6 best Vim plugin managers

Vim plugins allow you to extend Vim's functionality according to your workflow and preferences. But you will need a good plugin manager to install and manage your Vim plugins.

Here are some of the best plugin managers for Vim that will make your life a little easier.

1. vim-plug

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vim-plug is a lightweight and powerful plugin manager that is easy to set up and use. All configurations and plugins are listed in a single file. It only has a few commands so you won't need to memorize anything to use the tool. vim-plug also supports parallel installation and updating of multiple plugins at the same time. And on top of that, it's very fast.

Other great features include on-demand downloads, support for reviewing and rolling back updates, and minimal disk space usage.

vim-plug has detailed documentation, which is ideal if you're new to Vim or the plugin manager. Most Vim plugins and plugin managers, including vim-plug, have a GitHub page to guide you through installation.

2. pathogen.vim

pathogen.vim is one of the oldest Vim plugin managers. Like most plugin managers, it organizes plugins into individual folders. This allows you to easily upgrade and remove a plugin without affecting other active plugins.

Installing and configuring pathogen.vim is very easy. Most of the configuration takes place in the .vimrc file and you only need a few lines of code to get started.

Unlike other plugin managers, you have to manually update your plugins with bee.vim. If you want more control over the plugins installed on your system, then pathogen.vim is the only plugin manager you need.

3. Vundle

Inspired by pathogen.vim, the name Vundle is a combination of "Vim" and "bundles". As the name suggests, in Vundle, plugins are called bundle. Installing Vundle is pretty easy. Just copy the source code from its GitHub page and configure the .vimrc file.

Vundle comes with 4 core utilities that you use to list, update and install, search and remove plugins. It gives you granular control over what to configure and how to configure it.

Vundle is a great plugin manager for Vim if you regularly try out new plugins or tinker with existing ones.

4. dein.vim

dein.vim is another great and modern Vim/Neovim plugin manager. It is also relatively faster than other plugins like NeoBundle.

dein.vim uses functions instead of commands to simplify the configuration process. It is relatively easy to maintain and manage plugins with this plugin manager.

dein.vim is a great choice if you want to be compatible with multiple plugins or operating systems. It supports plugins that are not normally available on GitHub and most importantly is compatible with macOS and Windows.

5. Volt

Another great plugin manager for Vim, Volt is super fast and doesn't slow down your system with bloatware. It's easy to install and set up, better yet, the Volt can be easily upgraded with the command volt self-upgrade .

Some of Volt's best features include support for parallel updates of multiple plugins and plugin locking so you have more control over plugin versions.

6. Default plugin support

On Vim version 8 and later, you can install plugins manually without using third-party plugin managers. With default plugin management support, all you have to do is copy the plugin's contents to a specified folder in the ~/.vim directory.

You should consider the default plugin manager if you're running a newer version of Vim (version 8 or later) and don't want to install an additional plugin manager.

Vim Plugin Manager is the best way to organize and manage plugins in Vim. They make it easier for you to install, update, and remove Vim plugins from your system.

Whether you decide to use a third-party plugin manager or want to stick with the default plugin support, installing plugins in Vim is incredibly easy.

Micah Soto

Update 27 July 2022