vim
Vi Improved — a highly configurable text editor built on vi with extensive plugin support.
Synopsis
vim [OPTION]... [FILE]...
Examples
vim file.txt
vim -p file1.txt file2.txt
vim -d old.conf new.conf
vim +':set number' script.py
Common options
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| -p | Open files in tabs |
| -O | Open files in vertical splits |
| -d | Diff mode between files |
| -u | Use specified vimrc |
| +cmd | Execute command after loading |
About vim
The `vim` command vi Improved — a highly configurable text editor built on vi with extensive plugin support. Text viewing and editing commands are fundamental tools in any Linux user's toolkit.
Linux treats almost everything as a file, so the ability to quickly inspect, filter, transform, and edit file contents from the command line is critical. These commands are regularly combined with pipes and redirects to build powerful data-processing pipelines.
The command accepts 5 commonly used flags shown above, though the full set of options is available in the man page (`man vim`). The 4 examples on this page cover typical real-world usage patterns that you can copy and adapt for your own workflows.
Related commands
More File Viewing & Editing Commands
Other commands in the File Viewing & Editing category