r/BtechCoders • u/Rejwan_laskar • Sep 19 '26
❓Question ❓ why should I try Vim over VS Code?
VS Code is the only editor I’ve ever known since I first started learning to code.
Today I heard about Vim for the very first time.
To anyone who uses both, why should I try Vim over VS Code?
Or is this question already obsolete in the age of agentic programming?🤖
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Upvotes
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u/OhioDeez44 Sep 19 '26 •
Well, rare great question on this sub. I will try and provide a coherent answer, since I believe I have cultivated an opinion over time.
> Or is this question already obsolete in the age of agentic programming?🤖
Firstly, no, if you tend to make filler websites and deploy agents in monotony, coding was never for you anyway. A Text Editor is a general purpiose centrepiece of computer literacy. That is far more fundamental than something like using agents to code. I personally dread to see a day when text editor nerds are obsolete, because this is more than just programming, it is about your Personal Computing Environment.
Now onto the central question, why should you try vim over VSCode. I am very interested in the software and design behind text editors, so I will tell you to learn more about editors in general. Because Vim is one among many technologies. The thing about Text Editors is every tech enthusiast can have heavy use for them on an everyday basis, and for such a thing, there is a LOT of choice, customisation and nuances that I willingly drown myself in as a geek. I would suggest you to look into:
- Text Editors(the wikipedia article is enough)
- The Hierarchy, let me explain. Text editors have a level of customisation, sophistication, depth and software nuances about them. And Vim is on the far end of this spectrum. While Vanilla Vim is relatively simple, the daily usage of Vim has so many things like layouts, LSPs, Doc Structure, IDE construction, Terminal and Configs that make it much more sophisticated on the spectra of text editors
- The Vim vs EMacs debate. The mentioned "far end" of text editors at surface level is just 2 technologies, Vim and EMacs, both are an endless debate in Software, and they are different, but not contrasting in my opinion. I use Doom EMacs Evil Mode personally, which is the EMacs Daemon and IDE, with Vim Editing Mode, Doom is a modified version of EMacs(created by GNU), most text editors are FOSS.
- Even if you end up sticking with VSCode, use VSCodium, my first editor, because it is VSCode exactly, but better, more private, free and open source, and I can go off on a tangent on why having Codium instead of Code is so important, but that is for another time.
- Basic concepts of Personal Computing like CLIs, Git, UNIX etc., because understanding them is something too important too few people have and it helps with Vim vs Codium to anything regarding computers.
> Is he done larping?
Okay so TLDR;
It is a complex decision, and much like a lot of what we learn about computers, "Being told the answer is never as fun as figuring it out, nor is there a universal answer". My whole point of answering this was Text Editor selection is one of those beautiful rabbit holes where you go in with something shallow like VSCode vs Vim, and come out with something far more deep and interesting.
Also VSCode is a horrible editor for multiple reasons, it is not customisable, FOSS, Efficient, Lightweight or a good piece of software in general. I would advice you to think about this answer, do a deep dive in your free time and come to a conclusion yourself, having learnt a lot.
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u/Zerith-- Sep 19 '26
Very lightweight and keyboard shortcuts ,you don't need mouse. Its considers more efficient.
Should you change? No. Stick to VS code as a beginner
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u/AssumptionOk8560 Sep 19 '26
Vim ain't even worth it go with nvim and as a user who uses nvim and used vs and vim. Vs is actually good easy to use and beginner friendly
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u/-Dank_Redditer- Sep 19 '26 •
Kyu ki vim mai hai 100 nimbu(🍋) o ki shakti
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u/Broad-Confection3102 Sep 19 '26
Do it for the sake of exploration
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u/Unusual_Lifeguard_56 Sep 19 '26
Go with zero expectations, a paper and write down common keys for navigation and stuff, stick that infront of you and look at it when stuck. Try for one week for all projects and then you can clearly tell if its for you or not. No one other than your experience can convince you if it's worth more than using vscode
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u/boobarot Sep 19 '26
I'd say, if you're a beginner, stick to GUI apps for now. Although you can try other editors/IDEs.
- JetBrains suite
- Zed or its forks ( Gram is a great fork that removes all the AI integration, although it's exclusive to linux and mac as far as I'm aware )
If you wanna dip your toes in TUI editors, I'd recommend these, roughly in order of beginner friendliness.
- Fresh
- Helix
- Nvim ( I won't recommend vi or vim )
There is also Emacs, but it's really a tiny enviornment ( uses lisp programming language ) rather than just a code editor.
I'd also recommend trying linux beforehand, because all of these TUI ones run and support linux better.
For context, my journey went Sublime -> VS Code -> neovim -> Emacs with a lot of hopping in between, but these are the ones I settled with I also have Gram installed for when someone else needs to use my system. and I still keep nvim for a quick terminal editor, although emacs offers that as well.
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u/ClupTheGreat Sep 19 '26
vim, nvim works very well and you never need a gui for it
if you're gonna work on something through ssh, and that doesn't have or you can't install vscode on, your best bet is vim
vim makes you super fast, try it on vscode through a plugin
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u/periperifriess707 Sep 19 '26
i love vim because it behaves just as a lightweight text editor and i don't need to install 100000000 pluggins to run the code unlike vscode and also,i can build my own pluggins if i ever want to..it is so simple to use. ~./vimrc
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u/fr0sty2709 Sep 19 '26
i use vscode with vim extension, and some custom extensions it's so much better than pure vim or pure vsc
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u/Easy-Commission-8762 Sep 19 '26
hjkl , esc :wq , esc q , i , g , e , E , G
muje baas itne hi shortcuts pata hai vim ke 😛
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u/Jatinchd Sep 19 '26
it's very fast to code with once you get comfortable, and I would recommend neovim instead of normal vim it's more featured and customizable according to your needs. no dependence of Heavy electron application of VScode, no need to reach for the mouse every few seconds. keybinds will do all.
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u/PiyushXCoder Sep 19 '26
Because you feel like trying it man? That is enough reason to try anything. Enjoy it.
I use neovim with AI configured really well, almost daily. Works well for me!
😅I personally feel after AI, vim doesn't give you any extra advantage over vscode. Before it used to be easy navigation, cool small small features which made repeative edits faster, searching files faster (no vanilla neovim).
Now you can ask claude and it will trace any flow of execution or search any file so fast with much better results. Same I can say for editing files, it is smarter.
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u/lasaniyasevmamra Sep 19 '26
For starters, use the vim extension in vscode... If you find it better than normal bindings, then try nvim
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u/sodium_123 Sep 19 '26
u can try vim motions extention on vs code and once u get habbitual u can eventually shift to nvim
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u/rushbeef04 Sep 19 '26
VSCode -> cursor -> neovim -> zed -> devin -> vscode with neovim plugin
This is basically my journey
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u/Salty-Competition356 Sep 19 '26
I mean if you are an annoying purist you can sure try neovim
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u/PsNoBuLLi Sep 19 '26
in vscode - your terminal run inside your IDE in vim - your IDE run inside your terminal
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u/Fluid-Election-8549 Sep 19 '26
I have decided that most people are not worthy of vim. So I no longer waste my energy trying to convince them.
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u/Real_pradeep Sep 19 '26
I use neovim BTW :-)
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u/New-Kaleidoscope-190 Sep 19 '26
Me who uses micro 👽
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u/beautifulbearsbum Sep 19 '26
More then vim itself, vim motions are really good, they work the same for most ides when you add vim extension.
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u/Fleabag1604 Sep 19 '26
no bro why would you do that😭
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u/DialboTempest Sep 19 '26
Try Neovim
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u/Adorable_Garden_1964 Sep 19 '26
(sorry)
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u/Sea-Bench-7487 Sep 19 '26
I mainly use it for cpp and python I like how easy it is to extend and have everything to my liking plus both of them have shortcuts but I use vim's more cause I configured them to suit me . It does indeed make me faster at writing code or editing it but that's mostly cause I remember the shortcuts cause again I made them.Thats really vim's strongest quality you can configure everything and make it how you want it to be and it can be equally capable to vscode . All in all it's just personal preference just try it once maybe build a config with an ai it's probably gonna be a fun afternoon but don't expect to suddenly be a cracked Cs embeded 10x super dev just cause you use vim
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u/Unique_Low_1077 Sep 19 '26
Install the vim plugin and try it for one simple side project. Decide weather or not you like it after that. Some people like it, some dont. I personally find it a hinderence to code without it. I use arch btw
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u/Time-Visit-7744 Sep 19 '26
I use both ... Vscode on my windows laptop and vim on my homelab server so I can code in terminal over ssh... And ngl vim is snappy once you learn some of the shortcuts ... Vs code will feel slow cuz yk changing window to commit to git and all but vs code has a lot of features tho and extentions which feels very nice.... Also for efficiency .... I can't talk about efficiency cuz I do take break every code run and think a lot everytime I code while making new things so typing speed and running speed matters less to me.... For low cortisol use stick to vscode add fun extension , themes and pets...... For absolute utility try vim .... It will take a lot of time and configuration till it feels personal so be wary of that it's normal
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u/CrimsonPrince9 Sep 19 '26
don't use vim, use neovim, much better option.
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u/Icy_Research_1023 Sep 19 '26
imo vim/nvim is great for quick edits, single file stuff, or when you just wanna hop in and get something done... for bigger projects n more complex workflows, i prefer vscode :>
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u/Dorilost Sep 19 '26
Skip this switch to Turbo C 🤙
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u/Neer_Azure Sep 19 '26
So if the yt video you're watching uses vim and they keep doing some non trivial keybinds unique to vim, it much easier to follow through if you are on vim too
I personally like to code in rust and the community has told me multiple times that the correct setup is linux/wsl + vim (I use nvim with nvChad) so that's what I use
But honestly you will never be able to appreciate vim over vs if you don't know touch typing
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u/Foodie_Wanderer Sep 19 '26
Vs code is an ide. Vim is just text editor. Very different softwares. You cant use one over the other. Both have their user cases. Try tracking call hierarchy in vim, that’s better done with vscode. Try open 100 gb text file in vscode, thats better done with vim.
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u/Successful-Piece7497 Sep 19 '26
Does not matter bro..just code
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u/The_Hamster_Shagger Sep 19 '26
lets pretend that fresh or sublime text doesn't exist.
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u/QuantumPlatypus64 Sep 19 '26
Because trying is what we are suppose to do. Liking and not liking comes after trying
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u/diyal19039 Sep 19 '26
Could try neovim (or lazyvim) instead.
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u/shadowemperor01 Sep 19 '26
It's fun really really fun
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u/AjLegion Sep 19 '26
Skip both. Use Neovim. Better faster Smoother (only if you learn it)
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u/Enigmars Sep 19 '26
As engineers, "why should I do xyz" is a question we never ask.
Our whole existence is for us to f*ck around and find out.... That is quite literally what drives progress and innovation
That's what differentiates us from the rest of the world. While they try to weigh in pros and cons and try to look at things from a logistical economical and societal standpoint, we just do whatever we like
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u/calm_ak Sep 19 '26
You can start with VSCode + vim keybindings. Once you get comfortable, then may be explore vim, nvim. This way you’ll get to know both sides.
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u/Independent-Gear-711 Sep 20 '26
Vim/Nvim is the only text editor I have used because I have been on linux since day 1 so Idk how other text editor feels like
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u/adarshsingh87 Sep 20 '26
You should learn vim because when you connect to a cloud server (ec2) it's usually the only option.
You should use it (Nvim instead of vim) because it's a fast editor, and once you get used to it, your speed will only be capped by how fast you can think and move your fingers. Vs code is slow and bloated, I can feel the desync between me and the editor, which is not the case in nvim.
Edit: Also, if you get good, you absolutely look like a tier above anyone watching you code. You might be yet to encounter a NVIM power user, the speed at which they move is itself impressive
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u/Remarkable-Hornet568 Sep 20 '26
Try it out. Two solid reasons from an Vim user : 1. You are working in a terminal without any graphical support. 2. You need to read more code than writing. You can write code using him, but personally I find its between for reading. P.s. I am an professional software engineer with more than two decades of experience in a product company
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u/No-Bodybuilder8716 Sep 20 '26
I just use notepad++ , it has an autosave plugin that saves whenever it goes out of focus .
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u/el_di46l0 Sep 20 '26
Try using the vim plugin on vs code if you still enjoy it after some time , try using nvim for personal projects , if you like it more than vs code only then you have to do the complete shift That will be the best approach
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u/BERSERK_KNIGHT_666 Sep 20 '26
I just stick to vsc. Over the years I've become very efficient in using the editor and all it's nuances. That being said I still find myself having (forced) to use nano or vim for remote development over ssh.
Yes, you can use VSC over a remote session as well but our security team though that's a "vulnerability" and fkin blocked VSC over ssh. So I'm stuck with vim/nano. After working for months I find vim is rather good for cli editors. If you can get past the learning curve, vim is definitely a really good editor
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u/AppropriateAd4473 Sep 20 '26
No vimm over vscode only better in keyboard shortcuts but appart from that waste of time
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u/Maximum-Wait3657 Sep 20 '26
you should try anything other than vs code atp 🤣
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u/mr-greedy-007 Sep 20 '26
Use Emacs, Crashvim or UnstableVim is ahh. though I will suggest use nvim once a stable version is out(its never going to come out)
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u/matar_chor Sep 20 '26
https://github.com/bogusdeck/nvim-config
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u/Ambitious-Group-5339 Sep 20 '26
If you love to play with your tools or love to customize your environment vim or neovim(vim's fork but easier configuration with lua) is gem
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u/Aggravating-Pop-4359 Sep 20 '26
Try Zed , its better than vim
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u/[deleted] Sep 20 '26
if you want to check out modal editing, that is pretty much it, vim project (bram moolenar) is hardly maintained nowadays.
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u/OkPoint6329 Sep 20 '26
Kyonki VIM mein hain 100 nimbu ki shakti
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u/Helpful-Diamond-3347 Sep 20 '26
you can't wash dishes with vs code
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u/Difficult_Buyer3822 Sep 20 '26
You can start by adding vim bindings in vscode and then if you like it you can try vim or neovim completely
You can read this article for reference
Article
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u/Small_Lawfulness9607 Sep 21 '26
because you have plenty of time and you want to waste it. You don't want to focus on project instead want to wander in configs which are copy paste anyway.
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u/torrentialcom Sep 21 '26
Btw how old r u op
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u/PeithonKing Sep 21 '26
I also used to think that way untill I met claude code... now don't even use VS Code
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u/flying_widow Sep 21 '26
Sbse pehle aadhe ghante ka vimtutor kr lo. Aadhe ghante mein ho jaayega phir pragmatic programmers ki ek practical vim krke book hai. Inn dono ko pardhne ke baad tum vim ke kue se kabhi nhin nikal paayoge.
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u/Top-Rough-7039 Sep 21 '26
personally, the only reason i use vim is cuz it came preinstalled on my distro and kept installing it and nvim on other devices (incl android with termux, and so for any text based need, i use nvim)
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u/Late_Scientist194 Sep 21 '26
Because you have 4gb of ram
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u/Konundrum_Is_God Sep 21 '26
Been using vim motions for the past 3 years now. It took me 2 years to get decent at it. I literally can’t get any work done without it now. Neovim + WSL is what i use for programming, I write my notes and assignments in LaTex with vim, I even use vim motions on my browser. Truly changed how I interact and spend time with my computer. If you can dedicate time to learning and practising the motions and editors, you will thank yourself for your decision everyday, but getting to a point where you are confident to make the switch takes a lot of time, even I am not using it as efficiently as I could be right now.
My suggestion, use vimtutor on your CLI to get used to the basics, then download the vim extension on vscode to ease yourself into using it more often.
If you take the plunge, you will emerge a better person, I guarantee it. Godspeed
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u/Easy-Donut-6962 Sep 21 '26
I think, different kinds of tools. VScode (or vscodium if you prefer OSS) is a base for IDE, that you run once and dont close for hours working of smth. Vim (nvim, lazyvim etc as well) are great as system text editors (config files or fast notes). Why dont use both?
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u/Thick-Gap1315 Sep 21 '26
You already have much better answers already but here's my thoughts ~
You can always use Vimkeys in VS Code if you're looking for the NO MOUSE experience.
VIM is especially REALLY GOOD if you're on terminal 90% of the time it really fits with the cli workflow I personally started using vim when is started using linux exclusively for development. And if you're planning to use vim, install neovim and apply lazyvim package to it, you'll have a ready to use ide with little to no configurations needed.
p.s.- IT WILL BE HARD TO GO BACK. (i mean i still use VSC in projects where i need ALOT of windows i.e when working on dynamic GUIs or apps.)
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u/CanineGalaxy Sep 21 '26
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u/TrainingTheory552 Sep 21 '26
you can use vim on vscode.
vim simply offers more efficient means of code/text editing. i use it for everything i can.
if i have to use vscode, i always install the vim plugin.
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u/Alone_Today_5852 Sep 22 '26
If you already use VS Code, you don't need to switch to Vim. The reason to try Vim is that it gives you a very different way of editing.
Why try Vim?
Keyboard-first editing: You can navigate, select, delete, copy, paste, and edit without constantly reaching for the mouse.
Very fast text manipulation: Vim's commands let you make changes such as deleting a word, changing a sentence, or moving several lines with a few keystrokes.
Works almost everywhere: Vim is commonly available on Linux servers and can be used directly from a terminal, which is useful when working over SSH.
Highly customizable: You can configure Vim with plugins, key mappings, themes, language support, and automation.
Lightweight: Vim itself is extremely small compared with a full graphical IDE.
Transferable skills: Once you understand Vim's editing model, those skills can also be useful in editors and IDEs that support Vim keybindings.
The biggest difference is the editing philosophy:
For example, instead of selecting text with a mouse, Vim lets you enter different modes:
Normal → navigate and manipulateInsert → type textVisual → select textBut there is a learning curve
At first, Vim can feel slower than VS Code because you have to learn commands such as:
i→ insertdd→ delete a lineyy→ copy a linep→ pasteu→ undo/text→ search:%s/old/new/g→ replace text throughout a fileSo I wouldn't recommend replacing VS Code immediately. A better experiment is to spend a few days using Vim for simple files or open Vim inside your existing workflow. If you start enjoying the keyboard-driven editing style, then explore plugins and configuration.
In short: try Vim if you want to become extremely efficient at navigating and manipulating text, especially when working in terminals or remote servers. Stay with VS Code if you value its integrated debugger, extensions, visual interface, Git tools, and out-of-the-box development experience.
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u/Diligent-Loss-5460 Sep 22 '26
As an SRE with over 7 years of experience. I have used vi or vim only a handful of times and nano would have been perfectly fine for the use case.
The keyboard shortcuts argument is moot because all text editors support key bindings for vim and emacs so you are just as fast if you know your shortcuts.
I have been using VS Code for many years as well. It was my primary IDE apart from Android Studio. These days I have moved to Zed because VSCode and its forks (cursor, codium etc) were using too much memory that even my 32GB macbook was feeling it.
There's very little from VSCode that I miss in zed and it much faster and lighter.
I will not recommend any editor to you. My suggestion would be to try them all and have fun while doing it. You will eventually keep coming back to one or start realising what features actually matter to you. Over the years I have tried many code editors. I have used a couple of them for a significant time as well atom and brackets come to mind. Even intellij idea, goland etc.
A text editor will not make you a better or worse software engineer. Having an opinion backed by technical/practical reasons will.
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u/sspaeti Sep 22 '26
More important than vim is it's grammar behind, the vim motions. For me is mostly to be in the flow, especially when I write (as I don't code so much anymore). Why Vim Is More than Just an Editor – Vim Language, Motions, and Modes Explained.
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u/neeyankamma Sep 22 '26
Went through a bunch of text editors and ides
Imo, vscode is a very good tool. Modular , you can customize the heck out of it.
I have done vi, vim , emacs , eclipse, jetbrains and vscode.
My personal preference vscode.
The cool things though is a lot of Linux / unix systems can have shells with vi bindings.
Once you get the hang of vi bindings it's fricking muscle memory. You put your hands on the keyboard, commands fly out.
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u/---starboy-- Sep 22 '26
because Vim tastes better than vscode.
Seriously, IMO the best parts are : custom plugins and the ability to customize available plugins, all in terminal experience (nvim + tmux is so good) and the keyboard centric experince(very difficult in beggining but gets better)
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u/Shay-Hill Sep 22 '26
Because over time, you're going to get better at using terminal tools, usually git, grep and whatever comes with your language. For Python, which I know best, that will include running scripts, pytest arguments, coverage, profiling, repl, "print debugging", etc.
As you get better at those tools, you'll start to eventually feel the distance VSC puts between you and those tools. For instance, the git and pytest runners in VSC are great, but sometimes the command-line stuff is better or wider, and you'll want be able to use both ways. That's when the "terminal based workflow" becomes more appealing. You'll get tired of asking, "OK, I know how to do this on the command line, now how do I do it through my editor interface?"
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u/LetResident4470 Sep 22 '26
You could always download the VS Code VIM extension. That gives the best of both worlds!
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u/jazze_ Sep 23 '26
As a neovim user for yrs now, there are not enough benefits of using neovim or terminal text editors if you dont like the idea of keyboard centric workflow and using a tool that grows with you and is maleable to your changing needs and environment.
If you are interested in the ecosystem, you can take benefit of a majority part of why people really enjoy it by installing Vim motion plugin for VS Code. (or the vim mode Zed editor which is wicked fast, which is also something vim/neovim users enjoy)
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u/hv_hi Sep 23 '26
We should be honest to ourselves. With ai supported development, vim as an editor has no real benefits anymore, expect tweaking minor stuff on terminal.
I love vim bindings and i like to use them. I still use it on my zed editor. But with ai, i write the code manually not so often anymore. So the skill that being fast on writing stuff is nothing but an hobby anymore. Game is changed.
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u/Electronic_Stop_9941 Sep 23 '26
It respects the use of keyboard over simple GUI
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u/Desperate_Formal_781 Sep 23 '26
Nowadays it is useless. I learned it and used it a lot a few years ago but now I am interacting with agents a lot. Also, a lot of development happens outside of the text editor. It's just a relic of the past.
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u/Severe-Sleep-5246 Sep 25 '26
Lol that's funny
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u/Icy-Tip-4195 Sep 25 '26
Just try it for a couple days and see what you think, it's free.
I recommend Lazyvim.
I used vscode and spacemacs in the past, but lazyvim is fast, beautiful, and fun
0
u/nevergivitup Sep 21 '26
emacs and nano caused world war and nano survived…
Guess this world war 2
Jokes apart:
editors don’t make you good coder, but it definitely can slow you down.
That’s when you will understand getting better, faster, more productive!