Why does Vim save files with a ~ extension?

by

I think the better solution is to place these lines in your vimrc file

set backupdir=~/vimtmp//,.
set directory=~/vimtmp//,.

The first line is for backup files, the second line for swap files. The double slash at the end ensures that there is no conflict in case of two files having the same name, see comments (at the time of this edit this option is only honored for swap files, not yet for backup files). The ,. allow vim to use the current directory if the former doesn’t exist.

You have to create a directory in your home directory called vimtmp for this to work. Also, check that backups are enabled in your config (add set backup if not).

That way you get the benefit of both worlds, you don’t have to see the files, but if something does get futzed you can go get your backup file from vimtmp. Don’t forget to clean the directory out every now and then.

More Related Contents:

  1. How do I exit the Vim editor?
  2. Using Vim’s tabs like buffers
  3. Vim and Ctags tips and tricks [closed]
  4. Why do Vim experts prefer buffers over tabs? [closed]
  5. How do I exit Vim?
  6. What is the difference between the remap, noremap, nnoremap and vnoremap mapping commands in Vim?
  7. Vim 80 column layout concerns
  8. Why should I use an IDE? [closed]
  9. Turning off auto indent when pasting text into vim
  10. Where is my .vimrc file?
  11. Search for selection in Vim
  12. How to paste over without overwriting register
  13. A more useful statusline in vim? [closed]
  14. How can I automatically add some skeleton code when creating a new file with vim
  15. How to add line numbers to range of lines in Vim?
  16. Is there a “vim runtime log”?
  17. Vim auto-generate ctags
  18. How to prevent the cursor from moving back one character on leaving Insert mode in Vim?
  19. Using vim’s f command over multiple lines
  20. How to effectively work with multiple files in Vim
  21. Why is \r a newline for Vim?
  22. Can terminals detect or ?
  23. Auto-open NERDTree in “EVERY” tab
  24. How do I fix the indentation of an entire file in Vi?
  25. Multiple commands on same line
  26. How can you automatically remove trailing whitespace in vim
  27. Vim – how to run a command immediately when starting vim?
  28. Get rid of Vim’s highlight after searching text
  29. Why would Vim add a new line at the end of a file?
  30. Paste in insert mode?

Leave a Comment