vim - maintain a session in shell by executing commands

Question

vim has a number of ways to execute shell commands from within vim. One can jump to the shell and back to vim using shell, ctrl+z the current process and get back using fg. Selected/Current lines can be executed using !w bash.

However, all these approaches are helpful only for running one command. Once the command executes, the shell is process is killed.

I wanted to know if there is a way to keep executing snippets of code in the shell and have the shell remember functions/variables from the previous command (similar to copying snippets of code to a shell prompt) to debug code. For this the shell session would have to be persisted somehow.

I often run into cases where I need to execute a few functions on the shell and then test them out by calling them. The standard approach would be to copy paste them in a different shell and then execute them. How to do this from within vim?

Another approach is to use a terminal multiplexer like tmux or screen to allow a "split" terminal window with vim in one half and a shell session in the other. — chepner
– chepner, Commented Mar 11, 2014 at 12:02

DevSolar · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-14 08:01:54Z

1

If your Vim was build with Python support (most Unix builds are, Windows / Cygwin builds are not), you might want to have a look at the Conque Shell plugin, which allows to run a shell inside a Vim buffer.

Edit: Correction, apparently Vim 7.3 for Windows now also comes with Python support (and thus, Conque compatibility).

edited Mar 14, 2014 at 8:01

answered Mar 11, 2014 at 12:49

DevSolar

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2 Comments

Arup Rakshit Over a year ago

I was also looking for something like that. Would you help me with the set up this with Gvim ?

DevSolar Over a year ago

@ArupRakshit: I don't use it myself, I just remembered the link. The installation instructions seem to be pretty straightforward. If you encounter problems, just post a question on SuperUser. I'm sure you'll get help. ;-)

benjifisher · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-11 12:45:56Z

0

You could start vim (not gvim) from a shell, then use <C-Z> to suspend vim. You return to the calling shell (not a sub-shell) and resume vim with fg. According to the docs, this works "On many Unix systems".

:help suspend

answered Mar 11, 2014 at 12:45

benjifisher

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