vim-airline

lean & mean status/tabline for vim that's light as air

17,919

1,104

17,919

View on GitHub

Top Related Projects

lightline.vim

6,827

A light and configurable statusline/tabline plugin for Vim

vim-airline-themes

2,071

A collection of themes for vim-airline

powerline

14,544

Powerline is a statusline plugin for vim, and provides statuslines and prompts for several other applications, including zsh, bash, tmux, IPython, Awesome and Qtile.

lualine.nvim

7,130

A blazing fast and easy to configure neovim statusline plugin written in pure lua.

Quick Overview

Vim-airline is a lean & mean status/tabline for Vim that's light as air. It enhances the visual appearance of Vim by providing a customizable and informative status line and tab line, displaying useful information about the current file, Git status, and more.

Pros

Lightweight and fast, with minimal impact on Vim's performance
Highly customizable with numerous themes and extensions available
Integrates well with other popular Vim plugins
Provides useful information at a glance, improving productivity

Cons

Requires some configuration to get the most out of its features
May have compatibility issues with certain terminal emulators or color schemes
Learning curve for customizing and extending the plugin

Code Examples

Basic configuration in .vimrc:

let g:airline_theme='solarized'
let g:airline_powerline_fonts = 1
let g:airline#extensions#tabline#enabled = 1

This sets the airline theme to 'solarized', enables powerline fonts, and activates the tabline extension.

Customizing sections:

let g:airline_section_b = '%{strftime("%c")}'
let g:airline_section_y = 'BN: %{bufnr("%")}'

This adds the current date and time to section b, and the buffer number to section y.

Adding custom statusline functions:

function! AirlineInit()
  let g:airline_section_a = airline#section#create(['mode', ' ', 'branch'])
  let g:airline_section_b = airline#section#create_left(['ffenc', 'hunks', '%f'])
  let g:airline_section_c = airline#section#create(['filetype'])
  let g:airline_section_x = airline#section#create(['%P'])
  let g:airline_section_y = airline#section#create(['%B'])
  let g:airline_section_z = airline#section#create_right(['%l', '%c'])
endfunction
autocmd VimEnter * call AirlineInit()

This function customizes the layout of the statusline sections.

Getting Started

Install vim-airline using your preferred Vim plugin manager. For example, with vim-plug:

call plug#begin()
Plug 'vim-airline/vim-airline'
Plug 'vim-airline/vim-airline-themes'
call plug#end()

Add basic configuration to your .vimrc:

let g:airline_theme='solarized'
let g:airline_powerline_fonts = 1
let g:airline#extensions#tabline#enabled = 1

Restart Vim or source your .vimrc file.
Explore additional customization options in the plugin's documentation.

Competitor Comparisons

lightline.vim

6,827

A light and configurable statusline/tabline plugin for Vim

Pros of lightline.vim

Lightweight and faster performance
Highly customizable without relying on predefined themes
Simpler configuration with less overhead

Cons of lightline.vim

Fewer built-in features and integrations compared to vim-airline
Requires more manual configuration for advanced setups
Less extensive documentation and community support

Code Comparison

vim-airline:

let g:airline_theme='solarized'
let g:airline#extensions#tabline#enabled = 1
let g:airline_powerline_fonts = 1

lightline.vim:

let g:lightline = {
  \ 'colorscheme': 'wombat',
  \ 'active': {
  \   'left': [ [ 'mode', 'paste' ], [ 'readonly', 'filename', 'modified' ] ]
  \ }
  \ }

Summary

vim-airline and lightline.vim are both popular statusline plugins for Vim. vim-airline offers more out-of-the-box features and integrations, making it easier to set up a feature-rich statusline quickly. However, it can be slower and more resource-intensive.

lightline.vim, on the other hand, prioritizes performance and simplicity. It's more lightweight and customizable but requires more manual configuration for advanced setups. The choice between the two depends on your preferences for performance, ease of setup, and desired features.

vim-airline-themes

2,071

A collection of themes for vim-airline

Pros of vim-airline-themes

Dedicated repository for themes, allowing for easier management and updates
Provides a wider variety of pre-made themes for users to choose from
Allows users to focus solely on theming without core functionality changes

Cons of vim-airline-themes

Requires the main vim-airline plugin to function
May have slower update cycles compared to the core plugin
Potential for compatibility issues if not kept in sync with vim-airline

Code Comparison

vim-airline:

let g:airline_theme='dark'
let g:airline#extensions#tabline#enabled = 1
let g:airline#extensions#tabline#left_sep = ' '
let g:airline#extensions#tabline#left_alt_sep = '|'
let g:airline#extensions#tabline#formatter = 'default'

vim-airline-themes:

let g:airline_theme='solarized'
let g:airline_solarized_bg='dark'
let g:airline_solarized_dark_inactive_border = 1
let g:airline_solarized_normal_green = 1
let g:airline_solarized_dark_text = 0

The main difference in the code is that vim-airline-themes focuses on theme-specific configurations, while vim-airline handles core functionality and basic theming. vim-airline-themes provides more granular control over theme-specific settings, allowing users to fine-tune the appearance of their statusline.

powerline

14,544

Powerline is a statusline plugin for vim, and provides statuslines and prompts for several other applications, including zsh, bash, tmux, IPython, Awesome and Qtile.

Pros of Powerline

Broader application support beyond Vim (e.g., shells, tmux)
More customizable with a wider range of configuration options
Written in Python, potentially easier for some users to extend or modify

Cons of Powerline

Requires Python installation and setup
Can be more complex to configure and maintain
May have higher resource usage due to Python dependency

Code Comparison

Powerline configuration (Python):

from powerline import Powerline
powerline = Powerline()
powerline.theme = "default"
powerline.colorscheme = "default"
print(powerline.render())

Vim-airline configuration (Vimscript):

let g:airline_theme='dark'
let g:airline_powerline_fonts = 1
let g:airline#extensions#tabline#enabled = 1

Summary

Powerline offers broader application support and more customization options but requires Python and can be more complex to set up. Vim-airline is Vim-specific, lighter weight, and easier to configure but may have fewer features. The choice between them depends on your specific needs and preferences for statusline customization across different applications.

lualine.nvim

7,130

A blazing fast and easy to configure neovim statusline plugin written in pure lua.

Pros of lualine.nvim

Written in Lua, offering better performance and easier configuration
More customizable with a wider range of built-in themes and components
Actively maintained with frequent updates and new features

Cons of lualine.nvim

Requires Neovim 0.5+ and Lua knowledge for advanced customization
Smaller community and fewer third-party extensions compared to vim-airline

Code Comparison

vim-airline configuration:

let g:airline_theme='solarized'
let g:airline#extensions#tabline#enabled = 1
let g:airline_powerline_fonts = 1

lualine.nvim configuration:

require('lualine').setup {
  options = { theme = 'solarized' },
  sections = { lualine_a = {'mode'}, lualine_b = {'branch'} }
}

Both plugins aim to enhance the status line in Vim/Neovim, but lualine.nvim leverages Lua for improved performance and flexibility. vim-airline has a larger user base and more extensions, while lualine.nvim offers easier customization and a more modern approach. The choice between them often depends on the user's preference for Vim script vs. Lua and their specific requirements for status line functionality.

Convert designs to code with AI

Introducing Visual Copilot: A new AI model to turn Figma designs to high quality code using your components.

Try Visual Copilot

README

vim-airline

Lean & mean status/tabline for vim that's light as air.

When the plugin is correctly loaded, there will be a nice statusline at the bottom of each vim window.

That line consists of several sections, each one displaying some piece of information. By default (without configuration) this line will look like this:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|~                                                                            |
|~                                                                            |
|~                     VIM - Vi IMproved                                      |
|~                                                                            |
|~                       version 8.2                                          |
|~                    by Bram Moolenaar et al.                                |
|~           Vim is open source and freely distributable                      |
|~                                                                            |
|~           type :h :q<Enter>          to exit                               |
|~           type :help<Enter> or <F1>  for on-line help                      |
|~           type :help version8<Enter> for version info                      |
|~                                                                            |
|~                                                                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| A | B |                     C                            X | Y | Z |  [...] |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The statusline is the colored line at the bottom, which contains the sections (possibly in different colors):

section	meaning (example)
A	displays the mode + additional flags like crypt/spell/paste (INSERT)
B	Environment status (VCS information - branch, hunk summary (master), battery level)
C	filename + read-only flag (~/.vim/vimrc RO)
X	filetype (vim)
Y	file encoding[fileformat] (utf-8[unix])
Z	current position in the file
[...]	additional sections (warning/errors/statistics) from external plugins (e.g. YCM, syntastic, ...)

The information in Section Z looks like this:

10% â° 10/100 ln : 20

This means:

10%     - 10 percent down the top of the file
â° 10    - current line 10
/100 ln - of 100 lines
: 20    - current column 20

For a better look, those sections can be colored differently, depending on various conditions (e.g. the mode or whether the current file is 'modified')

Features

Tiny core written with extensibility in mind (open/closed principle).
Integrates with a variety of plugins, including: vim-bufferline, fugitive, flog, unite, ctrlp, minibufexpl, gundo, undotree, nerdtree, tagbar, vim-gitgutter, vim-signify, quickfixsigns, syntastic, eclim, lawrencium, virtualenv, tmuxline, taboo.vim, ctrlspace, vim-bufmru, vimagit, denite, vim.battery and more.
Looks good with regular fonts and provides configuration points so you can use unicode or powerline symbols.
Optimized for speed - loads in under a millisecond.
Extensive suite of themes for popular color schemes including solarized (dark and light), tomorrow (all variants), base16 (all variants), molokai, jellybeans and others. Note these are now external to this plugin. More details can be found in the themes repository.
Supports 7.2 as the minimum Vim version.
The master branch tries to be as stable as possible, and new features are merged in only after they have gone through a full regression test.
Unit testing suite.

Installation

This plugin follows the standard runtime path structure, and as such it can be installed with a variety of plugin managers:

Plugin Manager	Install with...
Pathogen	`git clone https://github.com/vim-airline/vim-airline ~/.vim/bundle/vim-airline` Remember to run `:Helptags` to generate help tags
NeoBundle	`NeoBundle 'vim-airline/vim-airline'`
Vundle	`Plugin 'vim-airline/vim-airline'`
Plug	`Plug 'vim-airline/vim-airline'`
VAM	`call vam#ActivateAddons([ 'vim-airline' ])`
Dein	`call dein#add('vim-airline/vim-airline')`
minpac	`call minpac#add('vim-airline/vim-airline')`
pack feature (native Vim 8 package feature)	`git clone https://github.com/vim-airline/vim-airline ~/.vim/pack/dist/start/vim-airline` Remember to run `:helptags ~/.vim/pack/dist/start/vim-airline/doc` to generate help tags
manual	copy all of the files into your `~/.vim` directory

Straightforward customization

If you don't like the defaults, you can replace all sections with standard statusline syntax. Give your statusline that you've built over the years a face lift.

Themes

Themes have moved to another repository as of this commit.

Install the themes as you would this plugin (Vundle example):

Plugin 'vim-airline/vim-airline'
Plugin 'vim-airline/vim-airline-themes'

See vim-airline-themes for more.

Automatic truncation

Sections and parts within sections can be configured to automatically hide when the window size shrinks.

Smarter tab line

Automatically displays all buffers when there's only one tab open.

tabline

This is disabled by default; add the following to your vimrc to enable the extension:

let g:airline#extensions#tabline#enabled = 1

Separators can be configured independently for the tabline, so here is how you can define "straight" tabs:

let g:airline#extensions#tabline#left_sep = ' '
let g:airline#extensions#tabline#left_alt_sep = '|'

In addition, you can also choose which path formatter airline uses. This affects how file paths are displayed in each individual tab as well as the current buffer indicator in the upper right. To do so, set the formatter field with:

let g:airline#extensions#tabline#formatter = 'default'

Here is a complete list of formatters with screenshots:

`default`

`jsformatter`

`unique_tail`

`unique_tail_improved`

Seamless integration

vim-airline integrates with a variety of plugins out of the box. These extensions will be lazily loaded if and only if you have the other plugins installed (and of course you can turn them off).

ctrlp.vim

unite.vim

denite.nvim

tagbar

csv.vim

syntastic

hunks (vim-gitgutter, vim-signify, coc-git & gitsigns.nvim)

vimagit

vim-airline-vimagit-demo

flog

vim-flog-airline-demo

virtualenv

tmuxline

promptline

airline-promptline-sc

ctrlspace

papercolor_with_ctrlspace

xkb-switch/xkb-layout

vimtex

localsearch

LanguageClient

Vim-CMake

vim.battery

Extras

vim-airline also supplies some supplementary stand-alone extensions. In addition to the tabline extension mentioned earlier, there is also:

whitespace

statusline on top

The statusline can alternatively be drawn on top, making room for other plugins to use the statusline: The example shows a custom statusline setting, that imitates Vims default statusline, while allowing to call custom functions. Use :let g:airline_statusline_ontop=1 to enable it.

Configurable and extensible

Fine-tuned configuration

Every section is composed of parts, and you can reorder and reconfigure them at will.

Sections can contain accents, which allows for very granular control of visuals (see configuration here).

Extensible pipeline

Completely transform the statusline to your liking. Build out the statusline as you see fit by extracting colors from the current colorscheme's highlight groups.

allyourbase

Rationale

There's already powerline, why yet another statusline?

100% vimscript; no python needed.

What about vim-powerline?

vim-powerline has been deprecated in favor of the newer, unifying powerline, which is under active development; the new version is written in python at the core and exposes various bindings such that it can style statuslines not only in vim, but also tmux, bash, zsh, and others.

Where did the name come from?

I wrote the initial version on an airplane, and since it's light as air it turned out to be a good name. Thanks for flying vim!

Documentation

:help airline

Integrating with powerline fonts

For the nice looking powerline symbols to appear, you will need to install a patched font. Instructions can be found in the official powerline documentation. Prepatched fonts can be found in the powerline-fonts repository.

Finally, you can add the convenience variable let g:airline_powerline_fonts = 1 to your vimrc which will automatically populate the g:airline_symbols dictionary with the powerline symbols.

FAQ

Solutions to common problems can be found in the Wiki.

Performance

Whoa! Everything got slow all of a sudden...

vim-airline strives to make it easy to use out of the box, which means that by default it will look for all compatible plugins that you have installed and enable the relevant extension.

Many optimizations have been made such that the majority of users will not see any performance degradation, but it can still happen. For example, users who routinely open very large files may want to disable the tagbar extension, as it can be very expensive to scan for the name of the current function.

The minivimrc project has some helper mappings to troubleshoot performance related issues.

If you don't want all the bells and whistles enabled by default, you can define a value for g:airline_extensions. When this variable is defined, only the extensions listed will be loaded; an empty array would effectively disable all extensions (e.g. :let g:airline_extensions = []).

Also, you can enable caching of the various syntax highlighting groups. This will try to prevent some of the more expensive :hi calls in Vim, which seem to be expensive in the Vim core at the expense of possibly not being one hundred percent correct all the time (especially if you often change highlighting groups yourself using :hi commands). To set this up do :let g:airline_highlighting_cache = 1. A :AirlineRefresh will however clear the cache.

In addition you might want to check out the dark_minimal theme, which does not change highlighting groups once they are defined. Also please check the FAQ for more information on how to diagnose and fix the problem.

Screenshots

A full list of screenshots for various themes can be found in the Wiki.

Maintainers

The project is currently being maintained by Christian Brabandt and Bailey Ling.

If you are interested in becoming a maintainer (we always welcome more maintainers), please go here.

License

Top Related Projects

Convert designs to code with AI

Introducing Visual Copilot: A new AI model to turn Figma designs to high quality code using your components.

Try Visual Copilot