How to Open Multiple Files in Vim Splits and Tabs

You can open multiple files in vim in splits and tabs right from the terminal.

In the examples below, I have three files in the current directory like this:

.
├── file1
├── file2
└── file3

Open Multiple Files in Horizontal Splits

To open multiple files in horizontal splits in Vim, use the -o flag like this:

vim -o file1 file2

Here’s a screenshot:

Open Multiple Files in Vertical Splits

To open multiple files with vertical splits in Vim, use the -O flag:

vim -O file1 file2

In this screenshot I’ve opened three files in vertical splits:

Open Multiple Files in Vim Tabs

To open multiple files in Vim tabs, use the -p flag:

vim -p file1 file2

Here’s a screenshot:

One of the great features of Vim is that a tab is an arrangement of panes, not a single file. Each tab can contain a different layout of files, allowing you to move through different layouts of files.

Use gt and gT to rotate through tabs. (Tip: you can move by more than one tab at a time by typing things like 2gt and 3gT.) To move tabs use :tabm (see :h tabm for documentation).

Bash/Zsh Aliases

If you use fzf, these aliases are useful shortcuts:

alias v='vim `fzf`'
alias vof='vim -o `fzf`'
alias vOf='vim -O `fzf`'
alias vpf='vim -p `fzf`'

Video Example

Here’s a short clip that demonstrates all the techniques above: