mheap/vimrunner-php

Control Vim using PHP

vimrunner-php

This is a hugely untested library for sending commands to a remote Vim instance. For an example of how to use it, look at example.php, _(*1)

Creating a client

Make sure that your vim is compiled with +clientserver with vim --version | grep clientserver. If it starts with a + it supports it. If it starts with a - it doesn't. gvim and macvim tend to come with it enabled., _(*2)

Start vim with vim --servername FOO to start it with the remote server enabled., _(*3)

In your script, create a new client like so:, _(*4)

$c = new Vimrunner\Client("FOO");

All of the available commands so far are in src/Vimrunner/Client.php., _(*5)

Available commands

The most common command will be writeLine., _(*6)

// Will type "Hello World", with 0.1 seconds between each key press
// and add a new line "\n" at the end
$c->writeLine("Hello World", 1);

// You can also decide how you enter insert mode
// e.g. enter in append mode
$c->writeLine("Hello World", 1, "a");

writeLine will put you in normal mode once they're done typing., _(*7)

Other useful methods:, _(*8)

// Make sure we're in normal mode
$c->ensureInNormalMode();

// Send a string of key presses in normal mode
// e.g. Reformat the entire file
$c->normal("gg=G");

// Send a command
// e.g. :w
$c->command("w");

// Open a file for editing
$c->editFile("/tmp/example");