vim line numbers - how to have them on by default?

Question

I can :set number from within a file I'm editing but how can I have them always be on by default?

You can make one. It has to be in your home directory. See my answer for details. — Tim Pote, Apr 23 '12 at 02:35
It doesn't work when opening a directory using Vim, i have to use set nu again to turn numbering on, any workaround for that ? — user3218088, Jun 16 '14 at 10:38
I never understood why Vim and half the IDEs out there disable line numbers by default. Trying to save a few pixels? — sudo, Feb 12 '17 at 10:42

score 528 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 27 '18 at 01:37

528

Add set number to your .vimrc file in your home directory.
If the .vimrc file is not in your home directory create one with vim .vimrc and add the commands you want at open.

Here's a site that explains the vimrc and how to use it.

edited Jul 27 '18 at 01:37

Kenan

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answered Apr 23 '12 at 02:32

Tim Pote

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Yeah. Any time I want to set some defaults for a command line program I search their man page for `rc`. It's a pretty common convention. – Tim Pote Apr 23 '12 at 02:41
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Create the file .vimrc if it does not exist in the home directory. – Rajeev Ranjan Sep 04 '18 at 09:00
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another great setting that's useful is `set relativenumber` – aarona Apr 27 '19 at 08:18
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Simply run this command anywhere in your terminal: `echo "\nset nu" >> ~/.vimrc`. Now exit and reopen terminal session. – Kapil Jituri Jan 31 '20 at 06:02
if you cant find .vimrc in your home directory, you can check it inside /etc/vim/vimrc – unknown programmer guy Dec 01 '20 at 19:54
This works but maybe VIM's default profile no longer working. One example: After creating .vimrc file java's default documentation comment's formatting not working correctly :( – maruf Sep 09 '21 at 16:52

score 91 · Answer 2 · edited Oct 01 '19 at 07:10

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To change the default setting to display line numbers in vi/vim:

vi ~/.vimrc

then add the following line to the file:

set number

Either we can source ~/.vimrc or save and quit by :wq, now future vi/vim sessions will have numbering :)

edited Oct 01 '19 at 07:10

Kasun Siyambalapitiya

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answered Jun 28 '15 at 23:48

abe312

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by sudo it will also work if folder is restricted, which is often the case. – abe312 Jan 09 '16 at 19:25
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Yes, and you break access for the normal user which owns his home directory. This has been the cause of several bug reports and is just the wrong solution – Christian Brabandt Jan 09 '16 at 19:39
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also why use gedit? what if it's a server? or gedit is just not installed? make more sense to use vim :) – yonatan Jun 14 '16 at 14:05

Giriraj Pawar · Answer 3 · 2019-10-11T13:15:12.300

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set nu set ai set tabstop=4 set ls=2 set autoindent

Add the above code in your .vimrc file. if .vimrc file is not present please create in your home directory (/home/name of user)

set nu -> This makes Vim display line numbers

set ai -> This makes Vim enable auto-indentation

set ls=2 -> This makes Vim show a status line

set tabstop=4 -> This makes Vim set tab of length 4 spaces (it is 8 by default)

The filename will also be displayed.

edited Oct 11 '19 at 13:15

answered Oct 09 '19 at 14:28

Giriraj Pawar

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Welcome to [so]! I fail to see, though, what this answer adds that is not present in the accepted answe – D. Ben Knoble Oct 10 '19 at 03:29
Thank you for sharing this. Even though this answer duplicates the accepted answer, there are so many things neatly written down for us, newbies. – tpk May 03 '21 at 08:41

score 15 · Answer 4 · edited Mar 07 '17 at 01:28

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Terminal > su > password > vim /etc/vimrc

Click here and edit as in line number (13):

set nu

click here and Edit as "Line number (13)"

edited Mar 07 '17 at 01:28

muru

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answered Mar 06 '17 at 17:56

sagar mahajan

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Note that this would change default vim behavior for ALL users on a system, unless overridden by a users personal .vimrc in their home directory – crobicha May 01 '17 at 16:54
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I like the color scheme in this screenshot, which one are you using? – Ryan Hoo Oct 09 '17 at 15:08
For ubuntu server the file location is `/etc/vim/vimrc` – Brosig Sep 17 '18 at 14:03

score 7 · Answer 5 · edited Nov 19 '17 at 10:48

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I did not have a .vimrc file in my home directory. I created one, added this line:

set number

and that solved the problem.

edited Nov 19 '17 at 10:48

F. Hauri

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answered Nov 19 '17 at 03:40

Jean

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score 6 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 27 '19 at 13:39

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If you don't want to add/edit .vimrc, you can start with

vi "+set number" /path/to/file

answered Mar 27 '19 at 13:39

Chris H.

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score 2 · Answer 7 · answered Oct 04 '15 at 05:50

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in home directory you will find a file called ".vimrc" in that file add this code "set nu" and save and exit and open new vi file and you will find line numbers on that.

answered Oct 04 '15 at 05:50

thupten choephel

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score 2 · Answer 8 · answered Mar 10 '17 at 19:49

I'm using Debian 7 64-bit.

I didn't have a .vimrc file in my home folder. I created one and was able to set user defaults for vim.

However, for Debian 7, another way is to edit /etc/vim/vimrc

Here is a comment block in that file:

" All system-wide defaults are set in $VIMRUNTIME/debian.vim (usually just
" /usr/share/vim/vimcurrent/debian.vim) and sourced by the call to :runtime
" you can find below.  If you wish to change any of those settings, you should
" do it in this file (/etc/vim/vimrc), since debian.vim will be overwritten
" everytime an upgrade of the vim packages is performed.  It is recommended to
" make changes after sourcing debian.vim since it alters the value of the
" 'compatible' option.

Miguel Ruiz · Answer 9 · 2021-05-18T00:19:09.710

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Add any command you want to have by default to your ~/.vimrc file (named _vimrc on Windows systems)

edited May 18 '21 at 00:19

answered May 17 '21 at 23:09

Miguel Ruiz

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vim line numbers - how to have them on by default?

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