59 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
59 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Do you really need tabs/bufferlines in Neovim?
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date: 2023-07-28
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tags:
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- software
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- technology
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---
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When I was previously using Emacs, one feature I found that was not really
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implemented was tabs for each buffer. I was extremely used to bufferlines
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(which is what people usually mean when they refer to "tab") as I was using
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Neovim before I switched to Emacs and back to Neovim. As I got used to it, I
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found out that I was better off with a buffer list than a bufferline.
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(Newer) Neovim users tend to prefer bufferlines, while Emacs users tend to
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prefer buffer lists. *This would not be true five years ago*, but it is now. I
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guess the reason for this is that there are more people from tabbed editors
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such as VSCode, Atom, and Sublime migrating to Neovim than to Emacs.
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As a result, tabs and bufferlines are more popular than buffer lists. Buffer
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lists are often overlooked, not known to many people, and sometimes perceived
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as archaic.
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However, your workflow might be more appropriately suited towards buffer lists,
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and you just do not know it.
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The main reason for using Neovim for many people is that it’s heavily
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keyboard-centric. It is far easier to navigate Neovim with the keyboard than
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the mouse. However, when using a bufferline, if you are not using a mouse, it
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takes multiple TABs and C-TABs to find the file you want. In a buffer list,
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it’s the same if not better. You can filter through files by typing its name
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and finding it in the buffer list rather than scanning the names of each file
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in the bufferline.
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A bufferline also takes up the top part of your screen. It is not as big of a
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deal, but as you open more files, it becomes more difficult to navigate. Your
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bufferline is usually always visible showing every tab when you don’t need it.
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A buffer list is only open when invoked, through a command or shortcut. It does
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takes up more space, but only when needed.
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The way people using bufferlines avoid both of these issues is to close buffer
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tabs once they are finished with working on the file. However, this means you
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have to keep track of what other files you have open and how many tabs are
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open. In a buffer list, you only open a file once, and once you are finished
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with it, you switch to another buffer.
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An additional pro for buffer lists that may not apply to everyone is its
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ability to preview files. In Neovim, I use Telescope to pick buffers, and it
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includes a file previewer. This makes it easier for me to look across files
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without actually switching to them and having to switch back. A recent use case
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I had was to quickly check what other tags my other posts had.
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As you can see, buffer lists are an extremely overlooked feature in favor of
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bufferlines/tablines. While users coming from editors that primarily use tabs
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may be more familiar with the bufferline, buffer lists would especially help
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for those whose workflows involve dealing with multiple files at once.
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