vi Command-Line Options
The three most common ways of starting a vi session are:
vi
file
vi +
n file
vi +/
pattern
file
You can open 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 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 ...
Get Linux in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.