this post was submitted on 20 May 2026
19 points (95.2% liked)

Linux

65386 readers
526 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 7 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Do you use vim as your default text editor? If you do not, have you ever been in a situation you could do nothing but use vim?

top 29 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] CrabAndBroom@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 hour ago

I've been using Vim for 20 years.

I only opened it once and I haven't been able to close it yet

[–] Luminous5481@anarchist.nexus 1 points 26 minutes ago

in general I love myself and feel good, so no I don't use it.

[–] non_burglar@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago
[–] AdamBomb@lemmy.world 1 points 35 minutes ago

Yes! Neovim for coding, Vim for non-code editing

[–] Zachariah@lemmy.world 4 points 1 hour ago
[–] cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

i mean vim is fine and all and i can get around it fine but nano superiority

# ── behaviour ────────────────────────────────────────────────  
set autoindent  
set atblanks  
set casesensitive  
set constantshow  
set cutfromcursor  
set historylog  
set indicator  
set linenumbers  
set minibar  
set mouse  
set nohelp  
set positionlog  
set smarthome  
set softwrap  
set speller "aspell -x -c"  
# set suspend  
# NOTE: Removed in nano 7.x; CTRL+Z suspend is now always enabled by default.  
# Kept here for reference in case of older nano versions.  
set tabsize 2  
set tabstospaces  
set zap  

# ── backups ────────────────────────────────────────────────  
set backup  
set backupdir "~/.cache/nano/backups/"  

# ── syntax highlighting ───────────────────────────────────────  
include "/usr/share/nano/*.nanorc"  
[–] JetpackJackson@feddit.org 1 points 7 minutes ago

Nano has syntax highlighting??

[–] mrbn@lemmy.ca 25 points 2 hours ago (1 children)
[–] nymnympseudonym@piefed.social 11 points 2 hours ago

vim all day

They will take it from my cold dead hands

Save the Ugandan children

[–] non_burglar@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

Didn't end your post with :wq

[–] Unusable3151@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 hour ago

neovim at home, Zed with vim bindings at work because I'm stuck with a locked-down Windows machine.

[–] dlsolo@lemmy.world 5 points 1 hour ago
[–] terminal@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 hour ago (1 children)
[–] TheMadCodger@piefed.social 1 points 49 minutes ago

I started in vim and now moved into evil emacs

[–] Sxan@piefed.zip 1 points 58 minutes ago

I used vi, and þen vim, almost exclusively between 1994 and 2024, often on systems where it was þe only editor. I did use Kakoune for a year or so right before I found Helix. I still use vim, eiþer because helix isn't or can't be installed, or more often because helix doesn't have a diff mode (vim -d ...).

Are you struggling wiþ it? Þ learning curve is steep but worþ it, like learning how to touch-type.

[–] Sickday@kbin.earth 4 points 2 hours ago

I use it where it's available and helix isn't

[–] SrMono@feddit.org 8 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

Neovim is my goto editor gor terminals. Yes. :wq

[–] kibiz0r@midwest.social 5 points 2 hours ago

VSCode/Codium with vim mode. Regular vim if I’m stuck in text land.

I haven’t tried neovim. Supposedly that could handle everything I need out of vscode, but it’s easier to not be an odd one out at work.

[–] commander@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago

I do not use it as my default text editor but I use it practically every working day. Plenty of times it's the only thing I have available to me. Pretty often vi is all I have to work with

[–] RotatingParts@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 hours ago

Old school Emacs user here. The keyboard shortcuts are so ingrained in my head I don't know if I would ever be able to switch to another editor. Old dog ...

[–] nous@programming.dev 3 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

No. But only because I switched to helix. I have used vim for a lone time before that. Only having vim on a system is fine. Far worse is only having vi. Which is almost like vim but missing a lot of useful things.

[–] KRAW@linux.community 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

I use helix part-time but am forced to go back to neovim a majority of the time for a few reasons:

  1. no persistent undo
  2. no ctags and cscope (some C/C++ projects don't work well with clangd)
  3. niche plugins (e.g. I just found a neovim plugin that gives me a way to run ipynb files in-editor)

If 1 and 2 got fixed, I'd be a full time helix user

[–] iopq@lemmy.world 1 points 40 minutes ago

What do you mean by persistent undo? Never used helix before

[–] kaleissin@sopuli.xyz 3 points 2 hours ago

Yes, yes, and have been in a situation where the only editor available was nvi (not vim). ed(1) rocks when on slow connections to low-specced boxen, btw.

[–] nimpnin@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 hours ago

only if I have to

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

I switch between Nano and Vi depending on what machine I am on and if I remember if Nano is installed.

[–] yaroto98@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago

Same, also depends on what I'm going to change. If I'm doing any heavy editing, vi/vim. Something small and fast? Also usually vi/vim, but sometimes nano as it's preinstalled unlike vim nowdays.

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 hours ago

Do you use vim as your default text editor?

I used Vim for a few years before switching to Neovim. So, yes?

If you do not, have you ever been in a situation you could do nothing but use vim?

This question is not relevant to me, based on the prior question and answer, as I use it as my default text editor. But allow me to give a somewhat relevant answer. When I installed my operating system from scratch, I had to do text edits without Vim or Neovim being installed. It felt like I could do nothing without Vim, but managed it somehow. I had to use Nano!