vim.v

Show the prompt.

File arguments (expanded to absolute paths) given at startup.

Unlike v:argv, this does not include option arguments such as -u, --cmd, or +cmd. Unlike argv(), it is not affected by later :args, :argadd, or plugin modifications.

Example:

  nvim file1.txt +ls -- file2.txt
  :echo v:argf
  " ['/path/to/cwd/file1.txt', '/path/to/cwd/file2.txt']

Command line arguments (-u, --cmd, +cmd, …) Nvim was invoked with. The first item is the Nvim command.

See v:progpath to get the full path to Nvim. See v:argf to get only file args, without other options.

Argument for evaluating 'formatexpr' and used for the typed character when using <expr> in an abbreviation :map-<expr>. It is also used by the InsertCharPre, InsertEnter, CmdlineLeave and CmdlineLeavePre events.

The name of the character encoding of a file to be converted. Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.

The name of the character encoding of a file after conversion. Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.

The extra arguments ("++p", "++enc=", "++ff=") given to a file read/write command. This is set before an autocommand event for a file read/write command is triggered. There is a leading space to make it possible to append this variable directly after the read/write command. Note: "+cmd" isn't included here, because it will be executed anyway.

Set like v:cmdarg for a file read/write command. When a "!" was used the value is 1, otherwise it is 0. Note that this can only be used in autocommands. For user commands <bang> can be used.

The current locale setting for collation order of the runtime environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the current locale encoding. Technical: it's the value of LC_COLLATE. When not using a locale the value is "C". This variable can not be set directly, use the :language command. See multi-lang.

Dictionary containing the complete-items for the most recently completed word after CompleteDone. Empty if the completion failed, or after leaving and re-entering insert mode. Note: Plugins can modify the value to emulate the builtin CompleteDone event behavior.

The count given for the last Normal mode command. Can be used to get the count before a mapping. Read-only. Example:

  :map _x :<C-U>echo "the count is " .. v:count<CR>

Note: The <C-U> is required to remove the line range that you get when typing ':' after a count. When there are two counts, as in "3d2w", they are multiplied, just like what happens in the command, "d6w" for the example. Also used for evaluating the 'formatexpr' option.

Just like "v:count", but defaults to one when no count is used.

The current locale setting for characters of the runtime environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the current locale encoding. Technical: it's the value of LC_CTYPE. When not using a locale the value is "C". This variable can not be set directly, use the :language command. See multi-lang.

Normally zero. When a deadly signal is caught it's set to one. When multiple signals are caught the number increases. Can be used in an autocommand to check if Vim didn't terminate normally. Example:

  :au VimLeave * if v:dying | echo "\nAAAAaaaarrrggghhhh!!!\n" | endif

Note: if another deadly signal is caught when v:dying is one, VimLeave autocommands will not be executed.

Number of screen cells that can be used for an :echo message in the last screen line before causing the hit-enter prompt (no longer applicable when ui2 is enabled).

Depends on 'showcmd', 'ruler' and 'columns'. You need to check 'cmdheight' for whether there are full-width lines available above the last line.

Last error message that occurred (not necessarily displayed). Modifiable (can be set). Example:

  let v:errmsg = ""
  silent! next
  if v:errmsg != ""
    " ... handle error

Errors found by assert functions, such as assert_true(). This is a list of strings. The assert functions append an item when an assert fails. The return value indicates this: a one is returned if an item was added to v:errors, otherwise zero is returned. To remove old results make it empty:

  let v:errors = []

If v:errors is set to anything but a list it is made an empty list by the assert function.

Dictionary of event data for the current autocommand. Valid only during the event lifetime; storing or passing v:event is invalid! Copy it instead:

  au TextYankPost * let g:foo = deepcopy(v:event)

Keys vary by event; see the documentation for the specific event, e.g. DirChanged or TextYankPost. KEY DESCRIPTION ~ abort Whether the event triggered during an aborting condition (e.g. c_Esc or c_CTRL-C for CmdlineLeave). chan channel-id changed_window Is v:true if the event fired while changing window (or tab) on DirChanged. cmdlevel Level of cmdline. cmdtype Type of cmdline, cmdline-char. col Column count of popup menu on CompleteChanged, relative to screen. completetype See `completeinfo_mode` complete_word The selected word, or empty if completion was abandoned/discarded. completed_item Current selected item on CompleteChanged, or {} if no item selected. cwd Current working directory. height Height of popup menu on CompleteChanged inclusive Motion is inclusive, else exclusive. info Dict of arbitrary event data. operator Current operator. Also set for Ex commands (unlike v:operator). For example if TextYankPost is triggered by the :yank Ex command then v:event.operator is "y". reason CompleteDone reason. regcontents Text stored in the register as a readfile()-style list of lines. regname Requested register (e.g "x" for "xyy), or empty string for an unnamed operation. regtype Type of register as returned by getregtype(). row Row count of popup menu on CompleteChanged, relative to screen. scope Event-specific scope name. scrollbar v:true if popup menu has a scrollbar, or v:false if not. size Total number of completion items on CompleteChanged. status Job status or exit code, -1 means "unknown". TermClose visual Selection is visual (as opposed to e.g. a motion range). width Width of popup menu on CompleteChanged windows List of window IDs that changed on WinResized

The value of the exception most recently caught and not finished. See also v:stacktrace, v:throwpoint, and throw-variables. Example:

  try
    throw "oops"
  catch /.*/
    echo "caught " .. v:exception
  endtry

Output: "caught oops".

Exit code, or v:null before invoking the VimLeavePre and VimLeave autocmds. See :q, :x and :cquit. Example:

  :au VimLeave * echo "Exit code is " .. v:exiting

Reason for the current exit. Set before QuitPre. Reset if exit was canceled.

Possible values:

• "" Not exiting, or exit was canceled.
• "quit" :quit, :qall, :wq, ZZ, ZQ, etc.
• "restart" :restart, ZR.
• "restart!" :restart!, [count]ZR.

Example:

  autocmd ExitPre * if v:exitreason ==# 'restart' | echomsg 'restarting' | endif

Read-only.

Special value used to put "false" in JSON and msgpack. See json_encode(). This value is converted to "v:false" when used as a String (e.g. in expr5 with string concatenation operator) and to zero when used as a Number (e.g. in expr5 or expr7 when used with numeric operators). Read-only.

What should happen after a FileChangedShell event was triggered. Can be used in an autocommand to tell Vim what to do with the affected buffer: reload Reload the buffer (does not work if the file was deleted). edit Reload the buffer and detect the values for options such as 'fileformat', 'fileencoding', 'binary' (does not work if the file was deleted). ask Ask the user what to do, as if there was no autocommand. Except that when only the timestamp changed nothing will happen. <empty> Nothing, the autocommand should do everything that needs to be done. The default is empty. If another (invalid) value is used then Vim behaves like it is empty, there is no warning message.

The reason why the FileChangedShell event was triggered. Can be used in an autocommand to decide what to do and/or what to set v:fcs_choice to. Possible values:

• deleted file no longer exists
• conflict file contents, mode or timestamp was

changed and buffer is modified

• changed file contents has changed
• mode mode of file changed
• time only file timestamp changed

When evaluating 'includeexpr': the file name that was detected. Empty otherwise.

The name of the diff (patch) file. Only valid while evaluating 'patchexpr'.

The name of the input file. Valid while evaluating: option used for ~ 'charconvert' file to be converted 'diffexpr' original file 'patchexpr' original file And set to the swap file name for SwapExists.

The name of the new version of the file. Only valid while evaluating 'diffexpr'.

The name of the output file. Only valid while evaluating: option used for ~ 'charconvert' resulting converted file [1] 'diffexpr' output of diff 'patchexpr' resulting patched file [1] When doing conversion for a write command (e.g., ":w file") it will be equal to v:fname_in. When doing conversion for a read command (e.g., ":e file") it will be a temporary file and different from v:fname_in.

Used for 'foldtext': dashes representing foldlevel of a closed fold. Read-only in the sandbox. fold-foldtext

Used for 'foldtext': last line of closed fold. Read-only in the sandbox. fold-foldtext

Used for 'foldtext': foldlevel of closed fold. Read-only in the sandbox. fold-foldtext

Used for 'foldtext': first line of closed fold. Read-only in the sandbox. fold-foldtext

Variable that indicates whether search highlighting is on. Setting it makes sense only if 'hlsearch' is enabled. Setting this variable to zero acts like the :nohlsearch command, setting it to one acts like

  let &hlsearch = &hlsearch

Note that the value is restored when returning from a function. function-search-undo.

Used for the InsertEnter and InsertChange autocommand events. Values: i Insert mode r Replace mode v Virtual Replace mode

Key of the current item of a Dictionary. Only valid while evaluating the expression used with map() and filter(). Read-only.

The current locale setting for messages of the runtime environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_MESSAGES. The value is system dependent. This variable can not be set directly, use the :language command. It can be different from v:ctype when messages are desired in a different language than what is used for character encoding. See multi-lang.

The current locale setting for time messages of the runtime environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_TIME. This variable can not be set directly, use the :language command. See multi-lang.

Line number for the 'foldexpr' fold-expr, 'formatexpr', 'indentexpr' and 'statuscolumn' expressions, tab page number for 'guitablabel' and 'guitabtooltip'. Only valid while one of these expressions is being evaluated. Read-only when in the sandbox.

Prefix for calling Lua functions from expressions. See v:lua-call for more information.

Maximum line length. Depending on where it is used it can be screen columns, characters or bytes. The value currently is 2147483647 on all systems.

Column number for a mouse click obtained with getchar(). This is the screen column number, like with virtcol(). The value is zero when there was no mouse button click.

Line number for a mouse click obtained with getchar(). This is the text line number, not the screen line number. The value is zero when there was no mouse button click.

Window number for a mouse click obtained with getchar(). First window has number 1, like with winnr(). The value is zero when there was no mouse button click.

window-ID for a mouse click obtained with getchar(). The value is zero when there was no mouse button click.

Dictionary containing msgpack types used by msgpackparse() and msgpackdump(). All types inside dictionary are fixed (not editable) empty lists. To check whether some list is one of msgpack types, use is operator.

Special value used to put "null" in JSON and NIL in msgpack. See json_encode(). This value is converted to "v:null" when used as a String (e.g. in expr5 with string concatenation operator) and to zero when used as a Number (e.g. in expr5 or expr7 when used with numeric operators). Read-only. In some places v:null can be used for a List, Dict, etc. that is not set. That is slightly different than an empty List, Dict, etc.

Maximum value of a number.

Minimum value of a number (negative).

Number of bits in a Number. This is normally 64, but on some systems it may be 32.

List of file names that is loaded from the shada file on startup. These are the files that Vim remembers marks for. The length of the List is limited by the ' argument of the 'shada' option (default is 100). When the shada file is not used the List is empty. Also see :oldfiles and c_#<. The List can be modified, but this has no effect on what is stored in the shada file later. If you use values other than String this will cause trouble.

The last operator given in Normal mode. This is a single character except for commands starting with <g> or <z>, in which case it is two characters. Best used alongside v:prevcount and v:register. Useful if you want to cancel Operator-pending mode and then use the operator, e.g.:

  :omap O <Esc>:call MyMotion(v:operator)<CR>

The value remains set until another operator is entered, thus don't expect it to be empty. v:operator is not set for :delete, :yank or other Ex commands. Read-only.

Command used to set the option. Valid while executing an OptionSet autocommand. value option was set via ~ "setlocal" :setlocal or :let l:xxx "setglobal" :setglobal or :let g:xxx "set" :set or :let "modeline" modeline

New value of the option. Valid while executing an OptionSet autocommand.

Old value of the option. Valid while executing an OptionSet autocommand. Depending on the command used for setting and the kind of option this is either the local old value or the global old value.

Old global value of the option. Valid while executing an OptionSet autocommand.

Old local value of the option. Valid while executing an OptionSet autocommand.

Scope of the set command. Valid while executing an OptionSet autocommand. Can be either "global" or "local"

The count given for the last but one Normal mode command. This is the v:count value of the previous command. Useful if you want to cancel Visual or Operator-pending mode and then use the count, e.g.:

  :vmap % <Esc>:call MyFilter(v:prevcount)<CR>

Read-only.

Normally zero. Set to one after using ":profile start". See profiling.

The name by which Nvim was invoked (with path removed). Read-only.

Absolute path to the current running Nvim. Read-only.

The name of the register in effect for the current normal mode command (regardless of whether that command actually used a register). Or for the currently executing normal mode mapping (use this in custom commands that take a register). If none is supplied it is the default register '"', unless 'clipboard' contains "unnamed" or "unnamedplus", then it is "*" or '+'. Also see getreg() and setreg()

Relative line number for the 'statuscolumn' expression. Read-only.

String describing the script or function that caused the screen to scroll up. It's only set when it is empty, thus the first reason is remembered. It is set to "Unknown" for a typed command.

Search direction: 1 after a forward search, 0 after a backward search. It is reset to forward when directly setting the last search pattern, see quote/. Note that the value is restored when returning from a function. function-search-undo. Read-write.

Primary listen-address of Nvim, the first item returned by serverlist(). Usually this is the named pipe created by Nvim at startup or given by --listen (or the deprecated $NVIM_LISTEN_ADDRESS env var).

See also serverstart() serverstop(). Read-only.

$NVIM $NVIM is set to v:servername by terminal and jobstart(), and is thus a hint that the current environment is a child (direct subprocess) of Nvim.

Example: a child Nvim process can detect and make requests to its parent Nvim:

  if vim.env.NVIM then
    local ok, chan = pcall(vim.fn.sockconnect, 'pipe', vim.env.NVIM, {rpc=true})
    if ok and chan then
      local client = vim.api.nvim_get_chan_info(chan).client
      local rv = vim.rpcrequest(chan, 'nvim_exec_lua', [[return ... + 1]], { 41 })
      vim.print(('got "%s" from parent Nvim'):format(rv))
    end
  end

Result of the last shell command. When non-zero, the last shell command had an error. When zero, there was no problem. This only works when the shell returns the error code to Vim. The value -1 is often used when the command could not be executed. Read-only. Example:

  !mv foo bar
  if v:shell_error
    echo 'could not rename "foo" to "bar"!'
  endif

The stack trace of the exception most recently caught and not finished. Refer to getstacktrace() for the structure of stack trace. See also v:exception, v:throwpoint, and throw-variables.

The reason Nvim started. Possible values:

• "normal" Normal startup, yearning for life, etc.
• "restart" Started by :restart.
• "restart!" Started by :restart!.

Read-only.

Timestamp (nanoseconds since UNIX epoch) when the Nvim process started.

To see the current "uptime":

  vim.print(('uptime: %d seconds'):format(os.time() - (vim.v.starttime / 1e9)))

Read-only.

Last given status message. Modifiable (can be set).

channel-id corresponding to stderr. The value is always 2; use this variable to make your code more descriptive. Unlike stdin and stdout (see stdioopen()), stderr is always open for writing. Example:

:call chansend(v:stderr, "error: toaster empty\n")

SwapExists autocommands can set this to the selected choice for handling an existing swapfile: 'o' Open read-only 'e' Edit anyway 'r' Recover 'd' Delete swapfile 'q' Quit 'a' Abort The value should be a single-character string. An empty value results in the user being asked, as would happen when there is no SwapExists autocommand. The default is empty.

Normal mode command to be executed after a file has been opened. Can be used for a SwapExists autocommand to have another Vim open the file and jump to the right place. For example, when jumping to a tag the value is ":tag tagnamer". For ":edit +cmd file" the value is ":cmdr".

Name of the swapfile found. Only valid during SwapExists event. Read-only.

Value of Blob type. Read-only. See: type()

Value of Boolean type. Read-only. See: type()

Value of Dictionary type. Read-only. See: type()

Value of Float type. Read-only. See: type()

Value of Funcref type. Read-only. See: type()

Value of List type. Read-only. See: type()

Value of Number type. Read-only. See: type()

Value of String type. Read-only. See: type()

The value of the most recent OSC, DCS or APC control sequence sent from a process running in the embedded terminal. This can be read in a TermRequest event handler to respond to queries from embedded applications.

The value of the most recent OSC or DCS control sequence received by Nvim from the terminal. This can be read in a TermResponse event handler after querying the terminal using another escape sequence.

Must be set before using test_garbagecollect_now().

Full filename of the last loaded or saved session file. Empty when no session file has been saved. See :mksession. Modifiable (can be set).

The point where the exception most recently caught and not finished was thrown. Not set when commands are typed. See also v:exception, v:stacktrace, and throw-variables. Example:

  try
    throw "oops"
  catch /.*/
    echo "Exception from" v:throwpoint
  endtry

Output: "Exception from test.vim, line 2"

Special value used to put "true" in JSON and msgpack. See json_encode(). This value is converted to "v:true" when used as a String (e.g. in expr5 with string concatenation operator) and to one when used as a Number (e.g. in expr5 or expr7 when used with numeric operators). Read-only.

Timestamp (nanoseconds since UNIX epoch) indicating the most recent user activity, i.e. when a key is received from a UI (TUI input or nvim_input()).

Initialized to 0 (no user activity since startup). Read-only.

Value of the current item of a List or Dictionary. Only valid while evaluating the expression used with map() and filter(). Read-only.

Vim version number: major version times 100 plus minor version. Vim 5.0 is 500, Vim 5.1 is 501. Read-only. Use has() to check the Nvim (not Vim) version:

  :if has("nvim-0.2.1")

Like v:version, but also including the patchlevel in the last four digits. Version 8.1 with patch 123 has value 8010123. This can be used like this:

  if v:versionlong >= 8010123

However, if there are gaps in the list of patches included this will not work well. This can happen if a recent patch was included into an older version, e.g. for a security fix. Use the has() function to make sure the patch is actually included.

0 during startup, 1 just before VimEnter. See also v:vim_did_init, which is set earlier. Read-only.

0 during initialization, 1 after sourcing the user vimrc, just before load-plugins. See also v:vim_did_enter, which is set later. Read-only.

Virtual line number for the 'statuscolumn' expression. Negative when drawing the status column for virtual lines, zero when drawing an actual buffer line, and positive when drawing the wrapped part of a buffer line. Read-only.

Last given warning message. Modifiable (can be set).

Application-specific window "handle" which may be set by any attached UI. Defaults to zero. Note: For Nvim windows use winnr() or win_getid(), see window-ID.