11.2. vi Command-Line Options

The three most common ways of starting a vi session are:

+[num]

Start editing at line number num, or the last line of the file if num is omitted.

+/pattern

Start editing at the first line matching pattern. (Fails if nowrapscan is set in your .exrc startup file.)

-b

Edit the file in binary mode. {vim}

-c command

Run the given vi command upon startup. Only one -c option is permitted. ex commands can be invoked by prefixing them with a colon. An older form of this option, +command, is still supported.

--cmd command

Like -c, but execute the command before any resource files are read. {vim}

-d

Run in diff mode. Works like vimdiff. {vim}

-e

Run as ex (line editing rather than full-screen mode).

-h

Print help message, then exit.

-i file

Use the specified file instead of the default .viminfo to save or restore vim's state. {vim}

-l

Enter LISP mode for running LISP programs (not supported in all versions).

-m

Start the editor with the write option turned off so the user cannot write to files. {vim}

-n

Do not use a swap file; record changes in memory only. {vim}

--noplugin

Do not load any plug-ins. {vim}

-o[n]

Start vim with n open windows. The default is to open one window for each file. {vim}

-r [file]

Recovery mode; recover and resume editing on file after an aborted editor session or system crash. Without file, list files available for recovery.

-s, -s scriptfile

When running in ex mode (-e), suppress prompts or informative messages sent to the console. Otherwise, read and execute commands given in the specified scriptfile as if they were typed in from the keyboard. {vim}

-t tag

Edit the file containing tag and position the cursor at its definition. (See ctags in Chapter 3 for more information.)

-u file

Read configuration information from the specified resource file instead of default .vimrc resource files. If the file argument is NONE, vim will read no resource files, load no plug-ins, and run in compatible mode. If the argument is NORC, it will read no resource files but it will load plug-ins. {vim}

-v

Run in full-screen mode (default).

--version

Print version information, then exit.

-w rows

Set the window size so rows lines at a time are displayed; useful when editing over a slow dial-up line.

-x

Prompt for a key that will be used to try to encrypt or decrypt a file using crypt (not supported in all versions).

-y

Modeless vi; run vim in insert mode only, without a command mode. This is the same as invoking vim as evim. {vim}

-C

Same as -x, but assume the file is encrypted already (not supported in all versions). For vim this option starts the editor in vi-compatible mode.

-D

Debugging mode for use with scripts. {vim}

-L

List files that were saved due to an aborted editor session or system crash (not supported in all versions). For vim this option is the same as -r.

-M

Do not allow text in files to be modified. {vim}

-N

Run vim in a non-vi-compatible mode. {vim}

-O[n]

Start vim with n open windows arranged vertically on the screen. {vim}

-R

Edit files read-only.

-S commandfile

Source commands given in commandfile after loading any files for editing specified on the command line. Shorthand for the option -c source. {vim}

-T type

Set the terminal type. This value overrides the $TERM environment variable. {vim}

-V[n]

Verbose mode; print messages about what options are being set and what files are being read or written. You can set a level of verbosity to increase or decrease the number of messages received. The default value is 10 for high verbosity. {vim}

-W scriptfile

Write all typed commands from the current session to the specified scriptfile. The file created can be used with the -s command. {vim}

-Z

Start vim in restricted mode. Do not allow shell commands or suspension of the editor. {vim}

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11. The vi Editor		11.3. ex Command-Line Options

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