usr_90.txt ForVim version 9.1. Last change: 2025 Mar 03 VIM USER MANUAL- byBramMoolenaarInstalling ViminstallBefore you can use Vim you have toinstall it. Depending on your system it'ssimple or easy. This chapter givesa few hints and also explains howupgrading toa new versionis done.90.1Unix90.2MS-Windows90.3 Upgrading90.4 Common installation issues90.5 Uninstalling Vim Previous chapter:usr_52.txt Write plugins usingVim9scriptTable of contents:usr_toc.txt==============================================================================90.1UnixFirst you have to decide if you are going toinstall Vim system-wide or forasingle user. The installationis almost the same, but the directory where Vimis installed in differs. Fora system-wide installation the base directory "/usr/local"is oftenused. But this may be different for your system. Try finding out where otherpackages are installed. When installing fora single user, you can use yourhome directoryas thebase. The files will be placed in subdirectories like "bin" and "share/vim".FROM A PACKAGEDepending on the Unix/Linux system used, there may exist pre-compiled binarypackages. You need to search for this. We used to keepalist for differentUNIX systems, but thatlist was outdated so thelist was removed.Itisa good idea to compile your own UNIX version from the source. Also,creating the editor from the source allows you tocontrol which features arecompiled. This does requirea compiler though.If you havea Linux distribution, the "vi" programis probablya minimalversion of Vim. It doesn'tdosyntax highlighting, for example. Try findinganother Vim package in your distribution, or search on the web site.FROM SOURCESTo compile andinstall Vim, you will need the following:-AC compiler (GCC or clang preferred)- git (optionally, only when cloning from github)- zip/unzip (to uncompress the archive)- The Vim source archivesTodownload the Vim source, you can either cloneit from the Github projectpage:git clone https://github.com/vim/vim.gitordownload the archive directly using:https://github.com/vim/vim/archive/refs/heads/master.zipCOMPILINGFirst createa top directory to work in, for example:mkdir ~/vimcd ~/vimThen unpack the archives there. You can unpackit like this:unzip vim-master.zipIf you are satisfied with getting the default features, and your environmentis setup properly, you should be able to compile Vim with just this:cd vim-master/srcmakeThe make program will run configure and compile everything. Further on wewill explain how to compile with different features. If there areerrors while compiling, carefully lookat the error messages.There should bea hint about what went wrong. Hopefully you will be able tocorrect it. You might have to disable some features to make Vim compile.Look in the Makefile for specific hints for your system.TESTINGNow you can check if compiling worked OK:make testThis will runa sequence of test scripts to verify that Vim worksas expected.Vim will be started many times and all kinds of text andmessages flash by.Ifitis alright you will finally see:test results:ALL DONEIf you get "TEST FAILURE" some test failed. If there are one or twomessagesabout failed tests, Vim might still work, but not perfectly. If you seea lotof errormessages or Vim doesn't finish until the end, theremust be somethingwrong. Either try to find out yourself, or find someone who can solve it.You could look in themaillist-archive fora solution. If everything elsefails, you could ask in the vimmaillist if someone canhelp you.INSTALLINGinstall-homeIf you want toinstall in yourhome directory, edit the Makefile and searchfora line:#prefix = $(HOME)Remove the#at the start of the line. When installing for the whole system, Vim has most likely already selecteda good installation directory for you. You can also specify one, see below.You need to become root for the following.Toinstall Vim do:make installThat should move all the relevant files to the right place. Now you can tryrunning vim to verify thatit works. Use two simple tests to check if Vim canfind its runtime files::help:syntax enableIf this doesn't work, use this command to check where Vimis looking for theruntime files::echo $VIMRUNTIMEYou can also start Vim with the "-V" argument to see what happens duringstartup:vim -VDon't forget that the user manual assumes you Vim ina certain way. Afterinstalling Vim, follow the instructionsatnot-compatible to make Vim workas assumed in this manual.SELECTING FEATURESVim has many ways to select features. One of the simple waysis to edit theMakefile. There are many directions and examples. Often you can enable ordisablea feature by uncommentinga line. An alternativeis to run "configure" separately. This allows you tospecify configurationoptions manually. The disadvantageis that you have tofigure out what exactly to type. Some of the most interesting configure arguments follow. These can also beenabled from the Makefile.--prefix={directory}Top directory where toinstall Vim.--with-features=tinyCompile with some features disabled.--with-features=normalCompile with more features enabled.--with-features=hugeCompile with most features enabled.See+feature-list for which featureis enabled in which case.--enable-perlinterpEnable thePerl interface. There aresimilar arguments for ruby,python andtcl.--disable-guiDo not compile theGUI interface.--without-xDo not compile X-windows features.When both of these are used, Vim willnot connect to theX server, whichmakesstartup faster.To see the wholelist use:./configure --helpYou can finda bit of explanation for each feature, and links for moreinformation here:feature-list. For the adventurous, edit the file "feature.h". You can also change thesource code yourself!==============================================================================90.2MS-WindowsThere are two ways toinstall the Vim program for Microsoft Windows. You canuncompress several archives, or usea self-installing big archive. Most userswith fairly recent computers will prefer the second method. For the firstone, you will need:- An archive with binaries for Vim.- The Vim runtime archive.-A program to unpack thezip files.To get the Vim archives, look in this file fora mirror near you, this shouldprovide the fastest download:ftp://ftp.vim.org/pub/vim/MIRRORSOr use thehome site ftp.vim.org, if you think it's fast enough. Go to the"pc" directory and you'll findalist of files there. The version numberisembedded in the file name. You will want to get the most recent version.We will use "82" here, whichis version 8.2.gvim82.exeThe self-installing archive.Thisis all you need for the second method. Just launch the executable, andfollow the prompts.For the firstmethod youmust choose one of the binary archives. These areavailable:gvim82.zipThe normalMS-WindowsGUI version.gvim82ole.zipTheMS-WindowsGUI version with OLE support.Uses more memory, supports interfacing withother OLE applications.vim82w32.zip32 bitMS-Windows console version.You only need one of them. Although you couldinstall bothaGUI andaconsole version. You always need to get the archive with runtime files.vim82rt.zipThe runtime files.Use your un-zip program to unpack the files. For example, using the "unzip"program:cd c:\unzip path\gvim82.zipunzip path\vim82rt.zipThis will unpack the files in the directory "c:\vim\vim82". If you alreadyhavea "vim" directory somewhere, you will want to move to the directory justabove it. Now change to the "vim\vim82" directory and run theinstall program:installCarefully look through themessages and select theoptions you want to use.If you finally select "doit" theinstall program will carry out the actionsyou selected. Theinstall program doesn't move the runtime files. They remain where youunpacked them.Incase you are not satisfied with the features included in the suppliedbinaries, you could try compiling Vim yourself. Get the source archive fromthe same locationas where the binaries are. You needa compiler for whichamakefile exists. MicrosoftVisual C, MinGW and Cygwin compilers can be used.Check the file src/INSTALLpc.txt for hints.==============================================================================90.3 UpgradingIf you are running one version of Vim and want toinstall another, hereiswhat to do.UNIXWhen you type "makeinstall" the runtime files will be copied toa directorywhichis specific for this version. Thus they will not overwritea previousversion. This makesit possible to use two or more versions next toeach other. The executable "vim" will overwrite an older version. If you don't careabout keeping the old version, running "makeinstall" will work fine. You candelete the old runtime files manually. Just delete the directory with theversion number init and all files below it. Example:rm -rf /usr/local/share/vim/vim74There are normally no changed files below this directory. If you did changethe "filetype.vim" file, for example, you bettermerge the changes into thenew version beforedeleting it.If you are careful and want to try out the new version fora while beforeswitching to it,install the new version under another name. You need tospecifya configure argument. For example:./configure --with-vim-name=vim8Before running "makeinstall", you could use "make-ninstall" to check thatno valuable existing files are overwritten. When you finally decide to switch to the new version, all you need todoisto rename the binary to "vim". For example:mv /usr/local/bin/vim8 /usr/local/bin/vimMS-WINDOWSUpgradingis mostly equal to installinga new version. Just unpack the filesin the same placeas the previous version.A new directory will be created,e.g., "vim82", for the files of the new version. Your runtime files,vimrcfile, viminfo, etc. will be left alone. If you want to run the new version next to the old one, you will have todosome handwork. Don't run theinstall program,it will overwritea few filesof the old version. Execute the new binaries by specifying the full path.The program should be able to automatically find the runtime files for theright version. However, this won't work if you set the$VIMRUNTIME variablesomewhere. If you are satisfied with the upgrade, you can delete the files of theprevious version. See90.5.==============================================================================90.4 Common installation issuesThissection describes some of the common problems that occur when installingVim and suggests some solutions. It also contains answers to manyinstallation questions.Q:I Do Not HaveRoot Privileges. How DoI Install Vim? (Unix)Use the following configuration command toinstall Vim ina directory called$HOME/vim:./configure --prefix=$HOMEThis gives youa personal copy of Vim. You need toput $HOME/bin in yourpath to execute the editor. Also seeinstall-home.Q: The Colors Are Not Right on My Screen. (Unix)Check yourterminal settings by using the following command ina shell:echo $TERMIf theterminal type listedis not correct, fix it. For more hints, see06.2. Another solutionis to always use theGUI version of Vim, calledgvim. This avoids the need fora correctterminal setup.Q: My Backspace And Delete Keys Don't Work RightThe definition of what key sends what codeis very unclear forbackspace<BS>and Delete<Del> keys. First of all, check your $TERM setting. If thereisnothing wrong with it, try this::set t_kb=^V<BS>:set t_kD=^V<Del>In the first line you need to pressCTRL-V and then hit thebackspace key.In the second line you need to pressCTRL-V and then hit the Delete key.You canput these lines in yourvimrc file, see05.1.A disadvantageisthatit won't work when you use anotherterminal some day. Look here foralternate solutions::fixdel.Q:I Am Using RedHat Linux. CanI Use the Vim That Comes with the System?By default RedHat installsa minimal version of Vim. Check your RPMpackagesfor something named "Vim-enhanced-version.rpm" andinstall that.Q: How DoI TurnSyntax Coloring On? HowdoI make plugins work?Use the examplevimrc script. You can find an explanation on how to useithere:not-compatible.See chapter 6 for information aboutsyntax highlighting:usr_06.txt.Q: What Isa Goodvimrc File to Use?See the www.vim.org Web site for several good examples.Q: Where DoI Finda Good Vim Plugin?See the Vim-online site:http://vim.sf.net. Many users have uploaded usefulVim scripts and plugins there.Q: Where DoI Find More Tips?See the Vim-online site:http://vim.sf.net. Thereis an archive with hintsfrom Vim users. You might also want to search in themaillist-archive.==============================================================================90.5 Uninstalling VimIn the unlikely event you want to uninstall Vim completely, thisis how youdoit.UNIXWhen you installed Vimasa package, check your package manager to find outhow to remove the package again. If you installed Vim from sources you can use this command:make uninstallHowever, if you have deleted the original files or you used an archive thatsomeone supplied, you can'tdo this. Do delete the files manually, hereis anexample for when "/usr/local" was usedas the root:rm -rf /usr/local/share/vim/vim82rm /usr/local/bin/eviewrm /usr/local/bin/evimrm /usr/local/bin/exrm /usr/local/bin/gviewrm /usr/local/bin/gvimrm /usr/local/bin/gvimrm /usr/local/bin/gvimdiffrm /usr/local/bin/rgviewrm /usr/local/bin/rgvimrm /usr/local/bin/rviewrm /usr/local/bin/rvimrm /usr/local/bin/rvimrm /usr/local/bin/viewrm /usr/local/bin/vimrm /usr/local/bin/vimdiffrm /usr/local/bin/vimtutorrm /usr/local/bin/xxdrm /usr/local/man/man1/eview.1rm /usr/local/man/man1/evim.1rm /usr/local/man/man1/ex.1rm /usr/local/man/man1/gview.1rm /usr/local/man/man1/gvim.1rm /usr/local/man/man1/gvimdiff.1rm /usr/local/man/man1/rgview.1rm /usr/local/man/man1/rgvim.1rm /usr/local/man/man1/rview.1rm /usr/local/man/man1/rvim.1rm /usr/local/man/man1/view.1rm /usr/local/man/man1/vim.1rm /usr/local/man/man1/vimdiff.1rm /usr/local/man/man1/vimtutor.1rm /usr/local/man/man1/xxd.1MS-WINDOWSIf you installed Vim with the self-installing archive you can runthe "uninstall-gui" program located in the same directoryas the other Vimprograms, e.g. "c:\vim\vim82". You can also launchit from the Start menu ifinstalled the Vim entries there. This will remove most of the files, menuentries and desktop shortcuts. Some files may remain however,as they needaWindows restart before being deleted. You will be given the option to remove the whole "vim" directory. Itprobably contains yourvimrc file and other runtime files that you created, sobe careful.Else, if you installed Vim with thezip archives, the preferred wayis to usethe "uninstall" program. You can findit in the same directoryas the"install" program, e.g., "c:\vim\vim82". This should also work from the usual"install/remove software" page. However, this only removes the registry entries for Vim. You have todelete the files yourself. Simply select the directory "vim\vim82" and deleteit recursively. There should be no files there that you changed, but youmight want to check that first. The "vim" directory probably contains yourvimrc file and other runtimefiles that you created. You might want to keep that.==============================================================================Table of contents:usr_toc.txtCopyright: seemanual-copyright vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: