# tpope/vim-pathogen

pathogen.vim: manage your runtimepath

Repository: https://github.com/tpope/vim-pathogen
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/vim-pathogen
Homepage: http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=2332
Language: Vim Script
License: Vim
License Family: other
Last push: 2022-08-24T17:21:16+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 32/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 6107, "days_push": 1470, "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 12127, forks 1144 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:51.800100+00:00)

## What it is
pathogen.vim is a Vim plugin that manages the 'runtimepath' so plugins and runtime files can be installed in their own private directories under ~/.vim/bundle. It is the classic simple Vim plugin manager, now largely superseded by Vim 8's built-in package support.

## Use cases
- install vim plugins in separate directories
- manage vim runtimepath
- simple vim plugin manager
- generate vim help tags for all plugins
- backport vim 8 package management to older vim

## When to choose
- you use an old Vim version without native package support
- you want a dead-simple, dependency-free plugin manager
- you manage plugins as git clones or dotfiles submodules

## When to avoid
- you use Vim 8+ or Neovim with built-in package management
- you want lazy-loading, lockfiles, or async installs like modern managers
- the project is in maintenance mode and the author recommends native packages

## Facets
- artifact type: plugin
- maturity: maintenance
- function: plugin-system, package-manager, developer-tools
- domain: text-editors, developer-tools
- platform: windows, cross-platform
- tags: vim, vim-plugins, runtimepath, editor-plugin, package-management, plugins, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- tpope/vim-pathogen (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:51.800100+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 2026-08-29T17:14:55.192475+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/tpope/vim-pathogen (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:51.800100+00:00, sha 4cc7f654910a)
  - homepage: http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=2332 (fetched 2026-08-29T08:12:10.141299+00:00, sha b545d0346f18)
  - site_page: https://www.vim.org/about.php (fetched 2026-08-29T08:12:10.150539+00:00, sha 1bd2c1907ce5)
  - site_page: https://www.vim.org/docs.php (fetched 2026-08-29T08:12:10.152282+00:00, sha 438015e9e2e2)
  - site_page: http://www.vim.org/about.php (fetched 2026-08-29T08:12:10.153775+00:00, sha fbe78bde9535)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.