InsertEnter

InsertEnter is an autocommand event in Vim and Neovim that fires when the editor enters insert mode. It runs after the mode change to insert mode has occurred, and it does not trigger when entering other modes. The event is commonly used to apply or adjust settings that should only be active while typing, or to trigger plugin behavior as soon as you start inserting text. It has a counterpart, InsertLeave, which fires when you leave insert mode, and there is also InsertCharPre, which runs just before a character is inserted in insert mode.

Scope and usage

InsertEnter can be attached to with the :autocmd command, and its pattern can limit when it runs (for example, by filetype or filename). It can be combined with InsertLeave to restore settings when you exit insert mode, or with InsertCharPre for fine-grained control over typing behavior. Common uses include toggling paste mode on entering insert mode and restoring it on leaving, or logging and plugin initialization that should occur only while typing.

Examples

Typical Vimscript usage:

autocmd InsertEnter * setlocal paste

autocmd InsertLeave * setlocal nopaste

Neovim users can also implement this in Lua, for example via the Neovim API:

vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd("InsertEnter", { pattern = "*", callback = function() vim.opt_local.paste = true end })

vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd("InsertLeave", { pattern = "*", callback = function() vim.opt_local.paste = false end })

Compatibility

InsertEnter is supported in Vim and Neovim as part of their autocommand and event systems. It is a standard tool for automating behavior tied to entering insert mode.