• vimrc Configuration Guide

  • :set nu

    • Show line numbers: useful for debugging.

  • :set ai

    • Auto-indent: if the previous line has two tab widths, pressing Enter keeps those two tab widths on the next line.

  • :set cursorline

    • Cursor line: underline the current line to help locate the cursor.

  • :set bg=light

    • Color scheme for light backgrounds.
    • The default assumes a light background (white, etc), but if your terminal background is dark purple, text may disappear (for example, comments in dark blue). Change this to :set bg=dark.

  • :set tabstop=4

    • Indent width (default is 8 spaces).
    • Pressing Tab moves the cursor 4 spaces. There may be multiple spaces but actually only one tab character.
    • Note: in other environments, a tab is still 8 spaces wide.

  • :set shiftwidth=4

    • Auto-indent shift width: the amount to indent left or right.

Optional settings

  • :set mouse=a
    • Enable mouse selection: you can select text, and the scroll wheel scrolls the page (not the cursor).
    • It can replace selecting text with v; with ctrl+insert (copy) and shift+insert (paste), it is convenient.
  • :set mouse=""
    • Disable mouse selection: you cannot select text, and the scroll wheel only moves the cursor.
  • :set ruler
    • (default) show the current line, column, and position percentage in the bottom-right.
  • :set backspace=2
    • (default) enable backspace in insert mode.
  • :set formatoptions+=r
    • Auto-comment (note: if a line you paste contains a comment, this setting will make each following line a comment).
  • :set history=100
    • Keep 100 commands in history.
  • :set incsearch
    • Show results before the keyword is fully entered.
    • If this feels too eager, use ctrl+n for auto-completion.