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Comment by fourier_mode | Hacker News Reader

Is there any reason for not using Tmux instead of using panes in Vim?

Utilizing cross-window copy/paste, cross-window repeat, opening a new file (window) with a single command vs new tmux pane then initializing vim. Those are just a few of the many reasons. IMO, using a new tmux pane for each vim instance would be a HUGE anti-pattern. Most people with the tmux/vim setup will use a single tmux pane for vim, then N number of other tmux panes for other required needs (compiling, tests, etc...).

Do people usually have multiple vim splits open? At least I usually just have one terminal with new tmux splits and usually one vim with multiple buffers I switch between if needed.

However if I'm looking for something or doing something in another split and I need to view a file or edit a file I don't go back to my vim split and open it there I just open vim right there where I am.

I typically split if I have some interrelated code that I need to cross-reference, e.g. when refactoring. Especially if this code is in the same file, in which case windows into the same buffer have the added benefit of synchronized editing. Another example: when programming C, it is useful sometimes to have the header in one vim window and the definitions in the other. Or you're navigating via ctags, and it's convenient to view a tag in a new window rather than change the buffer for the current window.

If I'm just editing two completely unrelated files I don't see any advantages to this workflow over opening multiple instances. Maybe if you have plugins that are slow to start up?

In standard usage, I am using splits (horizontal). The only real time I am using buffers is when I open up multiple files from command line in some type of ‘vim ‘git grep -l “<search>” .’‘ scenario where I will do an action against all opened buffers in vim.

Regarding your second point, I behave similarly. If I am off in one of my non main editor tmux panes and I need to open a quick file, I will do it there instead of moving back to my main editor vim session. This is usually due to the file needing to be opened is outside the cwd of the main vim session.

First thank you folks for the suggestions. After using Vim panes for a day, I can say this:

Vim panes vs vim instances in tmux, who wins? It depends on the use case. In case you want to edit files that are completely independent of each other and you prefer not sharing registers between these files, then you are better of using tmux panes; however if the use case involves similar files and involves lot of copy pasting between the 2 buffers, then it is very much recommended that you use Vim panes as the sharing of registers proves its worth in this use case.

One of my favorite features of Vim is that it completely decouples tabs/windows from files/buffers. In mostly all IDEs I'm aware of, you open a file, and you get a tab to go along with it. In Vim, I have one instance (of Vim) running, maybe just one window if I feel like it, and potentially hundreds of files open, maybe some edited but not saved yet. And all I do it switch in and out which file/buffer I want to view in my one window. (more typically 2-4 panes/windows, and yay BufExplorer for making that easy)

Xcode’s editor tabs aren’t tied to files.

Shared registers, synchronized editing. The main advantage of tmux over vim windows is persistent sessions, but you can have that and still use vim windows.

I'm always curious the mental-model people use with tmux+vim. The combination gets brought up so often, but don't often talk about when they use Tmux panes vs vim windows.

A few reasons to prefer vim windows are diffs and sharing the same buffers when flipping between them.

They are called "windows" in Vim. That's why many related commands begin with Ctrl+w.

They are orthogonal?

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