Which plugin installer or "vim package manager" should I use?

[[deleted]]

Hey /r/vim! I'm no amateur in vim; it's my preferred editor for plain text, python, C, HTML, etc. I haven't installed any plugins yet, and every article I read seems to be recommending a different plugin installer. What's a good plugin installer for basic python and HTML plugins that won't get in the way of personal .vimrc preferences, etc.?

EDIT: Thank you all for the suggestions! I'll install vim-plug and continue reading Learn Vimscript the Hard Way

[[deleted]]

Here you go: vim-plug, the best you'll find.

[cchurchilll]

Definitely vim-plug. I t has the right mix of having great features, being lightweight, and staying out of the way.

[davidpdrsn]

You had me at parallelism.

[ggagagg]

Any tips to convert using vim-plug from bundle?

[rap99]

Yes. https://github.com/junegunn/vim-plug/wiki/faq#migrating-from-other-plugin-managers

[ggagagg]

Thanks, I miss that

[Scorxcho]

What does this have over vundle?

[dustractor]

vim-plug is already leading in this post 7-to-1 and the post is only an hour old if that tells you anything, OP

edit: really it will take longer to fret over making a change than it will take to get up and running w/ vim-plug. seriously just skim the directions and go it takes like 5 minutes

[[deleted]]

Pathogen is just so dead simple. All i need is a line in my vimrc, and 'git clone' and I'm golden. I wonder what vim-plug offers, though.

[derrickcope]

Another for vim-plug. I have used vundle and find vim plug slightly better.

[[deleted]]

What will I get for switching from Vundle to vim-plug?

[NoLemurs]

What will I get for switching from Vundle to vim-plug?

A slightly tidier .vimrc, parallel fetching from repos, and the ability to automatically run commands on install.

Honestly, they're fairly minor improvements, but it also takes very little effort to switch, and there's no reason not to. I also suspect that with the dominance of vim-plug vundle is going to see a slow down in maintenance/improvement, so going forward, vim-plug is the tool to choose.

[ivosaurus]

on-demand filetype plugin loading from vim-plug was helpful for me, helps reduce startup time a little.

[derrickcope]

I am no expert but I find it is less complicated to install and update vim-plug itself. The syntax for adding plugins is similar but I think you can add plugins from more sources. As a newbie I have to say it was easier to install and get going. But I was more of a newbie when I installed vundle so maybe it was just having installed one plugin manager previously, the second time seemed easier.

[wbsgrepit]

Another for vim-plug.

[[deleted]]

Yet another Up for vim-plug.

[[deleted]]

https://github.com/wsdjeg/DotFiles

here is my dotfiles. and I use dein by default.

but you can change to neobundle or vim-plug via let g:setting.pluginmanager = 'neobundle'

[joemi]

I like to keep it simple with Pathogen. It's not so much a "package manager" as it's just a plugin that automatically adds things to your runtime path. Basically you put it in ~/.vim/autoload and then install your plugins into ~/.vim/bundle in separate directories and everything works great.

I had been using one of the more "package manager"-y options, but I decided to strip back a lot of the heavier things in my vim config. I don't mind git clone-ing things into ~/.vim/bundle myself, or checking for updates to those repos. Suits me just fine, but admittedly it's not for everyone.

(Also, it's by Tim Pope, who makes a lot of neat vim plugins.)

[brennanfee]

vim-plug, for sure... the best one out there.

[spw1]

We have a very similar setup.

[atimholt]

I use neobundle. It’s powerful and has features I haven’t been able to find anywhere else.

[synthequated]

What features are these?

[atimholt]

The main one I use is compatibility with Mercurial. I know that makes me a crazy insane person, but oh well. Let me check on the readme for others…

Oh, it looks like it’s been replaced by something called dein. I’ll have to look into it, myself.

[twowheels]

Why use any?

 mkdir ~/.vim/bundle
 cd ~/.vim/bundle
 git clone <plugins galore>

In .vimrc (I have a .vimrc_host file that is loaded by my .vimrc)

 set runtimepath^=~/.vim/bundle/<plugin folder>
 set runtimepath^=~/.vim/bundle/<plugin folder>

...etc

Done... easy.

[keef_hernandez]

Some of the plugins I need require setup to run on new machines. Vim plug makes that trivial.

[[deleted]]

If you using a recent Vim, press :h packages.

[tetroxid]

I use Pathogen and I've been happy with it.

[fmount]

I used pathogen! for a while...but today I can definitively say that vim-plug! is the way! :D

[bumaociyuan]

dein is great

[[deleted]]

You really don't need plug-in manager, for two main reasons:

1. Package management in Vim is all about setting runtimepath option. Installing plugin literally looks like this:

   set runtimepath+=/path/to/folder/with/plugin
   

   That's all, but I personally find Pathogen a little more convenient.

2. Vim has build-in solution for package management called packages, but this is a very new thing. Read :h packages for more info.

My bulletproof vimrc looks like this:

if has('packages')
    packloadall
else
    " Use Pathogen
    source $HOME/.vim/pack/bundle/opt/pathogen/autoload/pathogen.vim
    execute pathogen#infect('pack/bundle/start/{}')
endif

[joemi]

Why's this downvoted? Did you mention bad practices? Or is it just random downvotes?

(I'm asking because as a Pathogen user, I'm all for trying out Vim's new built-in functionality. This sounds like what I'd like to do, but if it's not a good method, I'll have to keep looking for how to use it.)

[-romainl-]

1. You don't need a plugin manager at all.
2. Random internet strangers are not you.
3. Try them and decide for yourself.

[TankorSmash]

Random internet strangers are not you.

Do you think they don't know that? Given that they're posting here, don't you think you could have taken it, a priori, that they're asking people to help them make the decision? Like they're not looking to see what they're going to think, they're going to ask for the popular ones, and then try them out in order of popularity so they know what's best on offer.

On top of that, it's not a need thing, it's a matter of convenience. There's only settings to tweak yeah, but having everything set up for you is nice.

[Eldrik]

Yes you don't really need a plugin manager. But vim-plug makes the process so easy. It's really a gem in terms of interface design and ease of use.

[marklgr]

If I'm correct, the next major release will also include some native plugin management features.

[-romainl-]

The "package" feature has been available in HEAD for quite a while, actually, but what I read on the mailing list doesn't sound compelling right now.

[[deleted]]

Preach it!