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Where can I find the default vimrc on Mac when there is no ~/.vimrc. On some Linux its located in the /etc/vimrc

dlmeetei
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isethi
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    You need to create it by yourself. Check this post: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10921441/where-is-my-vimrc-file – FullStackDeveloper Jul 02 '17 at 03:14
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    @CodePlayer the problem is without the the file I syntax highlighting and mouse select and other things are turned on. But when I create the ~/.vimrc file, it removes all the default config and uses the file config. ( I want to copy the default to the vimrc and modify as appropriate. – isethi Jul 02 '17 at 03:17
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    `echo $MYVIMRC` or `:version` – dlmeetei Jul 02 '17 at 07:37

8 Answers8

32

Type in Terminal: vim --version
as you want check the vim's version, then scroll down you will find something like; user vimrc file: "$HOME/.vimrc"

Hope it helps.

Jimmy_Rw
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28

The path used by macOS's default vim install is /usr/share/vim/vimrc.

On my system at the moment (macOS 10.12.5), these are its contents:

" Configuration file for vim
set modelines=0     " CVE-2007-2438

" Normally we use vim-extensions. If you want true vi-compatibility
" remove change the following statements
set nocompatible    " Use Vim defaults instead of 100% vi compatibility
set backspace=2     " more powerful backspacing

" Don't write backup file if vim is being called by "crontab -e"
au BufWrite /private/tmp/crontab.* set nowritebackup nobackup
" Don't write backup file if vim is being called by "chpass"
au BufWrite /private/etc/pw.* set nowritebackup nobackup
Dan Lowe
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    If you aren't using the default, here's the easiest way to discover where it is: `:scriptnames`. The first line should be the system `vimrc`. – Amadan Jul 03 '17 at 04:45
8

You can use :echo $MYVIMRC to print it. Also, you can have a look at :version which gives list of places being searched.

dlmeetei
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4

If you're just looking to change VIM defaults for your profile, macOS looks for ~/.vimrc, so if you make the file you can change your vim settings there.

Paul Roub
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SantaCruzRC
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0

For my homebrew generated vim the location of the default vimrc file is:

/usr/local/share/vim/vim81/defaults.vim

Here, the numbers 81 correspond to the vim version number.

feli_x
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0

I'm writing a whole new answer because I can't add a comment on SantaCruzRC's answer. I also didn't have that file by default. So just create a new .vimrc in home directory and add there any settings you want to have(e.g. syntax on).

hez
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If there is no .vimrc in the home directory you can create it.

M.Hamza Ali
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  • Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Community Apr 09 '22 at 12:19
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On OSX Mojave, the default settings are at

/usr/share/vim/vim80/syntax/

If you want to modify any of these, it is best to copy the file you need into ~/.vim/syntax, and modify that, thereby preserving the original.

Vincent
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Chandana De Silva
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