vi Command-Line Options
Here are the three most common ways to start a vi session:
vifile
vi +n file
vi +/pattern file
You can open a file
for editing, optionally at line n
or at the first line matching pattern
. If no file is specified, vi opens with an empty buffer. The command-line options
that can be used with vi are as follows (vim-only options are labeled):
- +[
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 can’t write to files. (vim)
- -n
Don’t use a swap file; record changes in memory only. (vim)
- --noplugin
Don’t load any plug-ins. (vim)
- -o[
n
] Start vim with
n
open horizontal windows. The default is to open one window for each file. ...
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