Vim Tips #17: Flying Vim Airline

2018-12-03(Mon)

tags: Vim

Vim Tips

Vim Airline ( https://github.com/vim-airline/vim-airline ) is a child of Powerline ( https://github.com/powerline/powerline ), which is a more generalized status line (it can also be used in prompts and several other places). With Vundle installed, installing Airline is very easy (follow the directions on their page). The one down-side is the font requirement: both require a font with special symbols, which it uses for indicating things like git branching. I recommend reading my blog entry on Programmer Fonts, at least if you're a Linux user. Follow the link (from my blog entry or Airline's page) to the Powerline fonts repo, and install the font that appeals most to you. I've come to use "Droid Sans Mono Slashed for Powerline" a lot: the characters are very readable and it works with Powerline/Airline. But there are a number of other remarkably similar fonts.

Airline is garish, but - like a good colour scheme - it's also extremely informative. Give it a few days, then uninstall it if you hate it.