I Use NERDTree in Vim but It's Usually Not for Opening Files
In this video I go over how I use NERDTree in Vim. It's mainly to create, modify or delete files very quickly.
Quick Jump: Demo Video of How I Use NERDTree
NERDTree has a stigma for being a bad idea to use and folks often like to recommend using netrw (a built-in file explorer in Vim) instead or avoid anything like that all together.
But I think it’s because most people associate NERDTree as being a tool to primarily search for and open files. Personally that’s not the main reason I use it for and in this video I go over how I am using it for a number of different use cases.
Demo Video of How I Use NERDTree
Timestamped Table of Contents
- 1:05 – I’m not using NERDTree to open files most of the time
- 2:03 – I use FZF to open specific files
- 2:24 – The main reason I use NERDTree is to move files and directories
- 3:38 – Manual steps to move a file using Unix commands
- 5:34 – How NERDTree makes it really easy to move files and directories
- 6:55 – Can NERDTree set the syntax highlighting after moving a file? I don’t know
- 7:23 – The workflow for quickly modifying a file or directory
- 8:32 – Using NERDTree to browse git ignored files if you use FZF and ripgrep
- 10:49 – A real example of wanting to edit a git ignored file
- 11:38 – Getting a visualize representation of your project is very helpful
- 12:51 – Creating nested files and directories is a breeze with NERDTree
- 14:25 – Manual steps to create a nested file without NERDTree
- 15:27 – Creating and deleting directories with NERDTree is easy
- 16:18 – A couple of things I added to my vimrc for NERDTree
- 18:36 – I really do think NERDTree is beneficial in your day to day as a developer
Reference Links
Are you using or not using NERDTree? Let me know why below.