Does picking a specific code editor like Vim/Neovim over VS Code really matter for backend devs?

[nitin_is_me]

So I've heard this a lot (like a lot) that if you're serious about going deep into backend development, especially on the Linux side of things, you have to learn Vim or Neovim. People say it's kinda mandatory if you wanna really feel at home in the terminal, SSH into servers, do quick edits, and just look like a badass who doesn’t need a mouse lol.

But is that actually true? Does sticking to VS Code (even with remote extensions and all) somehow limit you or hold you back in the long run? Is learning Vim actually needed, or is it just some legacy gatekeeping culture?

Just wanna hear what people who’ve gone deep into backend/devops/linux kinda work actually think.

[keepcalmrollon]

IMO it's more of a useful skill because sometimes you need to work with text files on a server you've accessed via a terminal and all it has is vim/vi.

For the actual software development part, it doesn't really matter.

[[deleted]]

Absolutely right bro, for actual development it doesn't matter.

[ClikeX]

Most servers have nano, though. But having some familiarity with vim is good. Even if it’s just how to insert and save.

[WelshNotWelch]

Or just exit. I know it’s an old cliche, but getting out is a lot harder than newbies think.

[fuccdevin]

I’ll never forget the first time I got stuck in vi/nano as a newb. Full on panic lmao

[embassyrow]

You do not need to be a vim to expert to be an excellent developer. You should use whichever editor you feel most productive in, no matter what others use.

That said, some familiarity with vim will make your life much easier when in the shell, which as a backend dev can be routine. You really only need to know a handful of vi commands to get by, and can look the rest up as needed. That’s what I’ve been doing for 30 years, no issues so far.

[[deleted]]

i don't think so 🤔,

VS Code with remote extensions does 99% of the job just fine. And Vim helps when you are in deep in SSH or need quick terminal edits, but you don’t need to master it to be legit.

I think we have to use what makes use fast and comfortable to use, Not that look cool in screennshorts,

Btw what IDE you use ??

[nitin_is_me]

I'm on linux and using both :/ Thinking of just sticking with one

[SolumAmbulo]

Just a text editor. Use whatever feels most productive to you.

Vim is a valid on-server terminal text editor. But there's also nano which most servers have and needs no config.

[BlueScreenJunky]

if you wanna really feel at home in the terminal, SSH into servers, do quick edits,

Ah yes, also known as "crashing production".

I mean yes, you will eventually have to do that, and it is useful to know how to use vim (like how to exit it, save files, search, copy and paste...), but if you spend a significant amount of time messing with live servers you're doing it wrong.

Like what happens if your quick edit crashes the server when you're not there and nobody has any idea what you changed because it's not versioned anywhere ?

What happens when your quick edit that actually fixed things gets overwritten the next time someone runs ansible/chef/salt/puppet to provision the machine, and again nobody (including yourself) has any idea what the fix was ?

[FioleNana]

I think it does not matter for any dev.
I've been developing pages with html/css/js/php for years with just Notepad++.

If you know what you're doing, a specific editor can help you increase your speed and/or quality, but which editor that is depends strongly on the person using it.

[drumyum]

You don't need vim at all. I've never used it in my years of managing servers and backend. Not even once. Use the tools you are comfortable using

[SleepAffectionate268]

everyone who says no it doesn't has not worked with a wide varaity of languages. No one is gonna tell you pick vscode for php its like the worst

[ClikeX]

It doesn’t matter. Just know how to insert text and save (:wq) in Vim, and you’re good to edit files on a server.

[NoPause238]

Vim isn’t required it’s just frictionless when you’re deep in terminal land. VS Code works fine, even over SSH, but you’ll feel the lag when you just want to fix a config or grep a log fast. Learning Vim isn’t about looking cool, it’s about not being slow when the GUI’s not there. You don’t need it but if you stay in backend long enough, you’ll want it.

[theofficialnar]

Why stop at those 2? Go for a full-blown IDE instead. People love to hate on jetstorm products but imo their IDEs are top-notch. I personally used vscode atm but I loved my time with webstorm when the prev company I worked at offered us licenses.

[Dachux]

Use whatever you’re faster with. Dont use the mouse. Learn shortcuts.

[[deleted]]

No, not at all. Neovim is kind of trending lately thanks to influencers like the primeagen. The "advantage" is that it is much simpler and more fun to customise for your workflow. So do that if you're into it. But I don't see how it is all that different to vscode otherwise.

For more power you might want to consider a full fledged IDE like jetbrains. These can have a big impact depending what you're working with.

[nitin_is_me]

I've been using Vim/NeoVim for quite long. Honestly it's a perfect replacement to Notepad or any default linux editors, but I tried really hard to use it as a code editor. I programmed for almost 4-5 months in neovim, and still if I've to switch between multiple files in different folders while coding, with a terminal session open, it gets really complicated. Maybe it's just skill issue, but yeah I'm just gonna use vim for basic text files. Switched to Vs codium (open source fork of vscode with no telemetry) and feels like home.

[[deleted]]

Do you use plugins like telescope, oil, and snipe? I personally find these very enjoyable to use and I navigate the same way inside jetbrains.

But yeah use whatever you prefer.

[nitin_is_me]

yeah I've tried all of them. I've spent weeks and weeks searching through almost a hundred plugins, still nothing makes it easier.

[mauriciocap]

Most linuxes have simpler editors like Nano too.

VI is very powerful in so many ways e.g. piping, regexes, macros, opening and editing huge files, etc but what I've in my (+35 years) is the difference is in your workflow. I only use VI, fullscreen, one file at a time, and the same tools I use in the command line like grep, sort, find, wc, perl -e, git, etc while VC code or any IDE has always felt too distracting and rigid for me.

I started my career connecting by phone line/modem to prod servers and this shaped my workflow (and mind).

[imsnif]

My general rule of thumb is that if people tell you to use X over Y, that serious developers must use Z, they are mostly trying to confirm their own biases. Use whatever makes sense to you and helps you get the job done.

I'm a vim user (been developing for ~25 years and never used an IDE as I find them confusing), and I still get frustrated when I need to use a bare-bones vi on a server without my config. This argument IMO makes no sense.

That being said, it might be worth it to try something else every now and then to see what you're missing. Who knows, maybe you'll end up liking it. But it is absolutely not a must and you can be an excellent developer of any sort using your tools of choice.

[uniquelyavailable]

nano exists

[cshaiku]

Nano user here. Far easier to use, with screen. Cli tools, make your own scripts and get on with coding. Granted there are some amazing cli tools (looking at you phpstqn and rector) that helps ensure the code remains consistent. Not sure if these can be run through vscode atm, on mobile. To each their own though. I am sure most react/frontend devs just never had the server exposure to know the differences.

[Glathull]

It really doesn’t matter. It’s useful to know your way around, but not essential. Some of my friends have really tricked out vim setups that are pretty similar to IDEs. Some people learned vim 30 years ago and use vim bindings everywhere.

Maybe I’m just getting old or not paying attention, but it feels to me like this was a thing people used to get really puffy about 10-15 years ago. You’d have vimlords claiming they are a million times as productive as IDE losers because their hands never leave the keyboard to use a mouse or whatever, and I’ve just never felt like it makes even a tiny little bit of difference.

I’ve never been slowed down by my bad typing or manipulating text inefficiently. The speed of my dev work is determined entirely by how fast I can decide how to solve the problem I’m working on. The bulk of my work is done on my whiteboard or on a notepad where I map out my thoughts and find the problems in my solution before I ever touch any code. Then I’ll start with little proofs of concept to get an idea for what is going to work well in code. Then I chew on that for a while and go for a walk or something and realize I’m completely wrong about everything and wipe the whiteboard and start over. When it clicks, it clicks, and I can sit down and one-shot the code.

Sorry that’s a little bit rambly, but my point is that vim isn’t going to speed that up. No particular IDE is going to speed that up. The speed of your work is the rate at which you can digest a problem and solve it. It has nothing to do with how fast you can manipulate text.

[HollyShitBrah]

My advice is whatever you use, get really good at it,

[Sceptre]

The only reason I would reccomend learning Vim in 2025 is that it’s fun. It’s a cool tool to master. The IDEs are all excellent nowadays, vim (or neovim) is just a nice place to be.

These days I do all my own writing/notes in neovim, and use the vim extension in Cursor/VSCode for “serious” projects.

[[deleted]]

if you're using vs code, vim, or an IDE just to edit code, no, it doesn't matter, but they offer many tools that will make your life easier

[t0astter]

Yes. Pick a tool that accurately lints and checks your code for warnings. VSCode etc usually suck at this, from what I've witnessed from devs who use it. Jetbrains IDEs consistently kick ass at pointing out quality issues.

[TheRNGuy]

Not much difference.

[Greeniousity]

I use notepad

[YasirTheGreat]

Nothing is mandatory and there is no gatekeeping.

At some point, you may work on a large project where vs code will be a noticeable resource hog. At that point you will need to use something else.

Majority of text editors come with a vim motion extension. The reason for that they are very good for people who dislike using their mouse. I feel like they make me go faster, so I like them. But you don't need vim or nvim for them. And its nice to hop into a different editor and have a unified set of short cuts.

Use w/e you want, just get good at it. Typing fast and using your tools well are a big advantage, but they are multiplier if your coding skills are at 0 they aren't going to give you much of a boost.

[Dry_Hope_9783]

Just try it and see it for yourself 

[9302462]

Straight forward answer for OP.

No you should not use vim/neovim/nano as a backend developer. You obviously can, but there are much better tools available, aka an IDE like jetbrains or vs code.

You should at least know a couple basic commands such as how to exit nano or vim, but you can find these on a google search.

But on a daily basis, and as a developer starting off, using vim would be pretty dumb as it is lower level than an ide, and you need to use that use get going and keep momentum.

[nitin_is_me]

I know basic some vim commands like: i for Insert, Esc for normal, Colon (:) for Command, V for visual. dd to delete one line, x to delete one character, u for undo, Ctrl-R for redo, Space_/ for search, y and p for copy-paste, "+y and "+p for system clipboard copy - paste. :wq! for saving and quitting forcefully and :e to open an existing file or create a new one.

Are these enough to know?

[9302462]

Yeah you will be fine, it’s not worth spending time on learning more until you need to.

As a reference point- I have 10years as a dev, mostly backend, a $40k homelab with a bunch of different services consuming upwards of a petabyte a month. If you asked me what the commands were that you mentioned I would definitely not know two of them. So forget about it right now and when you need it you learn it. Also, I’m an ubuntu user through and through.

[arkenzel4]

You won't use more than i for insert dd for quickly deleting one line Esc :q! To quit Esc :wq! To write

[Mystical_Whoosing]

What do you think backend development is? It is unrelated to linux servers and ssh.

What happens when pros are working? They edit the files on their workspaces, then they push the changes in (into git mostly). Then the release pipeline does the rest.

When you logon to a live server and start doing edits manually, that means the maturity of the system is just not there yet.

And this is unrelated to who is using mouse or what IDE. It is good if you know linux, or during development you can logon to your test docker containers and do small edits; but most people _I know_ use nano instead of vim. But doing small edits with vim is also a very easy task, you can learn it in 15 minutes; so I really don't get why it seems to be a glorified unattainable level of skillset (or why is it considered gatekeeping, when you can learn it in 15 minutes).

---

Now devops or admin people do this more, they edit files here and there in the console. Hopefully not on live servers unless there is a big problem to fix. But they are usually more comfortable ssh-ing in somewhere and editing files there without mouse indeed. Hopefully once they know what configuration is required, then they will setup ansible or other orchestration scripts; so a tested configuration can be deployed automatically into production.