This Vim has the Duktape ECMAScript interpreter integrated.

Quickstart (Mac or Linux):

git clone https://github.com/bobpepin/vim.git && \
 cd vim && \
 curl https://duktape.org/duktape-2.3.0.tar.xz | tar xfvz - duktape-2.3.0/src && \
 curl -Lo runtime/babel.es5 https://unpkg.com/@babel/standalone/babel.js && \
 curl -Lo runtime/polyfill.es5 https://unpkg.com/@babel/polyfill/dist/polyfill.js && \
 cd src && make

Quickstart (Windows):

• Download the binaries from https://github.com/bobpepin/vim/releases/tag/duk-win64-20190419T182100
• Download https://unpkg.com/@babel/standalone/babel.js and save it in your runtimepath as babel.es5
• Download https://unpkg.com/@babel/polyfill/dist/polyfill.js and save it in your runtimepath as polyfill.es5

You can use the ES5 programming language to script Vim, with no external dependencies at runtime. It supports all Vim builtin functions and Node.js-type modules. The ES5 language (also known as Javascript) is a modern programming language that is widely used and has a huge library of open source code. Many other programming languages can be compiled into ES5.

To get started, download a source release of Duktape from http://duktape.org, clone this repository and edit src/Makefile so that CONF_OPT_DUKTAPE_PREFIX points to the Duktape sources. Then compile as usual.

There are two new ex commands, :duktape and :dukfile to execute ECMAScript code from the command line and from a file.

Some examples of the API (remember to include ../runtime in runtimepath if running vim from the src/ directory, for example by executing set rtp+=../runtime before running the first Duktape command):

Execute an ES5 expression:

	:duk var l = bufname(0); append(".", "Buffer name: "+l)

Load an ES5 file from the current directory:

        :dukfile delta.js

Load an ECMAScript module foo.js from runtimepath (Node.js/CommonJS-style):

        :duk var foo = require("foo.js")

Enable Babel support (needs babel.es5 in runtimepath):

        :dukfile vimbabel.js

Load an ES2017 module:

        :duk var lsp = require("./lsp-jsonrpc.ts")

There is API documentation and examples under :help duktape, or in runtime/doc/if_duk.txt.

An example of a complete script can be found in runtime/indent/python.js. This file was generated from indent/python.vim using a vimscript to ECMAScript compiler which can be found at https://github.com/bobpepin/vim2js.

To load the script, in a new buffer do :duk source(‘indent/python.js’) and write some python code, which should now use the ECMAScript code for indenting. It is also instructive to do vim -O python.vim python.js to get a side-by-side view of the two APIs.

The original Vim README follows.

What is Vim?

Vim is a greatly improved version of the good old UNIX editor Vi. Many new features have been added: multi-level undo, syntax highlighting, command line history, 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 the fingers" will feel at home. See runtime/doc/vi_diff.txt for differences with Vi.

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 type with ten fingers can work very fast. Additionally, function keys can be mapped to commands by the user, and the mouse can be used.

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

Distribution

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

There are separate distributions for Unix, PC, Amiga and some other systems. This README.md file comes with the runtime archive. It includes the documentation, syntax files and other files that are used at runtime. To run Vim 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 you want or must compile it yourself. Check http://www.vim.org/download.php for an overview of currently available distributions.

Some popular places to get the latest Vim:

• Check out the git repository from github.
• Get the source code as an archive.
• Get a Windows executable from the vim-win32-installer repository.

Compiling

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

Installation

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

README_ami.txt		Amiga
README_unix.txt		Unix
README_dos.txt		MS-DOS and MS-Windows
README_mac.txt		Macintosh
README_vms.txt		VMS

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

Documentation

The Vim tutor is a one hour training course for beginners. Often it can be started as vimtutor. See :help tutor for more information.

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

Copying

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

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

Sponsoring

Fixing bugs and adding new features takes a lot of time and effort. To show your appreciation for the work and motivate Bram and others to continue working on Vim please send a donation.

Since Bram is back to a paid job the money will now be used to help children in Uganda. See runtime/doc/uganda.txt. But at the same time donations increase Bram's motivation to keep working on Vim!

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

Contributing

If you would like to help making Vim better, see the CONTRIBUTING.md file.

Information

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

If you have problems, have a look at the Vim documentation or tips: http://www.vim.org/docs.php http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Vim_Tips_Wiki

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

If nothing else works, report bugs directly: Bram Moolenaar Bram@vim.org

Main author

Send any other comments, patches, flowers and suggestions to: Bram Moolenaar Bram@vim.org

This is README.md for version 8.1 of Vim: Vi IMproved.