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It's not clear what this is. Is it Vim as a single executable? Is so, what is this doing?

./vim.com -u /zip/usr/share/vim/vimrc

Looks like Vim compiled with Actually Portable Executable [1] headers to make a cross-platform (and perhaps also bare metal) vim binary.

But I apparently am distracted by shiny things and couldn't focus on any of the other stuff after seeing rainbow indentation for the first time.

[1]: https://justine.lol/ape.html

> Rock musicians have a love-hate relationship with dynamic range compression, since it removes a dimension of complexity from their music, but is necessary in order to sound professional. Bloat might work by the same principles,

Speaking of which I am a bloated rock musician. I don't feel seen.

> Is it Vim as a single executable?

Basically; it's using the "Actually Portable Executable" system to make a single binary that includes everything it needs including enough portability stuff to run on different systems directly.

> Is so, what is this doing?

When I say "everything it needs", that includes files; APE binaries, AIUI, include some code to transparently read files embedded in themselves, so that line says "run this vim binary, but when it starts instead of reading the user's normal .vimrc (if any), read the vimrc that we embedded in this binary under the virtual /zip path"

The actual binary (vim.com in this case) is also a valid zip file, which it can read and write as a private virtual mount point. /zip refers to files inside the binary, inside the zip file.

Redbean web server (by the author of Cosmopolitan, Justine.lol) also uses this method to store its web root.

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