GVim

gVim, commonly referred to as GVim or gvim, is the graphical user interface for Vim, the enhanced version of the classic Vi editor. Unlike Vim running in a terminal, GVim opens in its own window and provides a graphical toolkit, including menus, toolbars, scrollbars, and full mouse support. This GUI layer does not change Vim’s modal editing model or its command language, but it offers a more visually driven environment.

GVim is available on major desktop platforms, including Windows, Linux/Unix, and macOS. It is distributed as part of the official Vim package and can be installed from system package managers or downloaded from the Vim project. On Windows it is typically shipped as gvim.exe; on Unix-like systems it is invoked as gvim and can run in the foreground with the -f option to keep the GUI attached to the terminal session.

Key features of GVim include the same powerful editing capabilities as Vim, such as syntax highlighting, multi-level undo, powerful search and replace, extensive customization through Vimscript, and a rich ecosystem of plugins. The GUI adds user interface options like guifont for font selection, guioptions to control menus and toolbars, and clipboard integration for seamless copying and pasting with the operating system. GVim also supports color schemes, mouse-driven text selection, drag-and-drop interactions, and scalable interface elements for different screen resolutions.

As a front end for Vim, GVim preserves Vim’s efficiency, extensibility, and scripting while offering a more approachable, point-and-click friendly interface for editing tasks.