Working with Linux

Chapter 3. Vim kung fu
Vim's default configuration is usually pretty average. In order to better use Vim's powers, we will
unleash its full potential through the help of its config files. Then, we will learn to explore some
keyboard shortcuts that will help us speed up our workflow. We will also look at some commonly
used plugins that make Vim even better. We will see how Vim can come in handy with its option of
encrypting files for storing your passwords. The chapters will end by showing how we can automate
Vim and configure a work environment easily.
In this chapter, we will be covering the following:
Working with Vim
Exploring Plugin steroids for Vim
Using the Vim password manager to store passwords
Automating Vim configuration
When it comes to being productive in the terminal, one important aspect is to never leave the
terminal! And when getting stuff done, a lot of the time we find ourselves having to edit files and
opening an external (GUI) editor.
Bad move!
To double our productivity, we need to leave those days behind and get the job done right there, in the
terminal, without opening full-fledged IDEs just to edit one simple line of text. Now, there is a lot of
debate going on about which is the best text editor for your terminal, and each one has its pros and
cons. We recommend Vim, an editor which is ultra-configurable and, once mastered, can even
outmatch an IDE.
The first thing we need to do in order to kickstart our Vim productivity is to have a well configured
vimrc file.