I require a cutting tool

About

Vim-terminator runs your current file. Out of the box it comes with support for 47 languages and can be extended for any vim file type. Using automatic file type detection, this plugin can

1. Run your current file (or visual selection) in a custom "output buffer"

• stdout is sent to the output buffer and stderr is sent to the quickfix window
• The process is executed asynchronously leaving your editor completely functional
• The process is timed and reported in seconds to 6 decimal places at the end of the running job

2. Run your current file (or visual selection) in a vim terminal

• This allows for running interactive programs (e.g. user input)

3. Start a REPL using the current file type
4. Send parts of the current buffer to a terminal. This includes

• Visually selected text
• Text between commented delimiters

Demo

Run the current file in the output buffer:

Run the current file containing errors for quick fixing:

Run the current file in a terminal:

Send text between delimiters to a REPL:

Automatic window resizing

Installation

If you use vim-plug

plug 'erietz/vim-terminator', { 'branch': 'main'}

If you use packer

use 'erietz/vim-terminator'

Note: This plugin requires neovim or vim version >= 8.0

Usage

Key map	Description
<leader>ot	Opens (or reopens) a terminal window
<leader>or	Opens a repl
<leader>rf	Runs your current file (or visual selection) in the output buffer
<leader>rt	Runs your current file (or visual selection) in the terminal
<leader>rs	Stops the running job in the output buffer
<leader>rm	Modifies command via command line before running in output buffer
	Pro tip: hit <c-f> on vims command line to further modify before running
<leader>sd	Send text in delimiter to terminal
<leader>ss	Sends visual selection to terminal
:TerminatorSendToTerminal echo "hi there"	Sends echo "hi there" to the terminal

"I do not like these key bindings, I'd like to set my own"

• Several key mappings are set by default, but they can be removed by adding let g:terminator_clear_default_mappings = "foo bar" to init.vim or .vimrc
  • If this route is taken, check the file plugin/terminator.vim for internal functions and commands.

Extensibility

• Both the commands used to run the current file and to start a REPL for the current file can be modified via a global dictionary defined in the init.vim or vimrc like this

let g:terminator_runfile_map = {
            \ "javascript": "node",
            \ "python": "python -u",
            \ "c": "gcc $dir$fileName -o $dir$fileNameWithoutExt && $dir$fileNameWithoutExt",
            \ "fortran": "cd $dir && gfortran $fileName -o $fileNameWithoutExt && $dir$fileNameWithoutExt"
            \ }

allowing use of the variables defined below

Variable name	Description
$fileName	what you would get from running basename on the file
$fileNameWithoutExt	same as $fileName with everything after and including the last . removed
$dir	the full path of the parent directory of the filename
$dirWithoutTrailingSlash	same as $dir with the trailing slash removed

• The REPL command dictionary is defined similarly

let g:terminator_repl_command = {
  \'python' : 'ipython --no-autoindent',
  \'javascript': 'node',
  \}

REPL delimiters

• This plugin automatically detects the comment style based on file type.
• By default the delimiters used of the form In\[.*\]:
• The delimiters can be modified using the variable g:terminator_repl_delimiter_regex
  • For example: you could use let g:terminator_repl_delimiter_regex = '--' to delimit code blocks. In this example
    • A python code delimiter would be # --
    • A javascript code delimiter would be // --
    • etc.

Managing window splits

Two variables can be set to help manage how windows are split. A combination of these variables can go a long way.

1. let g:terminator_split_fraction = <decimal> where <decimal> is a number between 0 and 1.
2. let g:terminator_split_location = '<option>' where <option> is something like

• belowright
• aboveleft
• topleft
• botright
• vertical belowright
• vertical aboveleft
• vertical topleft
• vertical botright
• see :help vertical for details of these options

There is also the option let g:terminator_auto_shrink_output = 1 which automatically shrinks the output buffer (in a horizontal split) to the size of the output if it is less than the maximum split size given by g:terminator_split_fraction.

FAQ

The quickfix window is populated but I can't jump to the errors

Set the :compiler for the file type. This in turn sets errorformat. See :h errorformat

The quickfix window is not catching errors after running code of a different file type

Switch to the output buffer and run :bdelete. Then run your code again.