vim-fileheader

A small Vim plugin that inserts a file header for selected file types and keeps the Last modified timestamp up to date.

Features

• Automatically inserts a header for new files (BufNewFile) matching these extensions:
  • *.sh, *.conf, *.service, *.timer, *.info
• Provides a manual command to insert a header into the current buffer:
  • :AddHeader
• Updates the Last modified: line on save (BufWritePre) only when:
  • the buffer is actually modified, and
  • a header is present in the file
• Path formatting:
  • Files inside your home directory are shown as ~/... (no username shown)
  • Files outside $HOME keep their absolute path (e.g. /etc/...)

Installation

Vim packages

Create directory-tree and clone the repo:

mkdir -p ~/.vim/pack/helpers/start
cd ~/.vim/pack/helpers/start
git clone https://github.com/hasmaneuroda/vim-fileheader.git

Or manually put the plugin file here:

• ~/.vim/pack/helpers/start/vim-fileheader/plugin/fileHeader.vim

Vim loads packages under pack/*/start/* automatically on startup.

Using a plugin manager (vim-plug for example)

If you use a plugin manager like vim-plug simply add the following lines to your ~/.vimrc:

call plug#begin('~/.vim/plugged')
Plug 'hasmaneuroda/vim-fileheader'
call plug#end()

Optional packages

If you keep it under pack/*/opt/*, you must load it manually, e.g. in ~/.vimrc:

packadd vim-fileheader

Usage

Automatic header insertion

Create a new file matching one of the configured extensions, e.g.:

• vim new-script.sh
• vim my.service

The header is inserted automatically.

Shell scripts:

• If the file already starts with a shebang (#!...), the header is inserted after it.
• If no shebang exists, #!/usr/bin/env bash is prepended and the header follows.

Manual header insertion (:AddHeader)

To insert a header into the current buffer (including existing files), run:

:AddHeader

Do I need to put command! AddHeader call InsertHeader() into ~/.vimrc?

No.
This plugin already defines the :AddHeader command inside the plugin file, so you do not need to define it again in ~/.vimrc when the plugin is installed properly.

You only need a command! line in ~/.vimrc if you are not using the plugin as a plugin file (for example, if you copied only the function(s) into your ~/.vimrc and did not install the plugin under pack/.../start/... or otherwise load it).

Customization

To change which file types get an automatic header, edit the BufNewFile pattern list in plugin/fileHeader.vim, for example:

autocmd BufNewFile *.sh,*.conf,*.service,*.timer,*.info call s:InsertHeader()

To disable automatic insertion entirely, remove or comment out the BufNewFile autocmd block.

Implementation notes

• The plugin does not use :substitute for updating timestamps. This avoids errors related to the "previous substitute pattern" state and works reliably regardless of how the header was inserted.
• Header detection looks for # File: near the top of the file. Timestamp updates only touch files that already contain this header marker.