*starting.txt*  Nvim


                  VIM REFERENCE MANUAL    by Bram Moolenaar


Starting Vim                                            *starting*

                                      Type |gO| to see the table of contents.

==============================================================================
Nvim arguments                                          *cli-arguments*

Most often, Nvim is started to edit a single file with the command: >

        nvim filename

More generally, Nvim is started with: >

        nvim [option | filename] ..

Option arguments and file name arguments can be mixed, and any number of them
can be given.  However, watch out for options that take an argument.

The following items decide how to start editing:

                                                        *-file* *---*
filename        One or more file names.  The first one will be the current
                file and read into the buffer.  The cursor will be positioned
                on the first line of the buffer.
                To avoid a file name starting with a '-' being interpreted as
                an option, precede the arglist with "--", e.g.: >
                        nvim -- -filename
<                All arguments after "--" are interpreted as file names, no
                other options or "+command" arguments can follow.

                                                        *--*
`-`               Alias for stdin (standard input).
                Example: >
                        echo text | nvim - file
<                "text" is read into buffer 1, "file" is opened as buffer 2.
                In most cases (except -s, -es, |--embed|, --headless) if stdin
                is not a TTY then it is read as text, so "-" is implied: >
                        echo text | nvim file
<                The buffer will be marked as modified, because it contains
                text that needs to be saved (except for readonly |-R| mode).
                If you don't like that, put these lines in your init.vim: >
                        " Don't set 'modified' when reading from stdin
                        au StdinReadPost * set nomodified
<
                To read stdin as Normal commands use |-s| with "-": >
                        echo "ifoo" | nvim -s -
<                To read stdin as Ex commands use |-es| or |-e|: >
                        echo "echo getpid()" | nvim -e - -V1
<                To open a file literally named "-", put it after "--": >
                        echo foo | nvim -- -
<                To read stdin as text with |--headless| use "-".

                                                        *-t* *-tag*
-t {tag}        A tag.  "tag" is looked up in the tags file, the associated
                file becomes the current file, and the associated command is
                executed.  Mostly this is used for C programs, in which case
                "tag" often is a function name.  The effect is that the file
                containing that function becomes the current file and the
                cursor is positioned on the start of the function (see
                |tags|).

                                                        *-q* *-qf*
-q [errorfile]  QuickFix mode.  The file with the name [errorfile] is read
                and the first error is displayed.  See |quickfix|.
                If [errorfile] is not given, the 'errorfile' option is used
                for the file name.  See 'errorfile' for the default value.

(nothing)       Without one of the four items above, Vim will start editing a
                new buffer.  It's empty and doesn't have a file name.

                                                        *startup-options*
The option arguments may be given in any order.  Single-letter options can be
combined after one dash.  There can be no option arguments after the "--"
argument.

--help                                                  *-h* *--help* *-?*
-?
-h              Give usage (help) message and exit.

--version                                               *-v* *--version*
-v              Print version information and exit.  Same output as for
                |:version| command.

                                                        *--clean*
--clean         Mimics a fresh install of Nvim:
                - Skips initializations from files and environment variables.
                - No 'shada' file is read or written.
                - Excludes user directories from 'runtimepath'
                - Loads builtin plugins, unlike "-u NONE -i NONE".

                                                        *--noplugin*
--noplugin      Skip loading plugins.  Resets the 'loadplugins' option.
                Note that the |-u| argument may also disable loading plugins:
                        argument        load vimrc files        load plugins >
                        (nothing)               yes                 yes
                        -u NONE                 no                  no
                        -u NORC                 no                  yes
                        --noplugin              yes                 no
<
--startuptime {fname}                                   *--startuptime*
                During startup write timing messages to the file {fname}.
                This can be used to find out where time is spent while loading
                your |config|, plugins and opening the first file.
                When {fname} already exists new messages are appended.

                                                        *-+*
+[num]          The cursor will be positioned on line "num" for the first
                file being edited.  If "num" is missing, the cursor will be
                positioned on the last line.

                                                        *-+/*
+/{pat}         The cursor will be positioned on the first line containing
                "pat" in the first file being edited (see |pattern| for the
                available search patterns).  The search starts at the cursor
                position, which can be the first line or the cursor position
                last used from |shada|.  To force a search from the first
                line use "+1 +/pat".

+{command}                                              *-+c* *-c*
-c {command}    {command} will be executed after the first file has been
                read (and after autocommands and modelines for that file have
                been processed).  "command" is interpreted as an Ex command.
                If the "command" contains spaces, it must be enclosed in
                double quotes (this depends on the shell that is used).
                Example: >
                        vim  "+set si"  main.c
                        vim  "+find stdio.h"
                        vim  -c "set ff=dos"  -c wq  mine.mak
<
                Note: You can use up to 10 "+" or "-c" arguments in a Vim
                command.  They are executed in the order given.  A "-S"
                argument counts as a "-c" argument as well.

--cmd {command}                                         *--cmd*
                {command} will be executed before processing any vimrc file.
                Otherwise, it acts like -c {command}.  You can use up to 10 of
                these commands, independently from "-c" commands.

                                                        *-S*
-S [file]       Executes Vimscript or Lua (".lua") [file] after the first file
                has been read. See also |:source|. If [file] is not given,
                defaults to "Session.vim". Equivalent to: >
                        -c "source {file}"
<                Can be repeated like "-c", subject to the same limit of 10
                "-c" arguments. {file} cannot start with a "-".

-L                                                      *-L* *-r*
-r              Recovery mode.  Without a file name argument, a list of
                existing swap files is given.  With a file name, a swap file
                is read to recover a crashed editing session.  See
                |crash-recovery|.

                                                        *-R*
-R              Readonly mode.  The 'readonly' option will be set for all the
                files being edited.  You can still edit the buffer, but will
                be prevented from accidentally overwriting a file.  If you
                forgot that you are in View mode and did make some changes,
                you can overwrite a file by adding an exclamation mark to
                the Ex command, as in ":w!".  The 'readonly' option can be
                reset with ":set noro" (see the options chapter, |options|).
                Subsequent edits will not be done in readonly mode.
                The 'updatecount' option will be set to 10000, meaning that
                the swap file will not be updated automatically very often.
                See |-M| for disallowing modifications.

                                                        *-m*
-m              Modifications not allowed to be written.  The 'write' option
                will be reset, so that writing files is disabled.  However,
                the 'write' option can be set to enable writing again.

                                                        *-M*
-M              Modifications not allowed.  The 'modifiable' option will be
                reset, so that changes are not allowed.  The 'write' option
                will be reset, so that writing files is disabled.  However,
                the 'modifiable' and 'write' options can be set to enable
                changes and writing.

-e                                                      *-e* *-E*
-E              Start Nvim in Ex mode |gQ|, see |Ex-mode|.

                If stdin is not a TTY:
                • -e reads/executes stdin as Ex commands.
                • -E reads stdin as text (into buffer 1).

-es                                             *-es* *-Es* *-s-ex* *silent-mode*
-Es             Script mode, aka "silent mode", aka "batch mode". No UI,
                disables most prompts and messages. Unrelated to |-s|.
                See also |-S| to run script files.

                -es reads/executes stdin as Ex commands. >
                        printf "put ='foo'\n%%print\n" | nvim -es
<
                -Es reads stdin as text (into buffer 1).  Use |-c| or "+" to
                send commands. >
                        printf "foo\n" | nvim -Es +"%print"
<
                These commands display on stdout:
                • :list
                • :number
                • :print
                • :set

                With |:verbose| or 'verbose', other commands display on stderr: >
                        nvim -es +"verbose echo 'foo'"
                        nvim -V1 -es +"echo 'foo'"
<
                Skips user |config| unless |-u| was given.
                Disables |shada| unless |-i| was given.
                Disables swapfile (like |-n|).

                                                        *-l*
-l {script} [args]
                Executes Lua {script} non-interactively (no UI) with optional
                [args] after processing any preceding Nvim |cli-arguments|,
                then exits. Exits 1 on Lua error. See |-S| to run multiple Lua
                scripts without args, with a UI.
                                                                    *lua-args*
                All [args] are treated as {script} arguments and stored in the
                Lua `_G.arg` global table, thus "-l" ends processing of Nvim
                arguments. The {script} name is stored at `_G.arg[0]`.

                Sets 'verbose' to 1 (like "-V1"), so Lua `print()` writes to
                output, as well as other message-emitting functions like
                |:echo|.
                If {script} prints messages and doesn't cause Nvim to exit,
                Nvim ensures output ends with a newline.

                Arguments before "-l" are processed before executing {script}.
                This example quits before executing "foo.lua": >
                        nvim +q -l foo.lua
<                This loads Lua module "bar" before executing "foo.lua": >
                        nvim +"lua require('bar')" -l foo.lua
<                                                                   *lua-shebang*
                You can set the "shebang" of the script so that Nvim executes
                the script when called with "./" from a shell (remember to
                "chmod u+x"): >
                        #!/usr/bin/env -S nvim -l
<
                Skips user |config| unless |-u| was given.
                Disables plugins unless 'loadplugins' was set.
                Disables |shada| unless |-i| was given.
                Disables swapfile (like |-n|).

                                                        *-ll*
-ll {script} [args]
                Executes a Lua script, similarly to |-l|, but the editor is not
                initialized. This gives a Lua environment similar to a worker
                thread. See |lua-loop-threading|.

                Unlike `-l` no prior arguments are allowed.

                                                        *-b*
-b              Binary mode.  File I/O will only recognize <NL> to separate
                lines.  The 'expandtab' option will be reset.  The 'textwidth'
                option is set to 0.  'modeline' is reset.  The 'binary' option
                is set.  This is done after reading the |vimrc| but before
                reading any file in the arglist.  See also |edit-binary|.

                                                        *-A*
-A              Arabic mode.  Sets the 'arabic' option on.

                                                        *-H*
-H              Hebrew mode.  Sets the 'rightleft' option on and the 'keymap'
                option to "hebrew".

                                                        *-V* *verbose*
-V[N]           Verbose.  Sets the 'verbose' option to [N] (default: 10).
                Messages will be given for each file that is ":source"d and
                for reading or writing a ShaDa file.  Can be used to find
                out what is happening upon startup and exit.
                Example: >
                        nvim -V8

-V[N]{file}
                Like -V and sets 'verbosefile' to {file} (must not start with
                a digit).  Messages are not displayed, instead they are
                written to {file}.
                Example: >
                        nvim -V20vimlog
<
                                                        *-D*
-D              Debugging.  Go to debugging mode when executing the first
                command from a script. |debug-mode|

                                                        *-n*
-n              Disables |swap-file| by setting 'updatecount' to 0 (after
                executing any |vimrc|).  Recovery after a crash will be
                impossible.  Improves performance when working with a file on
                a very slow medium (usb drive, network share).

                Enable it again by setting 'updatecount' to some value, e.g.
                ":set updatecount=100".

                To reduce accesses to the disk, don't use "-n", but set
                'updatetime' and 'updatecount' to very big numbers, and type
                ":preserve" when you want to save your work.  This way you
                keep the possibility for crash recovery.

                                                        *-o*
-o[N]           Open N windows, split horizontally.  If [N] is not given,
                one window is opened for every file given as argument.  If
                there is not enough room, only the first few files get a
                window.  If there are more windows than arguments, the last
                few windows will be editing an empty file.

                                                        *-O*
-O[N]           Open N windows, split vertically.  Otherwise, it's like -o.
                If both the -o and the -O option are given, the last one on
                the command line determines how the windows will be split.

                                                        *-p*
-p[N]           Open N tabpages.  If [N] is not given, one tabpage is opened
                for every file given as argument.  The maximum is set with
                'tabpagemax' pages (default 50).  If there are more tabpages
                than arguments, the last few tabpages will be editing an
                empty file.  Also see |tabpage|.
                                                        *-d*
-d              Start in |diff-mode|.

                                                        *-u* *E282*
-u {vimrc}      The file {vimrc} is read for initializations.  Most other
                initializations are skipped; see |initialization|.

                This can be used to start Vim in a special mode, with special
                mappings and settings.  A shell alias can be used to make
                this easy to use.  For example, in a C shell descendant: >
                        alias vimc 'nvim -u ~/.config/nvim/c_init.vim \!*'
<                And in a Bash shell: >
                        alias vimc='nvim -u ~/.config/nvim/c_init.vim'
<                Also consider using autocommands; see |autocommand|.

                When {vimrc} is "NONE" (all uppercase), all initializations
                from files and environment variables are skipped.  Plugins and
                syntax highlighting are also skipped.

                When {vimrc} is "NORC" (all uppercase), this has the same
                effect as "NONE", but plugins and syntax highlighting are not
                skipped.

                                                        *-i*
-i {shada}      The file {shada} is used instead of the default ShaDa
                file.  If the name "NONE" is used (all uppercase), no ShaDa
                file is read or written, even if 'shada' is set or when
                ":rsh" or ":wsh" are used.  See also |shada-file|.

                                                        *-s*
-s {scriptin}   Read script file {scriptin}, interpreting characters as
                Normal-mode input.  The same can be done with ":source!": >
                        :source! {scriptin}
<                Reads from stdin if {scriptin} is "-": >
                        echo "ifoo" | nvim -s -
<                If the end of the file is reached before Nvim exits, further
                characters are read from the keyboard.

                Does not work with |-es|.  See also |complex-repeat|.

                                                        *-w_nr*
-w {number}
-w{number}      Set the 'window' option to {number}.

                                                        *-w*
-w {scriptout}  All keys that you type are recorded in the file "scriptout",
                until you exit Vim.  Useful to create a script file to be used
                with "vim -s" or ":source!".  Appends to the "scriptout" file
                if it already exists. {scriptout} cannot start with a digit.
                See also |vim.on_key()|.
                See also |complex-repeat|.

                                                        *-W*
-W {scriptout}  Like -w, but do not append, overwrite an existing file.

                                                        *--api-info*
--api-info      Print msgpack-encoded |api-metadata| and exit.

                                                        *--embed*
--embed         Use stdin/stdout as a msgpack-RPC channel, so applications can
                embed and control Nvim via the RPC |API|. If the channel is
                closed (except by |:detach|), Nvim exits.

                Waits for a client to call |nvim_ui_attach()| before sourcing
                startup files and reading buffers, so that UIs can handle
                (display) early messages, dialogs, etc. Clients can do other
                requests before `nvim_ui_attach` (e.g. `nvim_get_api_info` for
                feature-detection). During this pre-startup phase the user
                config is of course not available (similar to `--cmd`).

                Non-UI embedders must pass |--headless|, then startup will
                continue without waiting for `nvim_ui_attach`: >
                    nvim --embed --headless
<                which is equivalent to: >
                    nvim --headless --cmd "call stdioopen({'rpc': v:true})"
<
                UI embedders that want the UI protocol on a socket (instead of
                stdio) must pass |--listen| as well as |--embed|: >
                    nvim --embed --listen addr

<                See also: |ui-startup| |channel-stdio|

                                                        *--headless*
--headless      Start without UI, and do not wait for `nvim_ui_attach`. The
                builtin TUI is not used, so stdio works as an arbitrary
                communication channel. |channel-stdio|

                Also useful for scripting (tests) to see messages that would
                not be printed by |-es|.

                To detect if a UI is available, check if |nvim_list_uis()| is
                empty during or after |VimEnter|.

                To read stdin as text, "-" must be given explicitly:
                --headless cannot assume that stdin is just text. >
                        echo foo | nvim --headless +"%print" +"q!" -
<
                See also |--embed|.
                See also |-es|, which also disables most messages.

--listen {addr}                                         *--listen*
                Start |RPC| server on pipe or TCP address {addr}. Sets the
                primary listen address |v:servername| to {addr}. |serverstart()|

                To start the server on-demand with systemd, use a systemd
                socket unit and associated service unit running: >
                        systemd-socket-proxyd --exit-idle-time
<
==============================================================================
Initialization                                  *initialization* *startup*

At startup, Nvim checks environment variables and files and sets values
accordingly, proceeding as follows:

1. Set |v:starttime|.

2. Set the 'shell' option.                      *SHELL* *COMSPEC*
   The environment variable SHELL, if it exists, is used to set the 'shell'
   option.  On Win32, the COMSPEC variable is used if SHELL is not set.

3. Process the arguments.
   The options and file names from the command that start Vim are inspected.
   The |-V| argument can be used to display or log what happens next, useful
   for debugging the initializations. The |--cmd| arguments are executed.
   Buffers are created for all files (but not loaded yet).

4. Start a server (unless |--listen| was given) and set |v:servername|.

5. Wait for UI to connect.
   Nvim started with |--embed| waits for the UI to connect before proceeding
   to load user configuration.

6. Setup |default-mappings| and |default-autocmds|.  Create |popup-menu|.

7. Enable filetype and indent plugins.
   Skipped if the "-u NONE" command line argument was given.
   This does the same as: >
        :runtime! ftplugin.vim indent.vim

8. Load user config (execute Ex commands from files, environment, …).
   $VIMINIT environment variable is read as one Ex command line (separate
   multiple commands with '|' or <NL>).
                                        *config* *init.vim* *init.lua* *vimrc* *exrc*
   - A file containing initialization commands is generically called a "vimrc"
     or config file.  It can be Vimscript ("init.vim") or Lua ("init.lua"),
     but not both. *E5422* See |vimrc-intro| |base-directories|.
     The config file is located at:
     - Unix                  ~/.config/nvim/init.vim         (or init.lua)
     - Windows               ~/AppData/Local/nvim/init.vim   (or init.lua)
     - |$XDG_CONFIG_HOME|      $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nvim/init.vim  (or init.lua)

   - If Nvim was started with "-u {file}" then {file} is used as the config
     and all initializations until 8. are skipped. $MYVIMRC is not set.
     "nvim -u NORC" can be used to skip these initializations without reading
     a file. "nvim -u NONE" also skips plugins and syntax highlighting.  |-u|

   - If Nvim was started with |-es| or |-Es| or |-l| all initializations until
     "8" are skipped.

   - a. *system-vimrc* *sysinit.vim*
        The system vimrc file is read for initializations.  If
        nvim/sysinit.vim file exists in one of $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS, it will be
        used.  Otherwise the system vimrc file is used. The path of this file
        is given by the |:version| command. Usually it's "$VIM/sysinit.vim".

   - b. *VIMINIT* *EXINIT* *$MYVIMRC*
        Locations searched for initializations, in order of preference.
        $MYVIMRC is set to the first valid location unless it was already set
        or when using $VIMINIT:
        -  $VIMINIT environment variable (Ex command line).
        -  User |config|: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nvim/init.vim (or init.lua).
        -  Other config: {dir}/nvim/init.vim (or init.lua) where {dir} is any
           directory in $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS.
        -  $EXINIT environment variable (Ex command line).

   - c. If the 'exrc' option is on, the |current-directory| is searched until
        one of these files is found, in order of precedence:
        - ".nvim.lua"
        - ".nvimrc"
        - ".exrc"

9. Enable filetype detection.
   Skipped if ":filetype off" was called or if the "-u NONE" command line
   argument was given. This does the same as: >
        :runtime! filetype.lua

10. Enable syntax highlighting.
   Skipped if ":syntax off" was called or if the "-u NONE" command line
   argument was given. This does the same as: >
        :runtime! syntax/syntax.vim

11. Set the |v:vim_did_init| variable to 1.

12. Load the plugin scripts.                                    *load-plugins*
    This does the same as:
        `:runtime! plugin/**/*.{vim,lua}`
    - The result is that all directories in 'runtimepath' will be searched for
      the "plugin" sub-directory and all files ending in ".vim" or ".lua" will
      be sourced (in alphabetical order per directory), also in
      subdirectories. First "*.vim" are sourced, then "*.lua" files, per
      directory.
    - However, directories in 'runtimepath' ending in "after" are skipped here
      and only loaded after packages, see below.
    - Loading plugins won't be done when:
      - The 'loadplugins' option was reset in a vimrc file.
      - The |--noplugin| command line argument is used.
      - The |--clean| command line argument is used.
      - The "-u NONE" command line argument is used |-u|.
    - Note that using `-c 'set noloadplugins'` doesn't work, because the
      commands from the command line have not been executed yet.  You can use
      `--cmd 'set noloadplugins'` or `--cmd 'set loadplugins'` |--cmd|.
    - Packages are loaded.  These are plugins, as above, but found in the
      "start" directory of each entry in 'packpath'.  Every plugin directory
      found is added in 'runtimepath' and then the plugins are sourced.  See
      |packages|.
    - The plugins scripts are loaded, as above, but now only the directories
      ending in "after" are used.  Note that 'runtimepath' will have changed
      if packages have been found, but that should not add a directory ending
      in "after".

13. Set 'shellpipe' and 'shellredir', according to the value of the 'shell'
    option, unless they were already set. Nvim will figure out the values of
    'shellpipe' and 'shellredir' for you, unless you have set them yourself.

14. Set 'updatecount' to zero, if |-n| was given.

15. Set binary options if |-b| was given.

16. Read the |shada-file|.

17. Read the quickfix file if |-q| was given, or exit on failure.

18. Open all windows.
    - When |-o| was given, windows will be opened (but not displayed yet).
    - When |-p| was given, tabpages will be created (but not displayed yet).
    - When switching screens, it happens now.  Redrawing starts.
    - If |-q| was given, the first error is jumped to.
    - Buffers for all windows will be loaded, without triggering |BufAdd|.

19. Execute startup commands.
    - If |-t| was given, the tag is jumped to.
    - Commands given with |-c| and |+cmd| are executed.
    - The |vim_starting| flag is reset, `has("vim_starting")` will now return zero.
    - The |v:vim_did_enter| variable is set to 1.
    - The |VimEnter| autocommands are executed.


Saving the current state of Vim to a file ~

Whenever you have changed values of options or when you have created a
mapping, then you may want to save them in a vimrc file for later use.  See
|save-settings| about saving the current state of settings to a file.


Avoiding trojan horses ~
                                                        *trojan-horse*
While reading the "vimrc" or the "exrc" file in the current directory, some
commands can be disabled for security reasons by setting the 'secure' option.
This is always done when executing the command from a tags file.  Otherwise,
it would be possible that you accidentally use a vimrc or tags file that
somebody else created and contains nasty commands.  The disabled commands are
the ones that start a shell, the ones that write to a file, and ":autocmd".
The ":map" commands are echoed, so you can see which keys are being mapped.

If you want Vim to execute all commands in a local vimrc file, you can reset
the 'secure' option in the EXINIT or VIMINIT environment variable or in the
global exrc or vimrc file.  This is not possible in vimrc or exrc in the
current directory, for obvious reasons.

On Unix systems, this only happens if you are not the owner of the
vimrc file.  Warning: If you unpack an archive that contains a vimrc or exrc
file, it will be owned by you.  You won't have the security protection.  Check
the vimrc file before you start Vim in that directory, or reset the 'exrc'
option.  Some Unix systems allow a user to do "chown" on a file.  This makes
it possible for another user to create a nasty vimrc and make you the owner.
Be careful!

When using tag search commands, executing the search command (the last part of
the line in the tags file) is always done in secure mode.  This works just
like executing a command from a vimrc in the current directory.


If Vim startup is slow ~
                                                        *slow-start*
If Vim takes a long time to start up, use the |--startuptime| argument to find
out what happens.

If you have 'shada' enabled, the loading of the ShaDa file may take a
while.  You can find out if this is the problem by disabling ShaDa for a
moment (use the Vim argument "-i NONE", |-i|).  Try reducing the number of
lines stored in a register with ":set shada='20,<50,s10".  |shada-file|.


Troubleshooting broken configurations ~
                                                        *bisect*
The extreme flexibility of editors like Vim and Emacs means that any plugin or
setting can affect the entire editor in ways that are not initially obvious.

To find the cause of a problem in your config, you must "bisect" it:
1. Remove or disable half of your |config|.
2. Restart Nvim.
3. If the problem still occurs, goto 1.
4. If the problem is gone, restore half of the removed lines.
5. Continue narrowing your config in this way, until you find the setting or
   plugin causing the issue.


Intro message ~
                                                        *:intro*
When Vim starts without a file name, an introductory message is displayed.  It
is removed as soon as the display is redrawn.  To see the message again, use
the ":intro" command.  To avoid the intro message on startup, add the "I" flag
to 'shortmess'.

==============================================================================
$VIM and $VIMRUNTIME
                                                                *$VIM*
The environment variable "$VIM" is used to locate various user files for Nvim,
such as the user |config|.  This depends on the system, see
|startup|.

Nvim will try to get the value for $VIM in this order:

1. Environment variable $VIM, if it is set.
2. Path derived from the 'helpfile' option, unless it contains some
   environment variable too (default is "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt").  File
   name ("help.txt", etc.) is removed.  Trailing directory names are removed,
   in this order: "doc", "runtime".
3. Path derived from the location of the `nvim` executable.
4. Compile-time defined installation directory (see output of ":version").

After doing this once, Nvim sets the $VIM environment variable.

                                                                *$VIMRUNTIME*
The environment variable "$VIMRUNTIME" is used to locate various support
files, such as the documentation and syntax-highlighting files.  For example,
the main help file is normally "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt".

Nvim will try to get the value for $VIMRUNTIME in this order:

1. Environment variable $VIMRUNTIME, if it is set.
2. Directory path "$VIM/runtime", if it exists.
3. Value of $VIM environment variable.  This is for backwards compatibility
   with older Vim versions.
4. If "../share/nvim/runtime" exists relative to |v:progpath|, it is used.
5. Path derived from the 'helpfile' option (if it doesn't contain '$') with
   "doc/help.txt" removed from the end.

After doing this once, Nvim sets the $VIMRUNTIME environment variable.

In case you need the value of $VIMRUNTIME in a shell (e.g., for a script that
greps in the help files) you might be able to use this: >

        VIMRUNTIME="$(nvim --clean --headless --cmd 'echo $VIMRUNTIME|q')"

==============================================================================
Suspending                                              *suspend*

                                        *CTRL-Z* *v_CTRL-Z*
CTRL-Z                  Suspend Nvim, like ":stop".
                        Works in Normal and in Visual mode.  In Insert and
                        Command-line mode, the CTRL-Z is inserted as a normal
                        character.  In Visual mode Nvim goes back to Normal
                        mode before suspending.

:sus[pend][!]   or                      *:sus* *:suspend* *:st* *:stop*
:st[op][!]              Suspend Nvim using OS "job control"; it will continue
                        if you make it the foreground job again.  Triggers
                        |VimSuspend| before suspending and |VimResume| when
                        resumed.

                        If "!" is not given and 'autowrite' is set, every
                        buffer with changes and a file name is written out.
                        If "!" is given or 'autowrite' is not set, changed
                        buffers are not written, don't forget to bring Nvim
                        back to the foreground later!

In the GUI, suspending is implementation-defined.

==============================================================================
Exiting                                                 *exiting*

There are several ways to exit Vim:
- Close the last window with `:quit`.  Only when there are no changes.
- Close the last window with `:quit!`.  Also when there are changes.
- Close all windows with `:qall`.  Only when there are no changes.
- Close all windows with `:qall!`.  Also when there are changes.
- Use `:cquit`.  Also when there are changes.

When using `:cquit` or when there was an error message Vim exits with exit
code 1.  Errors can be avoided by using `:silent!` or with `:catch`.

==============================================================================
Saving settings                                         *save-settings*

Mostly you will edit your vimrc files manually.  This gives you the greatest
flexibility.  There are a few commands to generate a vimrc file automatically.
You can use these files as they are, or copy/paste lines to include in another
vimrc file.

                                                        *:mk* *:mkexrc*
:mk[exrc] [file]        Write current key mappings and changed options to
                        [file] (default ".exrc" in the current directory),
                        unless it already exists.

:mk[exrc]! [file]       Always write current key mappings and changed
                        options to [file] (default ".exrc" in the current
                        directory).

                                                *:mkv* *:mkvi* *:mkvimrc*
:mkv[imrc][!] [file]    Like ":mkexrc", but the default is ".nvimrc" in the
                        current directory.  The ":version" command is also
                        written to the file.

These commands will write ":map" and ":set" commands to a file, in such a way
that when these commands are executed, the current key mappings and options
will be set to the same values.  The options 'columns', 'endofline',
'fileformat', 'lines', 'modified', and 'scroll' are not included, because
these are terminal or file dependent.
Note that the options 'binary', 'paste' and 'readonly' are included, this
might not always be what you want.

When special keys are used in mappings, the 'cpoptions' option will be
temporarily set to its Vim default, to avoid the mappings to be
misinterpreted.  This makes the file incompatible with Vi, but makes sure it
can be used with different terminals.

Only global mappings are stored, not mappings local to a buffer.

A common method is to use a default |config| file, make some modifications
with ":map" and ":set" commands and write the modified file.  First read the
default vimrc in with a command like ":source ~piet/.vimrc.Cprogs", change
the settings and then save them in the current directory with ":mkvimrc!".  If
you want to make this file your default |config|, move it to
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nvim.  You could also use autocommands |autocommand| and/or
modelines |modeline|.

                                                *vimrc-option-example*
If you only want to add a single option setting to your vimrc, you can use
these steps:
1. Edit your vimrc file with Vim.
2. Play with the option until it's right.  E.g., try out different values for
   'guifont'.
3. Append a line to set the value of the option, using the expression register
   '=' to enter the value.  E.g., for the 'guifont' option: >
   o:set guifont=<C-R>=&guifont<CR><Esc>
<  [<C-R> is a CTRL-R, <CR> is a return, <Esc> is the escape key]
   You need to escape special characters, esp. spaces.

==============================================================================
Views and Sessions                                      *views-sessions*

This is introduced in sections |21.4| and |21.5| of the user manual.

                                                *View* *view-file*
A View is a collection of settings that apply to one window.  You can save a
View and when you restore it later, the text is displayed in the same way.
The options and mappings in this window will also be restored, so that you can
continue editing like when the View was saved.

                                                *Session* *session-file*
A Session keeps the Views for all windows, plus the global settings.  You can
save a Session and when you restore it later the window layout looks the same.
You can use a Session to quickly switch between different projects,
automatically loading the files you were last working on in that project.

Views and Sessions are a nice addition to ShaDa files, which are used to
remember information for all Views and Sessions together |shada-file|.

You can quickly start editing with a previously saved View or Session with the
|-S| argument: >
        vim -S Session.vim
<
                                                        *:mks* *:mksession*
:mks[ession][!] [file]  Write a Vim script that restores the current editing
                        session.
                        When [!] is included, an existing file is overwritten.
                        When [file] is omitted, "Session.vim" is used.

The output of ":mksession" is like ":mkvimrc", but additional commands are
added to the file.  Which ones depends on the 'sessionoptions' option.  The
resulting file, when executed with a ":source" command:
1. Restores global mappings and options, if 'sessionoptions' contains
   "options".  Script-local mappings will not be written.
2. Restores global variables that start with an uppercase letter and contain
   at least one lowercase letter, if 'sessionoptions' contains "globals".
3. Closes all windows in the current tabpage, except the current one; closes
   all tabpages except the current one (this results in currently loaded
   buffers to be unloaded, some may become hidden if 'hidden' is set or
   otherwise specified); wipes out the current buffer, if it is empty and
   unnamed.
4. Restores the current directory, if 'sessionoptions' contains "curdir", or
   sets the current directory to where the Session file is, if
   'sessionoptions' contains "sesdir".
5. Restores GUI Vim window position, if 'sessionoptions' contains "winpos".
6. Restores screen size, if 'sessionoptions' contains "resize".
7. Reloads the buffer list, with the last cursor positions.  If
   'sessionoptions' contains "buffers" then all buffers are restored,
   including hidden and unloaded buffers.  Otherwise, only buffers in windows
   are restored.
8. Restores all windows with the same layout.  If 'sessionoptions' contains
   "help", help windows are restored.  If 'sessionoptions' contains "blank",
   windows editing a buffer without a name will be restored.
   If 'sessionoptions' contains "winsize" and no (help/blank) windows were
   left out, the window sizes are restored (relative to the screen size).
   Otherwise, the windows are just given sensible sizes.
9. Restores the Views for all the windows, as with |:mkview|.  But
   'sessionoptions' is used instead of 'viewoptions'.
10. If a file exists with the same name as the Session file, but ending in
   "x.vim" (for eXtra), executes that as well.  You can use `*x.vim` files to
   specify additional settings and actions associated with a given Session,
   such as creating menu items in the GUI version.

After restoring the Session, the full filename of your current Session is
available in the internal variable |v:this_session|.
An example mapping: >
  :nmap <F2> :wa<Bar>exe "mksession! " .. v:this_session<CR>:so ~/sessions/
This saves the current Session, and starts off the command to load another.

A session includes all tabpages, unless "tabpages" was removed from
'sessionoptions'. |tabpage|

The |SessionLoadPre| autocmd event is triggered before a session file is
loaded/sourced and |SessionLoadPost| autocmd event is triggered after.
                                                *SessionLoad-variable*
While the session file is loading, `g:SessionLoad` is set to 1.  Plugins can
use this to postpone some work until the SessionLoadPost event is triggered.

                                                        *:mkvie* *:mkview*
:mkvie[w][!] [file]     Write a Vim script that restores the contents of the
                        current window.
                        When [!] is included, an existing file is overwritten.
                        When [file] is omitted or is a number from 1 to 9, a
                        name is generated and 'viewdir' prepended.  When the
                        last path part of 'viewdir' does not exist, this
                        directory is created.  E.g., when 'viewdir' is
                        "$VIM/vimfiles/view" then "view" is created in
                        "$VIM/vimfiles".
                        An existing file is always overwritten then.  Use
                        |:loadview| to load this view again.
                        When [file] is the name of a file ('viewdir' is not
                        used), a command to edit the file is added to the
                        generated file.

The output of ":mkview" contains these items:
1. The argument list used in the window.  When the global argument list is
   used, it is reset to the global list.
   The index in the argument list is also restored.
2. The file being edited in the window.  If there is no file, the window is
   made empty.
3. Restore mappings, abbreviations and options local to the window, if
   'viewoptions' contains "options" or "localoptions".  Only option values
   that are local to the current buffer and the current window are restored.
   When storing the view as part of a session and "options" is in
   'sessionoptions', global values for local options will be stored too.
4. Restore folds when using manual folding and 'viewoptions' contains
   "folds".  Restore manually opened and closed folds.
5. The scroll position and the cursor position in the file.  Doesn't work very
   well when there are closed folds.
6. The local current directory, if it is different from the global current
   directory and 'viewoptions' contains "curdir".

Note that Views and Sessions are not perfect:
- They don't restore everything.  For example, defined functions, autocommands
  and ":syntax on" are not included.  Things like register contents and
  command line history are in ShaDa, not in Sessions or Views.
- Global option values are only set when they differ from the default value.
  When the current value is not the default value, loading a Session will not
  set it back to the default value.  Local options will be set back to the
  default value though.
- Existing mappings will be overwritten without warning.  An existing mapping
  may cause an error for ambiguity.
- When storing manual folds and when storing manually opened/closed folds,
  changes in the file between saving and loading the view will mess it up.
- The Vim script is not very efficient.  But still faster than typing the
  commands yourself!

                                                        *:lo* *:loadview*
:lo[adview] [nr]        Load the view for the current file.  When [nr] is
                        omitted, the view stored with ":mkview" is loaded.
                        When [nr] is specified, the view stored with ":mkview
                        [nr]" is loaded.

The combination of ":mkview" and ":loadview" can be used to store up to ten
different views of a file.  These are remembered in the directory specified
with the 'viewdir' option.  The views are stored using the file name.  If a
file is renamed or accessed through a (symbolic) link, the view will not be
found.

You might want to clean up your 'viewdir' directory now and then.

To automatically save and restore views for `*.c` files: >
        au BufWinLeave *.c mkview
        au BufWinEnter *.c silent! loadview

==============================================================================
Shada ("shared data") file                      *shada* *shada-file*

If you exit Vim and later start it again, you would normally lose a lot of
information.  The ShaDa file can be used to remember that information, which
enables you to continue where you left off.  Its name is the abbreviation of
SHAred DAta because it is used for sharing data between Nvim sessions.

This is introduced in section |21.3| of the user manual.

The ShaDa file is used to store:
- The command line history.
- The search string history.
- The input-line history.
- Contents of non-empty registers.
- Marks for several files.
- File marks, pointing to locations in files.
- Last search/substitute pattern (for 'n' and '&').
- The buffer list.
- Global variables.

You could also use a Session file.  The difference is that the ShaDa file
does not depend on what you are working on.  There normally is only one
ShaDa file.  Session files are used to save the state of a specific editing
Session.  You could have several Session files, one for each project you are
working on.  ShaDa and Session files together can be used to effectively
enter Vim and directly start working in your desired setup. |session-file|

                                                        *shada-read*
When Vim is started and the 'shada' option is non-empty, the contents of
the ShaDa file are read and the info can be used in the appropriate places.
The |v:oldfiles| variable is filled.  The marks are not read in at startup
(but file marks are).  See |initialization| for how to set the 'shada'
option upon startup.

                                                        *shada-write*
When Vim exits and 'shada' is non-empty, the info is stored in the ShaDa file
(it's actually merged with the existing one, if one exists |shada-merging|).
The 'shada' option is a string containing information about what info should
be stored, and contains limits on how much should be stored (see 'shada').

Notes for Unix:
- The file protection for the ShaDa file will be set to prevent other users
  from being able to read it, because it may contain any text or commands that
  you have worked with.
- If you want to share the ShaDa file with other users (e.g. when you "su"
  to another user), you can make the file writable for the group or everybody.
  Vim will preserve this when writing new ShaDa files.  Be careful, don't
  allow just anybody to read and write your ShaDa file!
- Vim will not overwrite a ShaDa file that is not writable by the current
  "real" user.  This helps for when you did "su" to become root, but your
  $HOME is still set to a normal user's home directory.  Otherwise, Vim would
  create a ShaDa file owned by root that nobody else can read.
- The ShaDa file cannot be a symbolic link.  This is to avoid security
  issues.

Marks are stored for each file separately.  When a file is read and 'shada'
is non-empty, the marks for that file are read from the ShaDa file.  NOTE:
The marks are only written when exiting Vim, which is fine because marks are
remembered for all the files you have opened in the current editing session,
unless ":bdel" is used.  If you want to save the marks for a file that you are
about to abandon with ":bdel", use ":wsh".  The '[' and ']' marks are not
stored, but the '"' mark is.  The '"' mark is very useful for jumping to the
cursor position when the file was last exited.  No marks are saved for files
that start with any string given with the "r" flag in 'shada'.  This can be
used to avoid saving marks for files on removable media (for MS-Windows you
would use "ra:,rb:").
The |v:oldfiles| variable is filled with the file names that the ShaDa file
has marks for.

                                                        *shada-file-marks*
Uppercase marks ('A to 'Z) are stored when writing the ShaDa file.  The
numbered marks ('0 to '9) are a bit special.  When the ShaDa file is written
(when exiting or with the |:wshada| command), '0 is set to the current
cursor position and file.  The old '0 is moved to '1, '1 to '2, etc.  This
resembles what happens with the "1 to "9 delete registers.  If the current
cursor position is already present in '0 to '9, it is moved to '0, to avoid
having the same position twice.  The result is that with "'0", you can jump
back to the file and line where you exited Vim.  To do that right away, try
using this command: >

        vim -c "normal '0"

In a C shell descendant, you could make an alias for it: >

        alias lvim vim -c '"'normal "'"0'"'

For a Bash-like shell: >

        alias lvim='vim -c "normal '\''0"'

Use the "r" flag in 'shada' to specify for which files no marks should be
remembered.

MERGING                                                 *shada-merging*

When writing ShaDa files with |:wshada| without bang or at regular exit
information in the existing ShaDa file is merged with information from current
Nvim instance.  For this purpose ShaDa files store timestamps associated
with ShaDa entries.  Specifically the following is being done:

1. History lines are merged, ordered by timestamp.  Maximum amount of items in
   ShaDa file is defined by 'shada' option (|shada-/|, |shada-:|, |shada-@|,
   etc: one suboption for each character that represents history name
   (|:history|)).
2. Local marks and changes for files that were not opened by Nvim are copied
   to new ShaDa file. Marks for files that were opened by Nvim are merged,
   changes to files opened by Nvim are ignored. |shada-'|
3. Jump list is merged: jumps are ordered by timestamp, identical jumps
   (identical position AND timestamp) are squashed.
4. Search patterns and substitute strings are not merged: search pattern or
   substitute string which has greatest timestamp will be the only one copied
   to ShaDa file.
5. For each register entity with greatest timestamp is the only saved.
   |shada-<|
6. All saved variables are saved from current Nvim instance. Additionally
   existing variable values are copied, meaning that the only way to remove
   variable from a ShaDa file is either removing it by hand or disabling
   writing variables completely. |shada-!|
7. For each global mark entity with greatest timestamp is the only saved.
8. Buffer list and header are the only entries which are not merged in any
   fashion: the only header and buffer list present are the ones from the
   Nvim instance which was last writing the file. |shada-%|

COMPATIBILITY                                           *shada-compatibility*

ShaDa files are forward and backward compatible.  This means that

1. Entries which have unknown type (i.e. that hold unidentified data) are
   ignored when reading and blindly copied when writing.
2. Register entries with unknown register name are ignored when reading and
   blindly copied when writing. Limitation: only registers that use name with
   code in interval [1, 255] are supported. |registers|
3. Register entries with unknown register type are ignored when reading and
   merged as usual when writing. |getregtype()|
4. Local and global mark entries with unknown mark names are ignored when
   reading. When writing global mark entries are blindly copied and local mark
   entries are also blindly copied, but only if file they are attached to fits
   in the |shada-'| limit. Unknown local mark entry's timestamp is also taken
   into account when calculating which files exactly should fit into this
   limit. Limitation: only marks that use name with code in interval [1, 255]
   are supported. |mark-motions|
5. History entries with unknown history type are ignored when reading and
   blindly copied when writing. Limitation: there can be only up to 256
   history types. |history|
6. Unknown keys found in register, local mark, global mark, change, jump and
   search pattern entries are saved internally and dumped when writing.
   Entries created during Nvim session never have such additions.
7. Additional elements found in replacement string and history entries are
   saved internally and dumped. Entries created during Nvim session never
   have such additions.
8. Additional elements found in variable entries are simply ignored when
   reading. When writing new variables they will be preserved during merging,
   but that's all. Variable values dumped from current Nvim session never
   have additional elements, even if variables themselves were obtained by
   reading ShaDa files.

"Blindly" here means that there will be no attempts to somehow merge them,
even if other entries (with known name/type/etc) are merged. |shada-merging|

SHADA FILE NAME                                         *shada-file-name*

- Default name of the |shada| file is:
      Unix:     "$XDG_STATE_HOME/nvim/shada/main.shada"
      Windows:  "$XDG_STATE_HOME/nvim-data/shada/main.shada"
  See also |base-directories|.
- To choose a different file name you can use:
    - The "n" flag in the 'shada' option.
    - The |-i| startup argument.  "NONE" means no shada file is ever read or
      written.  Also not for the commands below!
    - The 'shadafile' option.  The value from the "-i" argument (if any) is
      stored in the 'shadafile' option.
- For the commands below, another file name can be given, overriding the
  default and the name given with 'shada' or "-i" (unless it's NONE).


MANUALLY READING AND WRITING                            *shada-read-write*

Two commands can be used to read and write the ShaDa file manually.  This
can be used to exchange registers between two running Vim programs: First
type ":wsh" in one and then ":rsh" in the other.  Note that if the register
already contained something, then ":rsh!" would be required.  Also note,
however, that this means everything will be overwritten with information from
the first Vim, including the command line history, etc.

The ShaDa file itself can be edited by hand too, although we suggest you
start with an existing one to get the format right.  You need to understand
MessagePack (or, more likely, find software that is able to use it) format to
do this.  This can be useful in order to create a second file, say
"~/.my.shada", which could contain certain settings that you always want when
you first start Nvim.  For example, you can preload registers with
particular data, or put certain commands in the command line history.  A line
in your |config| file like >
        :rshada! ~/.my.shada
can be used to load this information.  You could even have different ShaDa
files for different types of files (e.g., C code) and load them based on the
file name, using the ":autocmd" command (see |:autocmd|).  More information on
ShaDa file format is contained in |shada-format| section.

                                          *E136* *E929* *shada-error-handling*
Some errors make Nvim leave temporary file named `{basename}.tmp.X` (X is
any free letter from `a` to `z`) while normally it will create this file,
write to it and then rename `{basename}.tmp.X` to `{basename}`. Such errors
include:

- Errors which make Nvim think that the file being read is not a ShaDa
  file at all:
  non-ShaDa files are not overwritten for safety reasons to avoid accidentally
  destroying an unrelated file.  This could happen e.g. when typing "nvim -i
  file" in place of "nvim -R file" (yes, somebody did that at least with Vim).
  Such errors are listed at |shada-critical-contents-errors|.
- If writing to the temporary file failed: e.g. because of the insufficient
  space left.
- If renaming file failed: e.g. because of insufficient permissions.
- If target ShaDa file has different from the Nvim instance's owners (user
  and group) and changing them failed.  Unix-specific, applies only when
  Nvim was launched from root.

Do not forget to remove the temporary file or replace the target file with
temporary one after getting one of the above errors or all attempts to create
a ShaDa file may fail with |E929|.  If you got one of them when using
|:wshada| (and not when exiting Nvim: i.e. when you have Nvim session
running) you have additional options:

- First thing which you should consider if you got any error, except failure
  to write to the temporary file: remove existing file and replace it with the
  temporary file.  Do it even if you have running Nvim instance.
- Fix the permissions and/or file ownership, free some space and attempt to
  write again.  Do not remove the existing file.
- Use |:wshada| with bang.  Does not help in case of permission error.  If
  target file was actually the ShaDa file some information may be lost in this
  case.  To make the matters slightly better use |:rshada| prior to writing,
  but this still will loose buffer-local marks and change list entries for any
  file which is not opened in the current Nvim instance.
- Remove the target file from shell and use |:wshada|.  Consequences are not
  different from using |:wshada| with bang, but "rm -f" works in some cases
  when you don't have write permissions.

                                                    *:rsh* *:rshada* *E886*
:rsh[ada][!] [file]     Read from ShaDa file [file] (default: see above).
                        If [!] is given, then any information that is
                        already set (registers, marks, |v:oldfiles|, etc.)
                        will be overwritten.

                                                    *:wsh* *:wshada* *E137* *E138*
:wsh[ada][!] [file]     Write to ShaDa file [file] (default: see above).
                        The information in the file is first read in to make
                        a merge between old and new info.  When [!] is used,
                        the old information is not read first, only the
                        internal info is written (also disables safety checks
                        described in |shada-error-handling|).  If 'shada' is
                        empty, marks for up to 100 files will be written.
                        When you get error "E929: All .tmp.X files exist,
                        cannot write ShaDa file!", check that no old temp
                        files were left behind (e.g.
                        ~/.local/state/nvim/shada/main.shada.tmp*).

                        Note: Executing :wshada will reset all |'quote| marks.

                                                *:o* *:ol* *:oldfiles*
:o[ldfiles]             List the files that have marks stored in the ShaDa
                        file.  This list is read on startup and only changes
                        afterwards with `:rshada!`.  Also see |v:oldfiles|.
                        The number can be used with |c_#<|.
                        The output can be filtered with |:filter|, e.g.: >
                                filter /\.vim/ oldfiles
<                        The filtering happens on the file name.

:bro[wse] o[ldfiles][!]
                        List file names as with |:oldfiles|, and then prompt
                        for a number.  When the number is valid that file from
                        the list is edited.

                        Use [!] to abandon a modified buffer. |abandon|

SHADA FILE FORMAT                                               *shada-format*

ShaDa files are concats of MessagePack entries.  Each entry is a concat of
exactly four MessagePack objects:

1. First goes type of the entry.  Object type must be an unsigned integer.
   Object type must not be equal to zero.
2. Second goes entry timestamp.  It must also be an unsigned integer.
3. Third goes the length of the fourth entry.  Unsigned integer as well, used
   for fast skipping without parsing.
4. Fourth is actual entry data.  All currently used ShaDa entries use
   containers to hold data: either map or array.  All string values in those
   containers are either binary (applies to filenames) or UTF-8, yet parser
   needs to expect that invalid bytes may be present in a UTF-8 string.

   Exact format depends on the entry type:

   Entry type (name)   Entry data ~

   - 1 (Header)        Map containing data that describes the generator
                       instance that wrote this ShaDa file.  It is ignored
                       when reading ShaDa files.  Contains the following data:
                       Key        Data >
                       generator  Binary, software used to generate ShaDa
                                  file. Is equal to "nvim" when ShaDa file was
                                  written by Nvim.
                       version    Binary, generator version.
                       encoding   Binary, effective 'encoding' value.
                       max_kbyte  Integer, effective |shada-s| limit value.
                       pid        Integer, instance process ID.
                       *          It is allowed to have any number of
                                  additional keys with any data.
<
   - 2 (SearchPattern) Map containing data describing last used search or
                       substitute pattern.  Normally ShaDa file contains two
                       such entries: one with "ss" key set to true (describes
                       substitute pattern, see |:substitute|), and one set to
                       false (describes search pattern, see
                       |search-commands|). "su" key should be true on one of
                       the entries.  If key value is equal to default then it
                       is normally not present.  Keys:
                       Key  Type     Default  Description >
                       sm   Boolean  true     Effective 'magic' value.
                       sc   Boolean  false    Effective 'smartcase' value.
                       sl   Boolean  true     True if search pattern comes
                                              with a line offset.  See
                                              |search-offset|.
                       se   Boolean  false    True if |search-offset|
                                              requested to place cursor at
                                              (relative to) the end of the
                                              pattern.
                       so   Integer  0        Offset value. |search-offset|
                       su   Boolean  false    True if current entry was the
                                              last used search pattern.
                       ss   Boolean  false    True if current entry describes
                                              |:substitute| pattern.
                       sh   Boolean  false    True if |v:hlsearch| is on.
                                              With |shada-h| or 'nohlsearch'
                                              this key is always false.
                       sp   Binary   N/A      Actual pattern.  Required.
                       sb   Boolean  false    True if search direction is
                                              backward.
                       *    any      none     Other keys are allowed for
                                              compatibility reasons, see
                                              |shada-compatibility|.
<
   - 3 (SubString)     Array containing last |:substitute| replacement string.
                       Contains single entry: binary, replacement string used.
                       More entries are allowed for compatibility reasons, see
                       |shada-compatibility|.
   - 4 (HistoryEntry)  Array containing one entry from history.  Should have
                       two or three entries.  First one is history type
                       (unsigned integer), second is history line (binary),
                       third is the separator character (unsigned integer,
                       must be in interval [0, 255]).  Third item is only
                       valid for search history.  Possible history types are
                       listed in |hist-names|, here are the corresponding
                       numbers: 0 - cmd, 1 - search, 2 - expr, 3 - input,
                       4 - debug.
   - 5 (Register)      Map describing one register (|registers|).  If key
                       value is equal to default then it is normally not
                       present.  Keys:
                       Key  Type             Def   Description >
                       rt   UInteger         0     Register type:
                                                   No  Description ~
                                                   0   |charwise-register|
                                                   1   |linewise-register|
                                                   2   |blockwise-register|
                       rw   UInteger         0     Register width. Only valid
                                                   for |blockwise-register|s.
                       rc   Array of binary  N/A   Register contents.  Each
                                                   entry in the array
                                                   represents its own line.
                                                   NUL characters inside the
                                                   line should be represented
                                                   as NL according to
                                                   |NL-used-for-Nul|.
                       ru   Boolean          false Unnamed register. Whether
                                                   the unnamed register had
                                                   pointed to this register.
                       n    UInteger         N/A   Register name: character
                                                   code in range [1, 255].
                                                   Example: |quote0| register
                                                   has name 48 (ASCII code for
                                                   zero character).
                       *    any              none  Other keys are allowed
                                                   for compatibility reasons,
                                                   see |shada-compatibility|.
<
   - 6 (Variable)      Array containing two items: variable name (binary) and
                       variable value (any object).  Values are converted
                       using the same code |msgpackparse()| uses when reading,
                       |msgpackdump()| when writing, so there may appear
                       |msgpack-special-dict|s.  If there are more then two
                       entries then the rest are ignored
                       (|shada-compatibility|).
   - 7 (GlobalMark)
   - 8 (Jump)
   - 10 (LocalMark)
   - 11 (Change)       Map containing some position description:
                       Entry      Position >
                       GlobalMark Global mark position. |'A|
                       LocalMark  Local mark position. |'a|
                       Jump       One position from the |jumplist|.
                       Change     One position from the |changelist|.

                       Data contained in the map:
                       Key  Type      Default  Description ~
                       l    UInteger  1        Position line number.  Must be
                                               greater then zero.
                       c    UInteger  0        Position column number.
                       n    UInteger  34 ('"') Mark name.  Only valid for
                                               GlobalMark and LocalMark
                                               entries.
                       f    Binary    N/A      File name.  Required.
                       *    any       none     Other keys are allowed for
                                               compatibility reasons, see
                                               |shada-compatibility|.
<
   - 9 (BufferList)    Array containing maps.  Each map in the array
                       represents one buffer.  Possible keys:
                       Key  Type      Default  Description >
                       l    UInteger  1        Position line number.  Must be
                                               greater then zero.
                       c    UInteger  0        Position column number.
                       f    Binary    N/A      File name.  Required.
                       *    any       none     Other keys are allowed for
                                               compatibility reasons, see
                                               |shada-compatibility|.
<
   - `*` (Unknown)       Any other entry type is allowed for compatibility
                       reasons, see |shada-compatibility|.

                                                        *E574* *E575* *E576*
Errors in ShaDa file may have two types:
1. E575 for “logical” errors.
2. E576 for “critical” errors.

When writing, critical errors trigger behaviour described in
|shada-error-handling|.
When reading, critical errors cause the rest of the file to be skipped.

Critical errors include:
                                            *shada-critical-contents-errors*
- Any of first three MessagePack objects being not an unsigned integer.
- Third object requesting amount of bytes greater then bytes left in the ShaDa
  file.
- Entry with zero type.  I.e. first object being equal to zero.
- MessagePack parser failing to parse the entry data.
- MessagePack parser consuming less or requesting greater bytes then described
  in the third object for parsing fourth object.  I.e. when fourth object
  either contains more then one MessagePack object or it does not contain
  complete MessagePack object.

==============================================================================
Standard Paths                                  *standard-path*

Nvim stores configuration, data, and logs in standard locations. Plugins are
strongly encouraged to follow this pattern also. Use |stdpath()| to get the
paths.

                                                *base-directories* *xdg*
The "base" (root) directories conform to the XDG Base Directory Specification.
https://specifications.freedesktop.org/basedir/latest/

The $XDG_CONFIG_HOME, $XDG_DATA_HOME, $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR, $XDG_STATE_HOME,
$XDG_CACHE_HOME, $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS and $XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variables
are used if defined, else default values (listed below) are used.

Note: In the help these defaults are used as placeholders, e.g. "~/.config" is
understood as "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME or ~/.config".

CONFIG DIRECTORY (DEFAULT) ~
                  *$XDG_CONFIG_HOME*            Nvim: stdpath("config") >
    Unix:         ~/.config                   ~/.config/nvim
    Windows:      ~/AppData/Local             ~/AppData/Local/nvim

DATA DIRECTORY (DEFAULT) ~
                  *$XDG_DATA_HOME*              Nvim: stdpath("data") >
    Unix:         ~/.local/share              ~/.local/share/nvim
    Windows:      ~/AppData/Local             ~/AppData/Local/nvim-data

RUN DIRECTORY (DEFAULT) ~
                  *$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR*            Nvim: stdpath("run") >
    Unix:         /tmp/nvim.user/xxx          /tmp/nvim.user/xxx
    Windows:      $TMP/nvim.user/xxx          $TMP/nvim.user/xxx

STATE DIRECTORY (DEFAULT) ~
                  *$XDG_STATE_HOME*             Nvim: stdpath("state") >
    Unix:         ~/.local/state              ~/.local/state/nvim
    Windows:      ~/AppData/Local             ~/AppData/Local/nvim-data

CACHE DIRECTORY (DEFAULT) ~
                  *$XDG_CACHE_HOME*             Nvim: stdpath("cache") >
    Unix:         ~/.cache                    ~/.cache/nvim
    Windows:      ~/AppData/Local/Temp        ~/AppData/Local/Temp/nvim-data

LOG FILE (DEFAULT) ~
                  `$NVIM_LOG_FILE`              Nvim: stdpath("log")/nvim.log >
    Unix:         ~/.local/state/nvim         ~/.local/state/nvim/nvim.log
    Windows:      ~/AppData/Local/nvim-data   ~/AppData/Local/nvim-data/nvim.log

Note that stdpath("log") is currently an alias for stdpath("state").

ADDITIONAL CONFIGS DIRECTORY (DEFAULT) ~
                  *$XDG_CONFIG_DIRS*            Nvim: stdpath("config_dirs") >
    Unix:         /etc/xdg/                   /etc/xdg/nvim
    Windows:      Not applicable              Not applicable

ADDITIONAL DATA DIRECTORY (DEFAULT) ~
                  *$XDG_DATA_DIRS*              Nvim: stdpath("data_dirs") >
    Unix:         /usr/local/share            /usr/local/share/nvim
                  /usr/share                  /usr/share/nvim
    Windows:      Not applicable              Not applicable

NVIM_APPNAME                                    *$NVIM_APPNAME*
The standard directories can be further configured by the `$NVIM_APPNAME`
environment variable. This variable controls the sub-directory that Nvim will
read from (and auto-create) in each of the base directories. For example,
setting `$NVIM_APPNAME` to "foo" before starting will cause Nvim to look for
configuration files in `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/foo` instead of
`$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nvim`. `$NVIM_APPNAME` must be a name, such as "foo", or a
relative path, such as "foo/bar".

Note: In the help wherever `$XDG_CONFIG_…/nvim` is mentioned it is understood
as `$XDG_CONFIG_…/$NVIM_APPNAME`.

                                                *state-isolation*
One use-case for $NVIM_APPNAME is to "isolate" Nvim applications.
Alternatively, for true isolation, on Linux you can use cgroups namespaces: >
    systemd-run --user -qt -p PrivateUsers=yes -p BindPaths=/home/user/profile_xy:/home/user/.config/nvim nvim
<
                                                *stateless*
To run Nvim without creating any directories or data files: >
    NVIM_LOG_FILE=/dev/null nvim -n -i NONE

LOG FILE                                        *log* *$NVIM_LOG_FILE* *E5430*
Besides 'debug' and 'verbose', Nvim keeps a general log file for internal
debugging, plugins and RPC clients. >
        :echo $NVIM_LOG_FILE
Default location is stdpath("log")/log ($XDG_STATE_HOME/nvim/nvim.log) unless
that path is inaccessible or $NVIM_LOG_FILE was set before |startup|.


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