pathogen.vim: manage your runtimepath
Manage your
'runtimepath'with ease. In practical terms, pathogen.vim makes it super easy to install plugins and runtime files in their own private directories.
For new users, I recommend using Vim's built-in package management instead.
:help packages
Install to
~/.vim/autoload/pathogen.vim. Or copy and paste the following into your terminal/shell:
mkdir -p ~/.vim/autoload ~/.vim/bundle && \ curl -LSso ~/.vim/autoload/pathogen.vim https://tpo.pe/pathogen.vim
If you're using Windows, change all occurrences of
~/.vimto
~\vimfiles.
Add this to your vimrc:
execute pathogen#infect()
If you're brand new to Vim and lacking a vimrc,
vim ~/.vimrcand paste in the following super-minimal example:
execute pathogen#infect() syntax on filetype plugin indent on
Now any plugins you wish to install can be extracted to a subdirectory under
~/.vim/bundle, and they will be added to the
'runtimepath'. Observe:
cd ~/.vim/bundle && \ git clone https://github.com/tpope/vim-sensible.git
Now sensible.vim is installed. If you really want to get crazy, you could set it up as a submodule in whatever repository you keep your dot files in. I don't like to get crazy.
If you don't like the directory name
bundle, you can pass a runtime relative glob as an argument:
execute pathogen#infect('stuff/{}')
The
{}indicates where the expansion should occur.
You can also pass an absolute path instead. I keep the plugins I maintain under
~/src, and this is how I add them:
execute pathogen#infect('bundle/{}', '~/src/vim/bundle/{}')
Normally to generate documentation, Vim expects you to run
:helptagson each directory with documentation (e.g.,
:helptags ~/.vim/doc). Provided with pathogen.vim is a
:Helptagscommand that does this on every directory in your
'runtimepath'. If you really want to get crazy, you could even invoke
Helptagsin your vimrc. I don't like to get crazy.
Finally, pathogen.vim has a rich API that can manipulate
'runtimepath'and other comma-delimited path options in ways most people will never need to do. If you're one of those edge cases, look at the source. It's well documented.
Vim 8 includes support for package management in a manner similar to pathogen.vim. If you'd like to transition to this native support, pathogen.vim can help. Calling
pathogen#infect()on an older version of Vim will supplement the
bundle/{}default with
pack/{}/start/{}, effectively backporting a subset of the new native functionality.
:Vopen,
:Vedit,
:Vsplit,
:Vvsplit,
:Vtabedit,
:Vpedit, and
:Vreadhave all moved to scriptease.vim.
Can I put pathogen.vim in a submodule like all my other plugins?
Sure, stick it under
~/.vim/bundle, and prepend the following to your vimrc:
runtime bundle/vim-pathogen/autoload/pathogen.vim
Or if your bundles are somewhere other than
~/.vim(say,
~/src/vim):
source ~/src/vim/bundle/vim-pathogen/autoload/pathogen.vim
Will you accept these 14 pull requests adding a
.gitignorefortagsso I don't see untracked changes in my dot files repository?
No, but I'll teach you how to ignore
tagsglobally:
git config --global core.excludesfile '~/.cvsignore' echo tags >> ~/.cvsignore
While any filename will work, I've chosen to follow the ancient tradition of
.cvsignorebecause utilities like rsync use it, too. Clever, huh?
What about Vimballs?
If you really must use one:
:e name.vba :!mkdir ~/.vim/bundle/name :UseVimball ~/.vim/bundle/name
Why don't my plugins load when I use Vim sessions?
Vim sessions default to capturing all global options, which includes the
'runtimepath'that pathogen.vim manipulates. This can cause other problems too, so I recommend turning that behavior off:
set sessionoptions-=options
If your commit message sucks, I'm not going to accept your pull request. I've explained very politely dozens of times that my general guidelines are absolute rules on my own repositories, so I may lack the energy to explain it to you yet another time. And please, if I ask you to change something,
git commit --amend.
Beyond that, don't be shy about asking before patching. What takes you hours might take me minutes simply because I have both domain knowledge and a perverse knowledge of Vim script so vast that many would consider it a symptom of mental illness. On the flip side, some ideas I'll reject no matter how good the implementation is. "Send a patch" is an edge case answer in my book.
Like pathogen.vim? Follow the repository on GitHub and vote for it on vim.org. And if you're feeling especially charitable, follow tpope on Twitter and GitHub.
Copyright (c) Tim Pope. Distributed under the same terms as Vim itself. See
:help license.