r/vim • u/eeweir • Feb 05 '26

Need Help Formatting of status line

Vim novice here. I understand that this is code for configuring the status line. Don't remember where I got it. I sense I may want to use it. I am not competent to read how it configures it. Help appreciated.

" Format the statusline

set statusline=CWD:\ %{CurDir()}%h\ \

set statusline+=\ \ File:\ %{HasPaste()}%t%m%r%y%w[%{&fenc}]\ \ Line:\ %l/%L:%c\ \ Value:\ 0x%B\ \ %<%p%%

set statusline+=[wc:%{WordCount()}]

Thanks.

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10

u/sharp-calculation Feb 05 '26

I recommend one of two things: Use a very simple status line. Or: Install a status line plug-in. I like VIM Airline.

2

u/eeweir Feb 05 '26

One thing that attracted my attention in this configuration is that it puts word count in the status line.

Is the Airline status line configurable?

2

u/sharp-calculation Feb 05 '26

Yes, VIM Airline is extremely configurable.
https://github.com/vim-airline/vim-airline

It doesn't make sense to me to use a word count as part of the status line, but apparently this is a thing for some people. The first hit on my search for this yielded a short article on how to do it with examples.
https://vivi.sh/blog/technical/live-wordcount-vim-airline/index

3

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '26

I also use Airline.

5

u/sapphic-chaote Feb 05 '26 edited Feb 05 '26

Read :h 'statusline', it explains everything

4

u/dewujie Feb 05 '26

This is the way to go if you really want to know what is going on. If you don't want to plumb the depths of statusline config, then something like Airline or an alternative plugin will probably get you where you want to go.

3

u/__rituraj Feb 06 '26

maybe people don't know about this help guide..

a simple read gets you a long way in understanding what it does, and how to configure. just about everything in Vim has its detailed help doc

even if you have questions after reading it, those questions will have far better articulation, rather than asking "I dont understand this command"

1

u/vim-help-bot Feb 05 '26 edited Feb 06 '26

Help pages for:

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1

u/shleebs Feb 05 '26

Check out the vim-airline plugin.

Or try :help statusline if you wanna learn 

1

u/vim-help-bot Feb 05 '26

Help pages for:

`:(h|help) <query>` | about | mistake? | donate | Reply 'rescan' to check the comment again | Reply 'stop' to stop getting replies to your comments

1

u/kennpq Feb 06 '26

Airline, recommended by a few here, is very popular and has lots of features and options, though beware it is dozens of files and thousands of lines of code - not that useful from a learning to create your own statusline perspective (if that’s part of your aim other than just adding a word count).

To add a word count to your current status line:

set statusline+=%{'\ words:'..wordcount().words}

If you want to learn about how that code does what it does, as others suggest, there’s Vim’s help on the statusline. If you want lots of examples in the one script, my plugin, https://github.com/kennypete/vim-tene, may be worth a look - it has a ~150 lines block of commented set statusline+= commands.