VimExplorer

An oil.nvim-style file explorer for Vim. Edit your filesystem like a buffer — rename, delete, create, copy, and move files by editing text and saving with :w.

Demo: https://youtu.be/5Zo84JBFdoI

Details On

Details Off

Installation

Vim — clone into ~/.vim/pack/plugins/start/:

git clone https://github.com/Ashik80/vimexplorer ~/.vim/pack/plugins/start/vimexplorer

Neovim — clone into ~/.local/share/nvim/site/pack/plugins/start/:

git clone https://github.com/Ashik80/vimexplorer ~/.local/share/nvim/site/pack/plugins/start/vimexplorer

Both use Vim's built-in package loader (:h packages), no plugin manager needed. After cloning, generate the help tags:

:helptags ALL

Usage

:VimExplorer          " open explorer for current file's directory
:VimExplorer /path    " open explorer for a specific directory
:VimExplorerCwd       " open explorer for Vim's cwd

Recommended mapping:

nnoremap <silent> - :VimExplorer<CR>

Key Bindings

Key	Action
<CR>	Open file / enter directory
-	Go up one directory
<BS>	Go up one directory
gh	Toggle hidden files
gd	Toggle detail mode (perms + size)
yy	Yank entry (copy intent)
dd	Cut entry (move intent)
p / P	Paste yanked/cut entry
R	Refresh listing
:w	Apply all pending edits
?	Show key binding summary

Editing

Rename — edit the filename on its line, then :w. Confirmation required.

Delete — dd to remove the line, then :w. Confirmation required.

Create file — add a new line with the filename, then :w. Nested paths are supported; parent dirs are created automatically.

notes.txt
docs/notes.txt

Create directory — add a line ending with /, then :w. Nested dirs supported.

logs/
logs/archive/

Copy — yy on an entry in one explorer buffer, p in another, then :w in the destination. Works for files and directories (recursive).

Move — same as copy but use dd instead of yy. The file/directory is moved atomically.

Configuration

let g:vimexplorer_show_hidden = 0   " show dotfiles by default (default: 0)
let g:vimexplorer_detail      = 1   " show perms + size prefix (default: 1)
let g:vimexplorer_show_header = 1   " show path/hint header lines (default: 1)

Detail Mode

When enabled (gd to toggle), each line is prefixed with permissions and size:

drwxr-xr-x          src/
-rw-r--r--    42B   README.md

Only the filename at the end of the line is used when saving.

Syntax Highlighting

Group	Default link	What it highlights
VimExplorerHeader	Comment	Path and hint lines
VimExplorerDir	Directory	Directory entries
VimExplorerPerms	NonText	Permissions string
VimExplorerSize	Number	File size field
VimExplorerDotfile	Comment	Hidden files/directories

Override any group after your colorscheme is set:

highlight VimExplorerDir    ctermfg=cyan   guifg=#89dceb
highlight VimExplorerPerms  ctermfg=240    guifg=#585858
highlight VimExplorerSize   ctermfg=yellow guifg=#f9e2af
highlight VimExplorerDotfile ctermfg=238   guifg=#45475a