I’m not sure whether I agree with this or not, but I think Bill Joy probably does.
I've got a shiny new newsletter! "Modal editing is a weird historical contingency we have through sheer happenstance" continues my roasting of Vim in particular and modal editing in general. What can I say, hate your tools!
buttondown.com/hillelwayne/...
buttondown.com/hillelwayne/...
Modal editing is a weird historical contingency we have through sheer happenstance
If vi didn't exist, it would not have been invented.
buttondown.com
October 21, 2025 at 7:21 PM
I’m not sure whether I agree with this or not, but I think Bill Joy probably does.
I was fast enough to use Vim at work without a productivity hit after about a week of playing with it in my lunch breaks.
It was *years* before I could use it in a crisis with someone looking over my shoulder.
It was *years* before I could use it in a crisis with someone looking over my shoulder.
About 3 weeks into vim motions, why not use them during a demo. What could go wrong??
August 1, 2025 at 11:59 AM
I was fast enough to use Vim at work without a productivity hit after about a week of playing with it in my lunch breaks.
It was *years* before I could use it in a crisis with someone looking over my shoulder.
It was *years* before I could use it in a crisis with someone looking over my shoulder.
Reposted by Normal Mode
Heredocs Can Make Your #bash Scripts Self-Documenting | Hold The Robot
https://holdtherobot.com/blog/heredocs-can-make-your-bash-scripts-self-documenting/
#markdown #vim #documentation
https://holdtherobot.com/blog/heredocs-can-make-your-bash-scripts-self-documenting/
#markdown #vim #documentation
Heredocs Can Make Your Bash Scripts Self-Documenting
Comments
holdtherobot.com
July 29, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Heredocs Can Make Your #bash Scripts Self-Documenting | Hold The Robot
https://holdtherobot.com/blog/heredocs-can-make-your-bash-scripts-self-documenting/
#markdown #vim #documentation
https://holdtherobot.com/blog/heredocs-can-make-your-bash-scripts-self-documenting/
#markdown #vim #documentation
Reposted by Normal Mode
Getting out of the emoji search thing on the ios keyboard is much harder than exiting vim
July 22, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Getting out of the emoji search thing on the ios keyboard is much harder than exiting vim
An alternative technique in bash or zsh, using process substitution instead of a pipe, is:
```
vim -q <(rg --vimgrep search)
```
```
vim -q <(rg --vimgrep search)
```
`rg --vimgrep search | vim -c cb -`
Opens Vim with the results from `rg` in the quickfix list.
Kinda neat if I remember how to do it. I'll usually search around with `rg` first then hop over to vim and use a custom `:Rg` command I have to search again.
Opens Vim with the results from `rg` in the quickfix list.
Kinda neat if I remember how to do it. I'll usually search around with `rg` first then hop over to vim and use a custom `:Rg` command I have to search again.
June 23, 2025 at 9:43 PM
An alternative technique in bash or zsh, using process substitution instead of a pipe, is:
```
vim -q <(rg --vimgrep search)
```
```
vim -q <(rg --vimgrep search)
```
Reposted by Normal Mode
What's your favorite vscode/emacs/vim plugin or script that you've written for yourself?
Bonus points if it's something you can't morally make into a mass-installable plugin, like it executes untrusted code or needs a hardcoded secret or something
(Please remove hardcoded secrets before sharing)
Bonus points if it's something you can't morally make into a mass-installable plugin, like it executes untrusted code or needs a hardcoded secret or something
(Please remove hardcoded secrets before sharing)
April 22, 2025 at 8:15 PM
What's your favorite vscode/emacs/vim plugin or script that you've written for yourself?
Bonus points if it's something you can't morally make into a mass-installable plugin, like it executes untrusted code or needs a hardcoded secret or something
(Please remove hardcoded secrets before sharing)
Bonus points if it's something you can't morally make into a mass-installable plugin, like it executes untrusted code or needs a hardcoded secret or something
(Please remove hardcoded secrets before sharing)
Reposted by Normal Mode
‘There is always a way out’ is my first design making a screenprint. Made for the vim users among us. Or for those who just need a reminder on how to exit the editor.
Made with fluorescent pink and blue ✨ an edition of 10. Available in my little webshop! https://shop.wontfix.me/
#screenprint #vim
Made with fluorescent pink and blue ✨ an edition of 10. Available in my little webshop! https://shop.wontfix.me/
#screenprint #vim
February 10, 2025 at 12:43 PM
‘There is always a way out’ is my first design making a screenprint. Made for the vim users among us. Or for those who just need a reminder on how to exit the editor.
Made with fluorescent pink and blue ✨ an edition of 10. Available in my little webshop! https://shop.wontfix.me/
#screenprint #vim
Made with fluorescent pink and blue ✨ an edition of 10. Available in my little webshop! https://shop.wontfix.me/
#screenprint #vim
Advanced #vim tip: Using a recursive macro to wrap long lists. [Yes, there's also `gq`, but this is more fun]
`qqq` - Clear q
`qq` - Start recording
`/\%>80c81|F,a==@q` - Break long line at comma
`@q` - Run macro
What's your favorite use for recursive macros?
`qqq` - Clear q
`qq` - Start recording
`/\%>80c
`@q` - Run macro
What's your favorite use for recursive macros?
January 30, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Reposted by Normal Mode
Vim Tips: Feeling lazy about writing .gitignore? Open it in vim and
:read !git status
and then `dd` to delete full lines `dw` to remove indents and `dG/dgg` to delete everything from line until file's beginning/end.
Put comments!
:read !git status
and then `dd` to delete full lines `dw` to remove indents and `dG/dgg` to delete everything from line until file's beginning/end.
Put comments!
January 13, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Vim Tips: Feeling lazy about writing .gitignore? Open it in vim and
:read !git status
and then `dd` to delete full lines `dw` to remove indents and `dG/dgg` to delete everything from line until file's beginning/end.
Put comments!
:read !git status
and then `dd` to delete full lines `dw` to remove indents and `dG/dgg` to delete everything from line until file's beginning/end.
Put comments!
Reposted by Normal Mode
Bad Apple but it's 6,500 regular expressions that i search for one at a time inside of vim
full writeup over here on my blog: eieio.games/blog/bad-app...
full writeup over here on my blog: eieio.games/blog/bad-app...
January 10, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Bad Apple but it's 6,500 regular expressions that i search for one at a time inside of vim
full writeup over here on my blog: eieio.games/blog/bad-app...
full writeup over here on my blog: eieio.games/blog/bad-app...
Unlike my last blog post, this is an ACTUAL security issue in Vim.
January 11, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Unlike my last blog post, this is an ACTUAL security issue in Vim.
On macOS this works pretty well actually:
:inoremap :w <C-O>:silent !say Wrong mode, doofus\!<CR><C-O>:redraw!<CR>
:inoremap :w <C-O>:silent !say Wrong mode, doofus\!<CR><C-O>:redraw!<CR>
vim but it sounds an extremely loud incorrect buzzer every time you type :w in insert mode
January 10, 2025 at 11:05 AM
On macOS this works pretty well actually:
:inoremap :w <C-O>:silent !say Wrong mode, doofus\!<CR><C-O>:redraw!<CR>
:inoremap :w <C-O>:silent !say Wrong mode, doofus\!<CR><C-O>:redraw!<CR>
SECURITY ADVISORY: Blindly Running Macros Read from a File You Just Downloaded Considered Harmful
In which I exhort you to do something you would never normally do in order to educate you never to do that thing.
normalmo.de/posts/blindl...
#Vim
In which I exhort you to do something you would never normally do in order to educate you never to do that thing.
normalmo.de/posts/blindl...
#Vim
SECURITY ADVISORY: Blindly Running Macros Read from a File You Just Downloaded Considered Harmful
I’m going to come clean right off the bat. The title of this post is my half-hearted attempt at clickbait: what you are about to read can’t reasonably be described as a security issue. It barely even ...
normalmo.de
January 7, 2025 at 5:28 PM
SECURITY ADVISORY: Blindly Running Macros Read from a File You Just Downloaded Considered Harmful
In which I exhort you to do something you would never normally do in order to educate you never to do that thing.
normalmo.de/posts/blindl...
#Vim
In which I exhort you to do something you would never normally do in order to educate you never to do that thing.
normalmo.de/posts/blindl...
#Vim
Reposted by Normal Mode
I’d been using #vim for years before I really understood visual mode. I saw someone using it and immediately understood - especially selecting lines to operate on or move around.
What’s your favorite “basic” vim operation that you learnt from seeing used?
What’s your favorite “basic” vim operation that you learnt from seeing used?
December 28, 2024 at 9:50 PM
I’d been using #vim for years before I really understood visual mode. I saw someone using it and immediately understood - especially selecting lines to operate on or move around.
What’s your favorite “basic” vim operation that you learnt from seeing used?
What’s your favorite “basic” vim operation that you learnt from seeing used?
Reposted by Normal Mode
git.ari.lt/ari/wrapped....
Wrapped.vim: Vim in a pod - your year in Vim!
Wrapped doesn't have much data on I yet, but here's a screenshot anyway :)
#vim #wrapped #VimWrapped2024 #VimInAPod2024 #vimawesome #nvim #neovim
Wrapped.vim: Vim in a pod - your year in Vim!
Wrapped doesn't have much data on I yet, but here's a screenshot anyway :)
#vim #wrapped #VimWrapped2024 #VimInAPod2024 #vimawesome #nvim #neovim
December 23, 2024 at 5:34 PM
git.ari.lt/ari/wrapped....
Wrapped.vim: Vim in a pod - your year in Vim!
Wrapped doesn't have much data on I yet, but here's a screenshot anyway :)
#vim #wrapped #VimWrapped2024 #VimInAPod2024 #vimawesome #nvim #neovim
Wrapped.vim: Vim in a pod - your year in Vim!
Wrapped doesn't have much data on I yet, but here's a screenshot anyway :)
#vim #wrapped #VimWrapped2024 #VimInAPod2024 #vimawesome #nvim #neovim
Reposted by Normal Mode
Sometimes i find myself using vim inside vscode terminal instead of main editor 🤷♂️
Blows my mind that people use the tiny little terminal pane in VSCode as their primary terminal.
December 17, 2024 at 9:54 AM
Sometimes i find myself using vim inside vscode terminal instead of main editor 🤷♂️
I wrote a #Vim macro that plays Conway's Game of Life. No Vimscript. Just an 80x24 terminal screen's worth of ASCII and Vim's wonderfully powerful editing modal and macros.
Vim Life
Can you implement Conway's Game of Life as a Vim macro that fits on a single 80x24 terminal screen? Saved you a click: you can, and I did.
normalmo.de
December 13, 2024 at 1:16 PM
I wrote a #Vim macro that plays Conway's Game of Life. No Vimscript. Just an 80x24 terminal screen's worth of ASCII and Vim's wonderfully powerful editing modal and macros.
