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If you find a bug or want to discuss the best way to add a new feature, pleaseopen an issue.If you have a question or want to discuss the best way to do something withVim, you can useStackExchangeor one of theMaillists.

Vim is a greatly improved version of the good old UNIX editorVi. Many newfeatures have been added: multi-level undo, syntax highlighting, command linehistory, on-line help, spell checking, filename completion, block operations,script language, etc. There is also a Graphical User Interface (GUI)available. Still, Vi compatibility is maintained, those who have Vi "in thefingers" will feel at home.Seeruntime/doc/vi_diff.txt for differences withVi.

This editor is very useful for editing programs and other plain text files.All commands are given with normal keyboard characters, so those who can typewith ten fingers can work very fast. Additionally, function keys can bemapped to commands by the user, and the mouse can be used.

Vim runs under MS-Windows (7, 8, 10, 11), macOS, Haiku, VMS and almost allflavours of UNIX. Porting to other systems should not be very difficult.Older versions of Vim run on MS-DOS, MS-Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista,Amiga DOS, Atari MiNT, BeOS, RISC OS and OS/2. These are no longer maintained.

For Vim9 script seeREADME_VIM9.

You can often use your favorite package manager to install Vim. On Mac andLinux a small version of Vim is pre-installed, you still need to install Vimif you want more features.

There are separate distributions for Unix, PC, Amiga and some other systems.ThisREADME.md file comes with the runtime archive. It includes thedocumentation, syntax files and other files that are used at runtime. To runVim you must get either one of the binary archives or a source archive.Which one you need depends on the system you want to run it on and whether youwant or must compile it yourself. Checkhttps://www.vim.org/download.php foran overview of currently available distributions.

Some popular places to get the latest Vim:

• Check out the git repository fromGitHub.
• Get the source code as anarchive.
• Get a Windows executable from thevim-win32-installer repository.

If you obtained a binary distribution you don't need to compile Vim. If youobtained a source distribution, all the stuff for compiling Vim is in thesrc directory. Seesrc/INSTALL for instructions.

See one of these files for system-specific instructions. Either in theREADMEdir directory (in the repository) orthe top directory (if you unpack an archive):

README_ami.txtAmigaREADME_unix.txtUnixREADME_dos.txtMS-DOS and MS-WindowsREADME_mac.txtMacintoshREADME_haiku.txtHaikuREADME_vms.txtVMS

There are otherREADME_*.txt files, depending on the distribution you used.

The Vim tutor is a one hour training course for beginners. Often it can bestarted asvimtutor. See:help tutor for more information.

The best is to use:help in Vim. If you don't have an executable yet, readruntime/doc/help.txt.It contains pointers to the other documentation files.The User Manual reads like a book and is recommended to learn to useVim. See:help user-manual.

Vim is Charityware. You can use and copy it as much as you like, but you areencouraged to make a donation to help orphans in Uganda. Please read the fileruntime/doc/uganda.txtfor details (do:help uganda inside Vim).

Summary of the license: There are no restrictions on using or distributing anunmodified copy of Vim. Parts of Vim may also be distributed, but the licensetext must always be included. For modified versions, a few restrictions apply.The license is GPL compatible, you may compile Vim with GPL libraries anddistribute it.

Fixing bugs and adding new features takes a lot of time and effort. To showyour appreciation for the work and motivate developers to continue working onVim please send a donation.

The money you donated will be mainly used to help children in Uganda. Seeruntime/doc/uganda.txt. But at the same timedonations increase the development team motivation to keep working on Vim!

For the most recent information about sponsoring look on the Vim web site:https://www.vim.org/sponsor/

If you would like to help make Vim better, see theCONTRIBUTING.md file.

If you are on macOS, you can useMacVim.

The latest news about Vim can be found on the Vim home page:https://www.vim.org/

If you have problems, have a look at the Vim documentation or tips:https://www.vim.org/docs.phphttps://vim.fandom.com/wiki/Vim_Tips_Wiki

If you still have problems or any other questions, use one of the mailinglists to discuss them with Vim users and developers:https://www.vim.org/maillist.php

If nothing else works, report bugs directly to the vim-dev mailing list:<vim-dev@vim.org>

Most of Vim was created by Bram Moolenaar<Bram@vim.org>Bram-Moolenaar

Send any other comments, patches, flowers and suggestions to the vim-dev mailing list:<vim-dev@vim.org>

This isREADME.md for version 9.1 of Vim: Vi IMproved.