Where to download Vim

Tip 1578 Printable Monobook Previous Next

created February 3, 2008 · complexity basic · author Metacosm · version 7.0

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This tip outlines some recommended procedures for downloading a Vim executable (that is, a program you can run). Alternatively, you can download the Vim source and build your own Vim.

Windows

Which version of Vim should I use?

• I want a fully patched standard Vim for Windows, without compiling it myself.

  Get Vim without Cream: The easiest and best solution for Windows users on 32-bit systems is to use the standard Vim at http://sourceforge.net/projects/cream/files/

  Under "Newest Files" near the top of the list, there should be a file with a name like gvim-7-2-411.exe
  (Vim without Cream, version 7.2.411 = 7.2 with patches 1–411).

  You can click the icon in the "Notes/Subscribe" column to see the output of the :version command
  (that shows what features are in the build).

  Click the most recent gvim-7-2-xxx.exe to download; run the download to install.

  It installs a patched standard gvim.exe (GUI) and vim.exe (console), with all help and runtime files.

  All installed files are "standard" Vim (the installers named cream-xxx.exe are for a special "Vim with Cream" version).

  Includes Perl, Python, Ruby, Tcl and MzScheme interfaces.

  See "Vim without Cream problems" below.

• I'm using 64-bit Windows.

• You can probably use the Vim without Cream install mentioned above. The Cream build is better tested and supported than current 64-bit distributions. However, there are a few reasons why you may desire a Vim compiled for 64-bit support:

1. Editing files >4GB in size.
2. 64-bit WinPE does not have a WOW64 subsystem, hence you cannot run a 32-bit executable.
3. Windows Server 2008 R2 (i.e. Win7 Server) also does not have the WOW64 subsystem, by default, although it is an optional component you can install.
4. Potential for performance gains, particularly in heavy memory operations like memcpy and memcmp which can be optimized for the 64-bit word size.

• See information and download.

• I want standard Vim (source code to compile for all platforms, or unpatched Windows executables).

  Available at http://www.vim.org/download.php

• I want an easy-to-use configuration for Windows with common menus and standard keyboard shortcuts.

  Cream for BSD, Linux and Windows is available at http://cream.sourceforge.net/download.html

  Click "Windows One-click installer, includes both Vim and Cream".

  You will download a file with a name like cream-0-42-gvim-7-2-245.exe
  (Cream version 0.42 with gvim version 7.2.245 = 7.2 with patches 1–245).

• I want to put Vim on a keydrive and use it on a bunch of Windows machines,
  but standard versions of Vim choke when the keydrive is mounted as a different drive letter.

  Check out GVim Portable http://portablegvim.sourceforge.net/

Vim without Cream problems

"Vim without Cream", as described above, is the best Vim for 32-bit Windows (without compiling it yourself). This section documents known problems.

• The release notes show that it is built with feature +ole which means that it will try to load the OLE interface DLL each time it starts, which would be irritating if you just wanted to run Vim on another computer without bothering to install it.
• The format of the Sourceforge page occasionally changes and the instructions given above may not exactly match what you see. For standard Vim and gvim without Cream, look for the highest version of the gvim-7-2-xxx.exe file.
• In the past, the Sourceforge page required that scripting be enabled in your browser, and, near the bottom of the file list, you had to click "+" next to "Vim" to expand the list of files.

Macintosh

See the versions at http://www.vim.org/download.php#mac

Linux/Unix

Your distribution's package manager probably includes a package for installing Vim, but it is often very out of date. Be sure to look for "vim-huge", "vim-gnome", "vim-full", or similar if you want to go this route.

Rather than downloading a Vim executable, you may get a better result by downloading the source and building your own because it is very easy to build your own Vim.