Vim MCP Server

vim-mcp

Simple MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration for Vim and Claude Code.

Features

• Connect Claude Code to one of your Vim instances
• Query Vim state (buffers, windows, cursor position, etc.)
• Execute Vim commands from Claude using natural language

How it works:

1. The MCP server starts a Unix socket server at /tmp/vim-mcp-server.sock
2. Each Vim instance connects to the server as a Unix socket client
3. Vim sends registration and state updates to the server
4. The server maintains active connections to all Vim instances
5. Claude Code communicates with the MCP server via Model Context Protocol

Demo

List and select Vim instance:

You can (finally) exit Vim!

For more, check out the demo wiki page

Why would anyone need this?

Ok, I get what it does, but why do we need this?

If you're trying to do basic Vim operations like typing "split the window in half" (24 keystrokes) vs running :sp / :vs (3 keystrokes), then you're better off without it. Where vim-mcp shines is when the number of keystrokes is unknown; when you can only describe what you want to do but don't know exactly how to do it. Things like complex regex/macros/lookups, help semantic search, etc. - it's faster to tell AI what you're trying to accomplish than trial-and-error. I think the word I'm looking for is circumlocution?

Here's one scenario where it may be useful:

Suppose you want to perform a complex Vim command that would otherwise take a long time to construct. Claude can easily do it if you can describe what you want to do. Maybe you want to substitute "(test foobar)" with square brackets ONLY IF they come after a 3rd-level Markdown header. That's not something I can easily cook up in seconds... but Claude can!

With vim-mcp, I can prompt Claude:

In README.md, substitute the set of parentheses `(SOME TEXT)` with square brackets `[SOME TEXT]`, where SOME TEXT says "test foobar"; do this if the strings come after a 3rd-level header markdown.

And that's it! When I did it, Claude came up with the g command and executed it for me.

vim-mcp - vim_execute (MCP)(command: "g/^### /,/^#\\{1,3\\} \\|^$/s/(test foobar)/[test foobar]/g")
  ⎿  Command executed successfully: g/^### /,/^#\{1,3\} \|^$/s/(test foobar)/[test foobar]/g

Bonus: the executed commands are stored in the command history so you can go back and re-execute them or modify them.

What if you later decide, "Hey, I actually don't want to substitute them with square brackets [], I want to substitute them with curly brackets {} instead!" You can just access the command history (q:, :history, or : then press up/down) and make the necessary modifications.

So I did :, then pressed the up arrow a few times until I saw the command that vim-mcp executed, and changed it to :g/^### /,/^#\{1,3\} \|^$/s/(test foobar)/{test foobar}/g. Done!

Overview

For a detailed overview, see vim-mcp overview.

Tools and Resources

Tools:

1. list_vim_instances
2. select_vim_instance
3. get_vim_state
4. vim_execute
5. exit_vim
6. vim_search_help
7. vim_record_macro

Resources:

1. vim://instances - List of all available Vim instances
2. vim://state - Current state of the selected Vim instance
3. vim://buffers - List of all buffers in the selected Vim instance
4. vim://tabs - List of all tabs in the selected Vim instance

Installation

Prerequisites

• Vim 8+ with +channel feature OR Neovim 0.5+
• Node.js 18+
• Unix domain socket support (Linux/macOS)
• File system write access to /tmp directory
• claude code / claude desktop or similar tools that support MCP

Install the Vim Plugin

Using vim-plug:

Plug 'iggredible/vim-mcp'

Install the MCP Server

The MCP server is a Node project. You need to install the dependencies.

Option 1: Using the Install Script

cd ~/.vim/plugged/vim-mcp  # Or wherever your plugin is installed
./install.sh

The install script will automatically:

• Check prerequisites (Node.js and Vim versions)
• Install Node.js dependencies
• Attempt global installation of the vim-mcp command
• Show you the correct Claude Code configuration

Option 2: Manual Installation

If you prefer to install manually or the install.sh script doesn't work:

1. Install Node.js dependencies:

cd ~/.vim/plugged/vim-mcp/server
npm install

npm install will also run chmod +x bin/vim-mcp

1. (Optional) Install globally for system-wide vim-mcp command (inside the /server directory):

npm link

If this fails due to permissions or other reasons, you can skip global installation and use the full path in your config.

Configure Claude Code

After installation, add one of these configurations to your Claude configuration file:

If global install succeeded (if vim-mcp command is available):

  "mcpServers": {
    "vim-mcp": {
      "command": "vim-mcp",
      "args": []
    },
  }

If npm link failed:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vim-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/some/path/.vim/plugged/vim-mcp/server/bin/vim-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Uninstall

To remove vim-mcp:

1. Remove the plugin from your .vimrc:

" Delete or comment out this line:
" Plug 'iggredible/vim-mcp'

1. Clean up the plugin files:

:PlugClean

1. Remove the global vim-mcp command (if installed):

npm unlink vim-mcp

1. Remove from Claude Code configuration:

Edit the Claude config file and remove the vim-mcp section from mcpServers

1. Clean up temporary files (optional):

rm -f /tmp/vim-mcp-server.sock
rm -f /tmp/vim-mcp-registry.json
rm -f /tmp/vim-mcp-preference.txt

1. Restart Vim and Claude Code to ensure all connections are cleared.

Quick Start

Step-by-Step Connection Process

1. Open Vim instances (the plugin connects automatically):

vim file1.txt    # First instance
vim file2.txt    # Second instance (in another terminal)

1. In Claude Code, list available Vim instances:

list vim instances

1. If multiple instances are found, select one:

select vim instance file1-vim-12345

Things you can prompt

From the client (claude code), you can:

1. Manage instances:

   • "List vim instances"
   • "Connect to the first one pls"
   • "Select the one with README.md open"

2. Control Vim:

   • "Split into two windows vertically"
   • "execute vim command "
   • "HELP ME EXIT VIM!!!"

3. Search Vim help:

   • "Search vim help for working with channels"
   • "How do I use vim's quickfix list?"
   • "Show me help on vim registers"

4. Record macros:

   • "Record a macro that uppercases the first word and moves down 2 lines"
   • "Create a macro to duplicate the current line and comment it out"
   • "Make a macro that finds the next TODO and marks it as DONE"

5. Query about Vim:

   • "How many buffers do I have?"
   • "What buffers are open?"
   • "What is my cursor position?"
   • "Show me the current buffer content"
   • "How many lines are in the active buffer?"
   • "What language is the file written in?"
   • "What windows are open?"
   • "What is the realistic 10-year target price for BTC?" (jk)

vim-mcp can help you exit Vim!!

You can FINALLY exit Vim! Rejoice! The exit_vim tool provides safe exit functionality with three modes:

• Default (check): Checks for unsaved changes and warns you before exiting
• Save and exit: Saves all modified buffers and exits (exit vim save_and_exit)
• Force exit: Exits without saving, discarding changes (exit vim force_exit)

Examples:

exit vim                   # Safe exit - warns about unsaved changes
exit vim save_and_exit     # Save all files and exit
exit vim force_exit        # Exit without saving (discard changes)
GET ME OUTTA HERE          # You're free! Successfully exited Vim (there were no unsaved changes).

Note: this is a joke tool because many people have a hard time exiting Vim.

Vim Commands

The plugin connects automatically when Vim opens. However, you can do these from inside Vim:

• :VimMCPStatus - Check connection status
• :VimMCPConnect - Manually connect to server
• :VimMCPDisconnect - Disconnect from server
• :VimMCPReconnect - Reconnect to server

Contributing

I'm still figuring out how to make this to be more useful. If you have ideas, please feel free to submit a PR!