Vim is a powerful customizable editor. Configuration is stored in custom text files often found in a Unix home directory (ie ~/.vimrc). This vimrc file can get to be rather large the longer one uses vim.

Break the file into parts

The number of files you use is infinite but it works best to keep things simple and organized. I use five files: plugin loader, general settings, leader key settings, custom functions, and plugin specific settings. Source each of these in your main vimrc $HOME/.vimrc. The $HOME/.vim/init directory is not used by vim so I keep my files there.

" $HOME/.vimrc

source $HOME/.vim/init/plug.vimrc      " plugin loader
source $HOME/.vim/init/general.vimrc   " general settings
source $HOME/.vim/init/leader.vimrc    " leader key settings
source $HOME/.vim/init/functions.vimrc " custom functions
source $HOME/.vim/init/plugins.vimrc   " plugin specific settings

Plugin loading

Modern vim has many ways to load plugins. Vundle, vim-plug, and dein.vim use a list of plugins in a vimrc file to install plugins or packages. Create a single file that has the commands for the plugin manager. I use vim-plug so my file looks like this.

" $HOME/.vim/init/plug.vimrc

call plug#begin('~/.vim/plugged')
Plug 'tpope/vim-fugitive'
Plug 'chriskempson/vim-tomorrow-theme'
Plug 'vim-airline/vim-airline'
Plug 'vim-airline/vim-airline-themes'
call plug#end()

Make sure this file is sourced first. It will load all your plugins.

General settings

General settings are loaded in the general.vimrc file. This is were I store my tab settings, color schemes and other general settings. It works the same as any other vimrc file

" $HOME/.vim/init/general.vimrc

set nocompatible
filetype plugin on
syntax enable
set backspace=2             " Backspace behaves like other programs do
set hidden                  " Undo persists even when switching to different open buffers

" colors
colorscheme Tomorrow-Night


" searching
set incsearch               " search as characters are entered
set hlsearch                " highlight matches
set ignorecase              " be smart about case in search
set wildmenu                " visual autocomplete for command menu

Leader key settings

I have a specific file to keep all my leader key shortcuts and settings $HOME/.vim/init/leader.vimrc. ProTip: Setting functions to shortcuts before they are defined is fine because the function will not run until you input the shortcut.

" $HOME/.vim/init/leader.vimrc

let mapleader=","       " set the leader key to the comma key
nnoremap <leader>h :noh<CR> " toggle search highlighting
map <leader>vd :call ToggleThemeMode('dark')<CR>
map <leader>va :call ToggleThemeMode('')<CR>

Custom functions

All my custom functions are added to the $HOME/.vim/init/functions.vimrc file.

" $HOME/.vim/init/functions.vimrc

" Toggles the theme from light to dark
function! ToggleThemeMode(style)
    if a:style == "dark"
        set background=dark
        AirlineTheme tomorrow
        colorscheme Tomorrow-Night
    else
        set background=light
        colorscheme Tomorrow
        AirlineTheme tomorrow
    en
endfunction

Plugin specific settings

The $HOME/.vim/init/plugins includes plugin specific settings. It helps to keep them separated from the general settings. It also helps to section this file by plugin so you can see all settings for a specific plugin together.

" $HOME/.vim/init/plugins.vimrc

let g:airline_theme='tomorrow'
let g:airline#extensions#tabline#enabled = 1 " Enable the list of buffers

These are only some of my settings. You can see all of them in my dotfiles repo.

Conclusion

There it is. A better system to keep your vimrc configuration under control. Ever since I started using this system it has been much easier to manage plugins, settings, and functions. Each file has a purpose so I know where to look if something is acting up.