Dev_vimpatch

Nvim :help pages, generated from source using the tree-sitter-vimdoc parser.

Merging patches from Vim

Nvim was forked from Vim 7.4.160; it is kept up-to-date with relevant Vim patches in order to avoid duplicate work. Run vim-patch.sh https://github.com/neovim/neovim/blob/master/scripts/vim-patch.sh to see the status of Vim patches:

./scripts/vim-patch.sh -l

Everyone is welcome to dev-vimpatch-pull-requests for relevant Vim patches, but some types of patches are dev-vimpatch-not-applicable. See dev-vimpatch-quickstart to get started immediately.

QUICKSTART dev-vimpatch-quickstart

1. Pull the Nvim source:

git clone https://github.com/neovim/neovim.git

2. Run ./scripts/vim-patch.sh -l to see the list of missing Vim patches.

3. Choose a patch from the list (usually the oldest one), e.g. 8.0.0123.

Check for open vim-patch PRs https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pulls?q=is%3Apr+is%3Aopen+label%3Avim-patch.

4. Run ./scripts/vim-patch.sh -p 8.0.0123

5. Follow the instructions given by the script.

NOTES

It's strongly recommended to work on the oldest missing patch, because later patches might depend on the changes.

Use git log --grep or git log -G to search the Nvim/Vim source history (even deleted code). E.g. to find reset_option_was_set:

git log -p -G reset_option_was_set

Pass git log options like --grep and -G to ./scripts/vim-patch.sh -L to filter unmerged Vim patches E.g. to find +quickfix patches:

./scripts/vim-patch.sh -L --grep quickfix -- src

PULL REQUESTS dev-vimpatch-pull-requests

Note: vim-patch.sh automates these steps for you. Use it!

Install gh (https://cli.github.com/) if you want to use vim-patch.sh to create PRs automatically

The pull request title should include vim-patch:8.x.xxxx (no whitespace)

The commit message https://github.com/neovim/neovim/commit/4ccf1125ff569eccfc34abc4ad794044c5ab7455 should include:

A token indicating the Vim patch number, formatted as follows: vim-patch:8.0.0123 (no whitespace)

A URL pointing to the Vim commit: https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/c8020ee825b9d9196b1329c0e097424576fc9b3a

The original Vim commit message, including author

Reviewers: hint for reviewing runtime/ patches https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/1744#issuecomment-68202876

NA (NOT APPLICABLE) PATCHES dev-vimpatch-not-applicable

Many Vim patches are not applicable to Nvim. If you find NA patches, visit an open "version.c: update" pull request https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pulls?q=is%3Apr+author%3Aapp%2Fgithub-actions+version.c+is%3Aopen and mention the NA patches in a comment (please edit/update one comment, rather than adding a new comment for each patch).

If there are no open version.c: update pull requests, include NA patches in a commit message in the following format:

vim-patch:<version-or-commit>
vim-patch:<version-or-commit>
...

where <version-or-commit> is a valid Vim version (like 8.0.0123) or commit-id (SHA). Each patch is on a separate line.

It is preferred to include NA patches by squashing it in applicable Vim patches, especially if the Vim patches are related. First line of the commit message should be from the applicable Vim patch.

./scripts/vim-patch -p <na-patch>
./scripts/vim-patch -p <na-patch>
...
./scripts/vim-patch -P <patch>
git rebase -i master

Example: https://github.com/neovim/neovim/commit/00f60c2ce78fc1280e93d5a36bc7b2267d5f4ac6

TYPES OF "NOT APPLICABLE" VIM PATCHES

Vim9script features, and anything related to :scriptversion. (Nvim supports Vimscript version 1 only.) Be aware that patches labelled Vim9: may still contain applicable fixes to other parts of the codebase, so these patch need to be checked individually.

Updates to testdir/Makefile are usually NA because the Makefile implicitly finds https://github.com/neovim/neovim/commit/8a677f8a4bff6005fa39f090c14e970c3dfdbe6e#diff-b3c6ad6680a25a1b42095879e3a87104R52 all test_*.vim files.

Compiler warning fixes: Nvim strives to have no warnings at all, and has a very different build system from Vim.

Note: Coverity fixes in Vim are relevant to Nvim.

*.proto changes: Nvim autogenerates function prototypes

#ifdef tweaking: For example, Vim decided to enable FEAT_VISUAL for all platforms - but Nvim already does that. Adding new FEAT_ guards also isn't relevant to Nvim.

Legacy system support: Fixes for legacy systems such as Amiga, OS/2 Xenix, Mac OS 9, Windows older than XP SP2, are not needed because they are not supported by Nvim.

NA files: src/Make_*, src/testdir/Make__*

if_*.c changes: if_python.c et. al. were removed.

term.c changes: the Nvim TUI uses libtermkey to read terminal sequences; Vim's term.c was removed.

job patches: incompatible API and implementation

NA files: src/channel_*, src/job_*, src/testdir/test_channel_*, src/testdir/test_job_*

:terminal patches that modify NA files: incompatible API and implementation

NA files: src/terminal_*, src/testdir/test_terminal_*

defaults.vim patches

Most GUI-related changes: Nvim GUIs are implemented external to the core C codebase.

NA files: src/gui_*, src/gvim_*, src/GvimExt/*, src/testdir/test_gui*

balloon changes: Nvim does not support balloon feature

NA files: src/beval_*, src/testdir/test_balloon_*

Screendump tests from test_popupwin.vim, test_popupwin_textprop.vim: https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/12741#issuecomment-704677141

json changes: incompatible API https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/4131

NA files: src/json*, src/testdir/test_json.vim

test_restricted.vim restricted mode is removed in https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/11996

Many tests in test_prompt_buffer.vim require incompatible Vim features such as channel; they should still be included, but skipped

non-runtime documentation: Moved to https://neovim.io/doc/,

NA files: Filelist, README, INSTALL,

Anything else might be relevant; err on the side of caution, and post an issue if you aren't sure.

VERSION.C dev-vimpatch-version.c

The list of Vim patches in src/nvim/version.c is automatically updated https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/7780 based on the presence of vim-patch:xxx tokens in the Nvim git log.

Don't update src/nvim/version.c yourself.

scripts/vim-patch.sh -p intentionally omits version.c to avoid merge conflicts and save time when porting a patch.

The automation script (scripts/vimpatch.lua) only recognizes tokens like vim-patch:8.0.1206, not vim-patch:<hash>.

CODE DIFFERENCES dev-vimpatch-code-differences

The following functions have been removed or deprecated in favor of newer alternatives. See memory.c https://github.com/neovim/neovim/blob/master/src/nvim/memory.c for more information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Deprecated or removed                                 Replacement
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
vim_free                                                 xfree
VIM_CLEAR(&foo)                                    XFREE_CLEAR(foo)
malloc alloc lalloc lalloc_id ALLOC_ONE                 xmalloc
calloc lalloc_clear                                     xcalloc
realloc vim_realloc                                    xrealloc
mch_memmove                                             memmove
vim_memset copy_chars copy_spaces                       memset
vim_strbyte                                             strchr
vim_strncpy strncpy                               xstrlcpy/xmemcpyz
vim_strcat strncat                                     xstrlcat
VIM_ISWHITE                                          ascii_iswhite
IS_WHITE_OR_NUL                                  ascii_iswhite_or_nul
IS_WHITE_NL_OR_NUL                              ascii_iswhite_nl_or_nul
vim_isalpha                                           mb_isalpha
vim_isNormalIDc                                      ascii_isident
vim_islower vim_isupper                          mb_islower mb_isupper
vim_tolower vim_toupper                          mb_tolower mb_toupper
mb_ptr2len                                           utfc_ptr2len
mb_ptr2len_len                                     utfc_ptr2len_len
mb_char2len                                          utf_char2len
mb_char2bytes                                       utf_char2bytes
mb_ptr2cells                                         utf_ptr2cells
mb_ptr2cells_len                                   utf_ptr2cells_len
mb_char2cells                                       utf_char2cells
mb_off2cells                                         utf_off2cells
mb_ptr2char                                          utf_ptr2char
mb_head_off                                          utf_head_off
mb_tail_off                                          utf_cp_bounds
mb_strnicmp2                                         utf_strnicmp
MB_STRNICMP2                                         utf_strnicmp
mb_lefthalve                                        grid_lefthalve
mb_fix_col                                           grid_fix_col
utf_off2cells                                       grid_off2cells
ml_get_curline                                    get_cursor_line_ptr
ml_get_cursor                                     get_cursor_pos_ptr
ml_get_curline_len                                get_cursor_line_len
ml_get_cursor_len                                 get_cursor_pos_len
screen_char                                             ui_line
screen_line                                        grid_put_linebuf
screen_* (most functions)                               grid_*
update_prepare, update_finish #9484                  removed; use update_screen only
ARRAY_LENGTH                                          ARRAY_SIZE
vim_strsave_escape_csi                           vim_strsave_escape_ks
vim_unescape_csi                                    vim_unescape_ks
gettail                                                path_tail
mch_isFullName                                     path_is_absolute
script_do_profile                                    profile_init
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Make sure to note the difference between utf_ and utfc_ when replacing mb_ functions. Also indirect call syntax (*mb_ptr2len)(...) should be replaced with an ordinary function call utfc_ptr2len(...).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Data type    Format (Vim source)     Portable format (Nvim source)
------------ ----------------------- ----------------------------------
long long    "%lld"                  "%" PRId64
size_t       "%ld"                   "%zu"
linenr_T     "%ld"                   "%" PRIdLINENR
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Vim's ga_init2 was renamed to ga_init and the original ga_init is gone.

"Old style" Vim tests (src/testdir/*.in) should be converted to Lua tests (see #1286 https://github.com/neovim/neovim/issues/1286 and #1328 https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/1328). See Checklist for migrating legacy tests https://github.com/neovim/neovim/blob/master/test/README.md#checklist-for-migrating-legacy-tests.

However, please do not convert "new style" Vim tests (src/testdir/*.vim) to Lua. The "new style" Vim tests are faster than the old ones, and converting them takes time and effort better spent elsewhere. Just copy them to test/old/testdir/*.vim.

Conditions that check enc_utf8 or has_mbyte are obsolete (only the "true" case is applicable).

enc_utf8 and has_mbyte macros were removed in https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/13293

Check for CSI in typeahead buffer is only necessary in Vim with FEAT_GUI. CSI does not have a special meaning in typeahead buffer in Nvim. (also see https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/16936)

LIST MANAGEMENT dev-vimpatch-list-management

Management of lists (types list_T and listitem_T from vim) was changed in https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/7708/. There is a lint against the "old" usage, but here are the most important changes.

Declarations for the table

list_T list: a list

listitem_T li: an item of list

int val a value for lv_copyID

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Old                             New                                  Comment
------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------
list->lv_first                  tv_list_first(list)
list->lv_last                   tv_list_last(list)
li->li_next                     TV_LIST_ITEM_NEXT(list, li)          To be avoided if possible, must use list which li belongs to.
li->li_prev                     TV_LIST_ITEM_PREV(list, li)          To be avoided if possible, must use list which li belongs to.
                                Suggestion by @ZyX-l:                Use TV_LIST_ITER or indexing instead of the previous two calls.
list->lv_len                    tv_list_len(list)
list->lv_lock                   tv_list_locked(list)
&li->li_tv                      TV_LIST_ITEM_TV(li)
list->lv_refcount++             tv_list_ref(list)
val = list->lv_copyID           val = tv_list_copyid(list)
list->lv_copyID = val           tv_list_set_copyid(list, val)
for (li = list->lv_first;       TV_LIST_ITER_CONST(list, li,         Use TV_LIST_ITER(...) if you need to
li != NULL && another_cond;     { if (another_cond) {break;} code})  modify list items (note: assigning copyID is also modification and this happens
li = li->li_next) code                                               always when recursively traversing a list).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more details and some more advanced usage, see typval.h and typval.c.

DOCUMENTATION DIFFERENCES dev-vimpatch-documentation

The following should be removed from all imported documentation, and not be used in new documentation:

{Only when compiled with ...}: the vast majority of features have been made non-optional (see https://github.com/neovim/neovim/wiki/Introduction)

FILETYPE DETECTION dev-vimpatch-filetype

Nvim's filetype detection behavior matches Vim, but is implemented as part of vim.filetype (see $VIMRUNTIME/lua/vim/filetype.lua). The logic is encoded in three tables, listed in order of precedence (the first match is returned): 1. filename for literal full path or basename lookup; 2. pattern for matching filenames or paths against lua-patterns, optimized for fast lookup; 3. extension for literal extension lookup.

Logic that requires checking file contents or buffer variables is implemented in $VIMRUNTIME/lua/vim/filetype/detect.lua.

When porting filetype patches from Vim, keep the following in mind:

Prefer explicit filenames or extensions over patterns, especially for case insensitive matches (see https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/29800):

"*[mM]akefile" regex -> "makefile", "Makefile" filenames
"*.js\c"       regex -> "js", "jS", "Js", "jS" extensions

Pattern matching has several differences:

It is done using explicit Lua patterns without implicit anchoring instead of Vim regexes:

"*/debian/changelog" -> "/debian/changelog$"
"*/bind/db.*"        -> "/bind/db%."

Filetype patterns are grouped by their parent pattern to improve matching performance: If the parent pattern does not match, skip testing all child patterns. Note that unlike leaf patterns, parent patterns do not have special matching behaviour if they contain a /.

When adding a new filetype with pattern matching, consider the following:

If there is already a group with appropriate parent pattern, use it.

If there can be a fast and specific enough pattern to group at least 3 filetype patterns, add it as a separate grouped entry.

New parent patterns should be

fast: rule of thumb is that it should be a short explicit string (i.e. no quantifiers or character sets);

specific: rules of thumb, in order:

full directory name (e.g., "/etc/", "/log/");

part of a rare enough directory name (e.g., "/conf", "git/");

string rarely used in real full paths (e.g., "nginx").

Example:

Filetype pattern: ".*/etc/a2ps/.*%.cfg"

Good parents: "/etc/" or "%.cfg$"

Bad parents: "%." (fast but not specific) or "/a2ps/.*%." (specific but slow)

When modifying an existing regular pattern, make sure that it still fits its group.