In vim, how can I quickly switch between tabs?

Question

In gnome-terminal, I can just press Alt + (1, 2, 3, etc.) to switch to specific tabs. I can also use Ctrl + (PgUp / PgDn) to cycle through tabs (admittedly less convenient, but it can be remapped).

If I want to use vim tabs instead of gnome-terminal tabs, typing :tabn and :tabp is quite cumbersome. I could map them to keyboard shortcuts, but that is still a lot less convenient than jumping directly to tab 4 with Alt + 4.

Is there a faster way to switch between tabs in vim?

Solution 1

Next tab: gt

Prior tab: gT

Numbered tab: nnngt

Solution 2

Why not make use of your leader (my leader is mapped to Space):

" Go to tab by number
noremap <leader>1 1gt
noremap <leader>2 2gt
noremap <leader>3 3gt
noremap <leader>4 4gt
noremap <leader>5 5gt
noremap <leader>6 6gt
noremap <leader>7 7gt
noremap <leader>8 8gt
noremap <leader>9 9gt
noremap <leader>0 :tablast<cr>

You can use the settings below to toggle between the current and last active tab (here it is mapped to Ctrl+L, i.e., <c-l>):

" Go to last active tab

au TabLeave * let g:lasttab = tabpagenr()
nnoremap <silent> <c-l> :exe "tabn ".g:lasttab<cr>
vnoremap <silent> <c-l> :exe "tabn ".g:lasttab<cr>

Solution 3

This is the easiest way that I found, to switch between tabs faster and simple.
Add next lines to your .vimrc and enjoy it, more tricks about vim tabs here.

nnoremap <C-Left> :tabprevious<CR>
nnoremap <C-Right> :tabnext<CR>

Now you can use Ctrl ← to go left and Ctrl → to go right.

Or just use:
1gt to go to tab one,
2gt to go to tab two,
3gt to go to tab three, etc... now you have the idea.

Solution 4

As I am on a Mac and not using MacVim (but plain vim within a terminal) I have had some difficulty with key combinations not being sent through to the terminal.

The most-compatible (and for me most comfortable) way to switch tabs quickly comes from the Vim Wikia site.

Place in your .vimrc file:

nnoremap H gT
nnoremap L gt

Now Shift-h (capital H) and Shift-l (capital L) will switch you quickly between tabs, and follows the convention that h and l correspond to left and right in vim on a regular qwerty keyboard.

Solution 5

Add these to .vimrc to enable tab navigation hot keys:

<ctrl-l> toggle between 2 most recent tabs;

<ctrl-j/k> goto the last/next tab;

<ctrl-t> open a new tab.

" tab navigation: Alt or Ctrl+Shift may not work in terminal: " http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Alternative_tab_navigation " Tab navigation like Firefox: only 'open new tab' works in terminal nnoremap <C-t> :tabnew<CR> inoremap <C-t> <Esc>:tabnew<CR> " move to the previous/next tabpage. nnoremap <C-j> gT nnoremap <C-k> gt " Go to last active tab au TabLeave * let g:lasttab = tabpagenr() nnoremap <silent> <c-l> :exe "tabn ".g:lasttab<cr> vnoremap <silent> <c-l> :exe "tabn ".g:lasttab<cr>

View more solutions

Comments

[cukabeka]

I know that I could type nnn g t, but I want to do it quickly, i.e. Alt + nnn or Ctrl + nnn. But Alt + n is already taken by gnome-terminal, and binding to Ctrl + n doesn't seem to have any effect.

[garyjohn]

What about mapping function keys to nnn g t? E.g., :map <F2> 2gt. There is the problem that <F1> is often mapped by GNOME to its help facility. Or you could choose some key you don't use often in normal mode, say the comma, and map it like this: :map , gt. Then 1, will take you to tab 1, 2, to tab 2, and so on.

[Ciro Santilli Путлер Капут 六四事]

You need au TabLeave * let g:lasttab = tabpagenr() for c-l to work: stackoverflow.com/questions/2119754/…

[Igor Stoppa]

I found it very convenient to use '<' and '>'

[Brenden]

I'd add <leader>h/l for gT and gt

[indi]

I think this is the best answer here. Very convenient to have. I just disabled those system keybindings in OS X for making them system independent.

[Ask and Learn]

Use arrow keys will slow you down. I have them disabled

[The Vivandiere]

Yup... Best answer!

[Boris Däppen]

Sadly "Ctrl" gave me problems in vmplayer, so I changed to keys "Backspace" and "Enter".

[4Z4T4R]

Mac users: you may need to disable the default Mission Control spaces keyboard shortcuts: stackoverflow.com/questions/15719135/…

[Glorious Kale]

I love this solution, intuitive and vim-like. No arrow keys needed.

[j sad]

I agree. A very nice solution

[Noel Evans]

@AskandLearn I think <C-Right> is a lot quicker than :tn repeated many times

[The-Duck]

Is it possible to map <Ctrl>-<Tab> to the last toggle tab function. I've tried nnoremap <silent> <C-Tab> :exe "tabn ".g:lasttab<cr> and vnoremap <silent> <C-Tab> :exe "tabn ".g:lasttab<cr> without luck.

[LeOn - Han Li]

this is really an intuitive solution. Thank you!

[JDS]

this should be the accepted answer

[Adrien]

I think this answer is the most appropriate regarding the OP needs expressed.

[Ruslan]

Last tab: :tabl command (full form: :tablast).

[Grijesh Chauhan]

On Mac it worked for me with command + Ctrl + arrow-keys

[Mahmoud Salah]

Lol I don't know why Although This is the Only answer that satisfies the question Yet the least up-voted one

[slm]

@MahmoudSalah - it's likely b/c this Q&A comes up 1st on google and most ppl looking for this solution aren't on Linux.