# cknadler/vim-anywhere

Use Vim everywhere you've always wanted to

Repository: https://github.com/cknadler/vim-anywhere
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/vim-anywhere
Language: Shell
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: vim, osx, keyboard-shortcuts, shell, text-editor
Last push: 2026-05-02T01:07:29+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 68/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 80, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4630, "days_push": 124, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3767, forks 147 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:18.093328+00:00)

## What it is
A small shell-based utility that opens a Vim buffer from any application via a global keyboard shortcut; on close, its contents are copied to the clipboard and the previous app is refocused. It supports macOS and Linux (Gnome, i3) and keeps a temporary history of edited buffers.

## Use cases
- edit text in vim from any application
- write long text with vim instead of a gui text box
- copy vim-edited text to clipboard for pasting elsewhere
- use vim keybindings outside the terminal
- keep a scratch buffer history for quick text edits

## When to choose
- you are a Vim user who frequently writes text in non-Vim apps
- you want a global hotkey to spawn a scratch Vim buffer
- you use macOS or a Linux desktop like Gnome or i3

## When to avoid
- you don't use Vim or its keybindings
- you need this on Windows or non-Gnome Linux desktops without workarounds
- you want a full editor integration rather than a clipboard scratchpad

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: editor, developer-tools, cli
- domain: developer-tools, text-editors
- platform: cli
- tags: vim, clipboard, keyboard-shortcut, shell-script, text-editing, command-line, macos, linux

## Member repositories
- cknadler/vim-anywhere (main) score 68

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:18.093328+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:28:35.193758+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/cknadler/vim-anywhere (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:18.093328+00:00, sha ae60754922c2)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.