GUI text editor like Geany, gedit, and kate. But vim was the one they all used.

So, watching these videos and editing my config files along with them, I was pretty much using vim as well.

I've been using Doom Emacs (most of the key bindings in Doom Emacs are the same as vim key bindings) a lot lately but for quick things, especially if I'm already in a terminal, vim is what I use.

What brought you to vim and do you use other text editors as well?

Vim is fun and cool for me when I know where things are/don't have to hold a lot of repo context in my head (where files are, where to look for things, what a file I need is called, which file I need, etc.) but at work where I'm working in multiple large repos that I understand less than 1% of, it seems impractical. Like I need a GUI to even begin navigating and searching for what I need, or when I'm trying to get a lay of the land.

Is this an issue with my abilities/tools/knowledge (i.e. I could lack knowledge on a useful way to browse a file tree in vim or something) or is this an area where vim isn't really the best choice?

I've been using vim for a while and finding it a chore for basic notemaking. I love vim motions in the normal mode. It is the constant switching between the insert and normal modes that break the flow.
Maybe I am using vim wrong. Maybe it is better not used for extensive notemaking.

Using readline bindings in insert mode have really helped. Especially the Alt+f/b to go forward/backward a word.
vim motions are great when you have to add stuff to the starting of the current line or the end of it. You can do it with a single keystroke I/A. But when changes have to be made a few words away in the middle of a sentence, while in insert mode:

1. Exit insert mode (This need not be a separate event since you can use Alt+key to enter normal mode and carry out the command that the 'key' represents, in one swoop.)
2. move
3. Press a key (i/a) to re-enter insert mode.

Doing this repeatedly is fatiguing.

With readline bindings, while staying in insert-mode, you can go forward or backward a few words and instantly start typing.

Does anyone else do this? How do you all deal with it? In most other threads that I've seen, people advise "Insert mode is for inserting only". And to stick to the vim paradigm. I have tried. But it is a hindrance for me.

Edit: What I meant was "Moving around in insert-mode feels really helpful for edits nearby." That should have been the title. Y'all need to calm down lol.

I'm concerned that Vim will soon become forgotten. I loved learning it some thirteen years ago and was grateful I had a co-worker who was patient and willing to give me his time to show me how it worked and teach the basics. I installed his .vimrc and plugins, then fumbled my way through learning each key and mode.

I would scour GitHub for other users with their own dotfiles containing a `.vimrc` file. Then take their config and test it out. I even forced myself to use "hard mode" for a while to stop spamming hjkl, but relaxed to keep things simple.

Nowadays, I don't jump onto servers often to control my boxes and am using cursor or Claude to augment so much of my work. I think that my memory for macros and shortcuts is fading. Is this the changing times that we need to accept?

Anyway, I wonder what other people's stories are and what they see the future taking us.

Accidentally mixed up the Vim exit command with the terminal exit command exit, just to find that :exit actually works perfectly in Vim!

• :exit works exactly like :x.
• Saves only if the changes were made, then exits.

Probably the ultimate solution to the "How to exit Vim" problem.

Currently learning Vim, after a failed attempt some months ago.

Starting to get the hang of the basics. I notice that it makes my problem solving more methodical. It also makes me slow down, in a good way.

With Vim I have to memorize more of the code and structure, because switching views is expensive (might be a skill issue).

I don't care too much for the speed/efficiency, but this seems what keeps me going in my current attempt.

Wondering how you guys feel about this aspect.

Recently, I got into a friendly discussion with a friend about whose way of closing Vim is superior.

He tends to use commands like :q, :q!, :wq /:x etc, while I prefer using "hotkeys" like Ctrl+wq, ZZ, or ZQ. In my opinion, the "hotkeys" are not only (arguably) easier to press, but also (definitely) faster and easier to repeat when closing multiple windows.

His argument is that my "hotkey" method doesn't support commands like :qa, :wqa, etc, which makes his approach better because it's more consistent with muscle memory. My counterpoint is that Ctrl+wq, ZZ, and ZQ cover like 99.9% of real-world use cases in a normal workflow, and for the rare situations that need :qa or :wqa, I don't mind typing them out. That said, I'll admit that whenever I do need to type a command to close windows/exit vim, it feels awkward. My muscle memory "hesitates" since I'm so used to closing Vim without entering command mode.

I know its a rather silly discussion, and it probably ultimately comes down to personal preference, but I'm curious what you guys think about it, and maybe your personal story about why you use one over the other.

Sidenote: Neither of us want to use custom remaps for it as we both agree that the minor efficiency gain isn't worth having our muscle memory fail us when working on remote machines. For context, we've both been using Vim/Neovim for over five years.

Edit: I forgot to mention the advantage that started this whole discussion with my friend. You'll also never accidentally press q: anymore. There's never any shortage of people complaining about that. For instance, here, here and here. And it's not just new comers, it's experienced people too like mentioned here.

i mapped jk to escape in insert mode like 3 years ago and at this point my muscle memory is so locked in that i type jk into every text field on every other app by accident. i see "jk" appear in slack messages, google docs, even my phone keyboard sometimes. i can't undo this even if i wanted to.

the other one is leader+w to save. i know :w works fine but having it on one key combo means i save constantly without thinking about it. i probably hit it 50 times a day.

what keybinding would break your workflow if you lost it?

In my opinion:

1. Tools for helping scripts/plugin development. Lua has LSP, linters, etc. Vim9 has... nothing. It seems to be back to the beginning of the 90:s when it comes to develop in Vim9 language, in-spite it is very nice.

2. A Native Vim9 DAP. There is vim-spector but that is mostly Python,

3. Plugins: for example, I got copilot from work and the Vim9 and Neovim copilot-chat plugin are not even comparable,

What else?

I don't know if this is the best sub to ask this since it's not related to VIM, the text editor, but rather the VIM Motions.

I believe most programmers who like VIM, can't use it for everything because sometimes you need the power of an IDE, and pretty much every IDE out there has some kind of VIM integration, either official or via extention.

My question is, how do you grapple with VIM shortcuts conflicting with the IDE shortcuts? Do you replace all conflicting shortcuts with VIM or just some of them? If so, which? One I always set is to keep <C-c> for the VIM extention, is a bit weird having to copy using Insert, but I'm too used to exiting Insert Mode using <C-c>. It's hard trying to find a balance between them.

If there's a better sub to ask this question, please tell me so I can move my post there.

I avoided vim for years, from the way people talked about it, sounded like it would be too much to learn programming and at the same time learn modal editing...but I've started using it now because I a course I started on C programming insists that people completing the course use a barebones text editor, no IDE or anything IDE-like with plugins.

Decided why not, this is my chance to learn vim. I've discovered that it behaves like a regular text editor in insert mode, then if I want to practice vim motions I can go into normal mode and practice, adding 1 or 2 new keys or combos every week or two...

Am I missing something or doing it wrong? Other than remembering to change modes this doesn't seem that difficult? I don't know most of the keys or combos but that's not a pain as I don't need to use them?

I feel like people shouldn't be talking about vim like it's this super hard thing with a steep learning curve. So far it has seemed easy to learn at a pace I have control over?

This is so simple I feel dumb for not seeing it earlier.

1) visual mode select one part of text then d for delete

2) visual mode select the text you want it to replace then p for paste

3) go back to the original location and hit p for paste

that's it. Deleting the text places it in the register so you have it available in step 2. Replacing the text places it into the register, so you have it available in step 3.

For a decade plus I was adding extra steps like hitting Y or trying to avoid deleting the text so I have it available after I added the other, etc.

How many hours have I lost to not knowing this simple trick

For me it's been three things things:

1. Stability - Neovim moves faster, and during my first attempt I was finding bugs while working that weren't present in Vim. The thing I love about Vim is the stability/availability and that it's incredibly useful with a small number of plugins. Neovim has been a little unstable and I feel it's going down the Emacs route of "more is better" and the distribution model with small projects for configs.
2. Removal of features - I use cscope almost everyday for kernel development/work, and it's a great fallback alongside Vim's built in tag features when LSPs aren't available or the project is large and you don't want to reindex.
3. No compelling new features/clear winners over Vim - Neovim LSP requires more setup per LSP than just using ALE. ALE can also use other types of linters when LSPs aren't available, so if I need to add ALE anyway, why use the built in LSP support. Telescope was slower on my work monorepos and kernel repos than fzf.vim, and it seems like Neovim users are actually switching back to fzf. I use tmux for multiple terminals, etc. I like the idea of using Lua so maybe if I was just starting out I would choose nvim, but I already have a 15+ year vimrc I've shaved to perfection. There's a lot of talk about treesitter as well, but I still haven't seen it materialize into obviously necessary plugins or functionality.

Overall I'm happy that neovim exists because it keeps Vim relevant and innovative. It feels like there is a lot to love about it for Vim tinkerers, but not enough to compel a Vim user. I would love to see much better debugging support because it is an area where Vim lacks, built in VC integration and a fugitive like UI that could work with mercurial, etc. and I would love to see built in LSP features overtake using something like ALE. It really should function out of the box and do the obvious thing.

Today I feel like Vim is still the clear winner if you want something that just works and has all of the same core functionality like fuzzy finding, linting, vc, etc. in it's ecosystem with less bells and whistles.

It has always been a mystery to me… why would such a ‘dangerous’ command have such a convenient shortcut?

https://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/htmldoc/editing.html#ZZ

EDIT: link

I've been using CoC for a while now. It's a convenient way to get both completions and LSP going. Some people throw shade at the Node part of its implementation. The way I see it is most LSP plugins coming from VSCode were intended for a Node environment anyway. I am pleased with the ease of use CoC brings.

Now we've had vim9script for something like a couple of years. We have yegappan's simple LSP implementation and we have a pop-up autocomplete feature built in!

I'm wondering how that's going for anybody else - especially if you do Java or friggin' web development.

I type with 2 fingers.

I type fast, 80-90 wpm, but with 2 fingers. So my error rate is very high.

And when I look at how Vim is used, it seems like you need to be a touch typer to use it properly.

Is this true ? In general I mean, because I guess that some people use it by having 1 hand or something like this.

Hello! I wanted to say thank you for all of the amazing feedback I got on the first post, it’s been a blast playing with everyone and iterating on the app!

Lots of the feedback I got from the first post was from new players wanting to improve their VIM skills. One of the main reasons I created VIM_GYM was to help new users, so I focused efforts on improving the experience for them.

New Feature: Match Review

After completing a Multiplayer or Practice match, review your keypresses per task and compare to our algorithmically generated key sequence for completion. Each task has a playground editor where you can test these different ways to solve the task. Note this sequence is not always the most efficient way to solve, it’s intended to show a variety of different ways to approach a task. Hoping this helps people learn and improve their speed + key efficiency!

Practice mode Cheatsheet + Hints:

For people just getting started with VIM, I’ve added a small menu explaining simple commands to help get started. Also for any given task, you can see our recommended sequence as a toggle-able hint. 

Leaderboard:

Added a simple leaderboard showing the fastest times this week, month and all time. You can play the same tasks of those on the leaderboard. Note: any replayed tasks do not qualify, it must be a fresh set of tasks. I realize there may be some luck involved lol.

I'm currently holding the all time high score of 13.3 seconds (username THE_DEV I promise its me). Come get some!

Last time reddit feedback was very helpful in finding bugs and improving, if anything breaks or doesn't work how you think it should, definitely leave it in the comments!

Give it a try! https://vimgym.app 

Programmers who switched from other common code editors like vs code, sublime or atom to vim. What triggered you to switch to it?

What's your favourite (keyboard shortcut | key binding) in Vim? 🥷🏻

Lets say you have a big markdown file and you closed the headers.

How do you jump up or down to the header? The header is like 2000 - 3000 lines higher.

sometimes I type 2850j or 3509k

I could use :2850

I could use markers, but these do not stay in vscode after an exit.

Most of the time its easier for me to click with the mouse, but that feels wrong.

Search is kind of an option like ## tod for ## todos header but lots of typing.

What am I missing?

EDIT:

I am using folds and relativenumbers

I've been wanting to ditch Obsidian and VsCode in favor of an in-terminal editor for ages and I keep hearing about how great Vim is great for writing.

And I gotta say, after having used it on and off for about two months - I don't get it. I just don't.

I feel like I'm living some crazy alternate reality or something. Almost everything people say Vim does better than GUI editors, I find to be cumbersome and counterintuitive.

Also really not trying to dismissive or anything here. These are my genuine impressions. I WANT to love Vim so please tell me if I just need to push on and wait for it to click.

I actually feel that Vim is slow for most writing relating actions

Okay, super quick example. Let's say I misspelled a word on the line above. To fix it in Vim, I'd have to:

• <esp> to exit editing mode (or jk in my case, but whatever)
• gk - jump up one visual line
• b - to jump to the beginning of the word
• ciw - to delete it
• retype word
• gj to go back down
• i to re-enter insert mode

That’s six separate actions and nine physical keystrokes, all while remembering which mode you’re in. Meanwhile, in any GUI editor it's gonna be four strokes at most: up, ctrl-shift-left to mark the word, type, down again.

And the difference matters because when you’re writing prose, losing your flow to perform a ritual of motions and jumping between modes really breaks your concentration. At least to me.

what do you mean ergonomic? What do you mean homerow?

Sitting on my TLK keyboard, I literally have my left hand resting on the modifier keys (ctrl, shift) and my other on the arrow keys. I find that I can usually hit ctrl-shift which are the two most common modifiers without moving my fingers.

Reaching all the arrow keys is a bit more difficult, but writing prose, most of the time you're just going to back-navigate with the left arrow key (your right hand is already gonna be resting on it on most keyboards) and then hit home to get yourself back. Plus, must keyboards these days have programmable layers making it even easier.

The biggest problem I have Vim is that I often have to reach for shift with my pinky and use the number row to perform very basic forms of navigation ($, 0, (, ). etc).

a lot of the reasons for using vim has nothing to do with vim

When people tell me how great Vim is for writing, they rarely talk about Vim’s modal editing. Instead, they praise:

• distraction-free full-screen writing
• Markdown support
• the plugin ecosystem
• how easy it is to pipe things to the terminal
• fuzzy searching
• Lua config
• no mouse required

And yes — all of that is great. But none of that is uniquely Vim.

You can get all of this in Helix, Zed, Sublime, VS Code, even Obsidian with the right plugins.

So why are these arguments for Vim when you can get it in most editors? I don't get it.

Also, are any of you Vim writers actually using vim to write. Be honest?

I'm not talking about coding. I'm talking about taking notes. Writing prose. Writing docs.

Because I follow a lot of streamers and youtubers who talk about how great Vim is for productivity, and I see most of them switching to Obsidian or even freaking LibreOffice to write their youtube scripts on stream.

Won't call out any names. just saying. If it's so clearly superior - why not use it?

Finally...

Don't get me wrong. I love the idea of Vim. Distraction-free terminal writing. I really wish I could love it. But I almost feel that people aren't being honest with themselves when they talk about how much better it is than GUI editors.

Look, if you just like Vim and think it's fun. That's great. In fact, it is fun. I just don't see how it's necessarily better.

Also, I actually really like Vim for coding. So that's why I specifically talked about writing in this post.

I've noticed that large files, >1GB, seem to be really problematic for a lot of programs to handle without freezing or crashing. But both grep and vi/vim seem to have not problem with a few GBs sized file. Why is that? How does vi/vim manage such great performance while most other programs seem to struggle with anything over 400MB? Is it some reading only part of the file into memory or something like that?

The use case simple, a large file with very short lines, the issue is that on Windows no editor can open the file or even edit it - sans the paid ones which isn't an option. I care very little for the Linux/Windows supremacy, I'm just interested in how a program works

EDIT1: Clarify windows use case

I'll start: I need to unlearn pressing i when I mean to press a. i moves one chracter back while a doesn't which is what I want most of the time.

And apparently many users need to get used to h j k l over arrow keys, though I already binded CMD h j k l on my mac since that's much more efficient than arrow keys.