SkillAgentSearch skills...

Barbar.nvim

The neovim tabline plugin.

GenerateConvertImprove

Install / Use

/learn @romgrk/Barbar.nvim
About this skill

Quality Score

0/100

Supported Platforms

Universal

README

demo

<h1 align="center"> barbar.nvim </h1> <p align="center"> <b>Tabs, as understood by any other editor.</b> </p>

barbar.nvim is a tabline plugin with re-orderable, auto-sizing, clickable tabs, icons, nice highlighting, sort-by commands and a magic jump-to-buffer mode. Plus the tab names are made unique when two filenames match.

In jump-to-buffer mode, tabs display a target letter instead of their icon. Jump to any buffer by simply typing their target letter. Even better, the target letter stays constant for the lifetime of the buffer, so if you're working with a set of files you can even type the letter ahead from memory.

Table of content

Install

Requirements:

  • Neovim v0.7+

Optional Requirements:

Using lazy.nvim

require('lazy').setup {
  {'romgrk/barbar.nvim',
    dependencies = {
      'lewis6991/gitsigns.nvim', -- OPTIONAL: for git status
      'nvim-tree/nvim-web-devicons', -- OPTIONAL: for file icons
    },
    init = function() vim.g.barbar_auto_setup = false end,
    opts = {
      -- lazy.nvim will automatically call setup for you. put your options here, anything missing will use the default:
      -- animation = true,
      -- insert_at_start = true,
      -- …etc.
    },
    version = '^1.0.0', -- optional: only update when a new 1.x version is released
  },
}

Using packer.nvim

-- These optional plugins should be loaded directly because of a bug in Packer lazy loading
use 'nvim-tree/nvim-web-devicons' -- OPTIONAL: for file icons
use 'lewis6991/gitsigns.nvim' -- OPTIONAL: for git status
use 'romgrk/barbar.nvim'

Using vim-plug

Plug 'nvim-tree/nvim-web-devicons' " OPTIONAL: for file icons
Plug 'lewis6991/gitsigns.nvim' " OPTIONAL: for git status
Plug 'romgrk/barbar.nvim'

Features

Re-order tabs

reorder

Auto-sizing tabs, fill the space when available

resize

Jump-to-buffer mode

jump

Type a letter to jump to a buffer. Letters stay constant for the lifetime of the buffer. By default, letters are assigned based on buffer name, eg README.md will get letter r. You can change this so that letters are assigned based on usability: home row (asdfjkl;gh) first, then other rows.

Sort tabs automatically

jump

:BufferOrderByName, :BufferOrderByDirectory, :BufferOrderByLanguage, :BufferOrderByWindowNumber, :BufferOrderByBufferNumber

Clickable & closable tabs

click

Left-click to go, middle-click or close button to close. Don't forget to set mouse+=a.

Unique names when filenames match

unique-name

Pinned buffers

pinned

bbye.vim for closing buffers

A modified version of bbye.vim is included in this plugin to close buffers without messing with your window layout and more. Available as BufferClose and bufferline#bbye#delete(buf).

Scrollable tabs, to always show the current buffer

scroll

Offset bufferline when showing sidebars

filetree-with-offset

Usage

Mappings & commands

Vim script

No default mappings are provided, here is an example. It is recommended to use the BufferClose command to close buffers instead of bdelete because it will not mess your window layout.

Note

In the below key mappings, the Alt key is being used. If you are using a terminal like iTerm on Mac, you will want to make sure that your Option key is properly mapped to Alt. Its under Profiles > Keys, select Esc+

" Move to previous/next
nnoremap <silent>    <A-,> <Cmd>BufferPrevious<CR>
nnoremap <silent>    <A-.> <Cmd>BufferNext<CR>

" Re-order to previous/next
nnoremap <silent>    <A-<> <Cmd>BufferMovePrevious<CR>
nnoremap <silent>    <A->> <Cmd>BufferMoveNext<CR>

" Goto buffer in position...
nnoremap <silent>    <A-1> <Cmd>BufferGoto 1<CR>
nnoremap <silent>    <A-2> <Cmd>BufferGoto 2<CR>
nnoremap <silent>    <A-3> <Cmd>BufferGoto 3<CR>
nnoremap <silent>    <A-4> <Cmd>BufferGoto 4<CR>
nnoremap <silent>    <A-5> <Cmd>BufferGoto 5<CR>
nnoremap <silent>    <A-6> <Cmd>BufferGoto 6<CR>
nnoremap <silent>    <A-7> <Cmd>BufferGoto 7<CR>
nnoremap <silent>    <A-8> <Cmd>BufferGoto 8<CR>
nnoremap <silent>    <A-9> <Cmd>BufferGoto 9<CR>
nnoremap <silent>    <A-0> <Cmd>BufferLast<CR>

" Pin/unpin buffer
nnoremap <silent>    <A-p> <Cmd>BufferPin<CR>

" Goto pinned/unpinned buffer
"                          :BufferGotoPinned
"                          :BufferGotoUnpinned

" Close buffer
nnoremap <silent>    <A-c> <Cmd>BufferClose<CR>
" Restore buffer
nnoremap <silent>    <A-s-c> <Cmd>BufferRestore<CR>

" Wipeout buffer
"                          :BufferWipeout
" Close commands
"                          :BufferCloseAllButCurrent
"                          :BufferCloseAllButVisible
"                          :BufferCloseAllButPinned
"                          :BufferCloseAllButCurrentOrPinned
"                          :BufferCloseBuffersLeft
"                          :BufferCloseBuffersRight

" Magic buffer-picking mode
nnoremap <silent> <C-p>    <Cmd>BufferPick<CR>
nnoremap <silent> <C-s-p>  <Cmd>BufferPickDelete<CR>

" Sort automatically by...
nnoremap <silent> <Space>bb <Cmd>BufferOrderByBufferNumber<CR>
nnoremap <silent> <Space>bn <Cmd>BufferOrderByName<CR>
nnoremap <silent> <Space>bd <Cmd>BufferOrderByDirectory<CR>
nnoremap <silent> <Space>bl <Cmd>BufferOrderByLanguage<CR>
nnoremap <silent> <Space>bw <Cmd>BufferOrderByWindowNumber<CR>

" Other:
" :BarbarEnable - enables barbar (enabled by default)
" :BarbarDisable - very bad command, should never be used

Lua

local map = vim.api.nvim_set_keymap
local opts = { noremap = true, silent = true }

-- Move to previous/next
map('n', '<A-,>', '<Cmd>BufferPrevious<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<A-.>', '<Cmd>BufferNext<CR>', opts)

-- Re-order to previous/next
map('n', '<A-<>', '<Cmd>BufferMovePrevious<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<A->>', '<Cmd>BufferMoveNext<CR>', opts)

-- Goto buffer in position...
map('n', '<A-1>', '<Cmd>BufferGoto 1<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<A-2>', '<Cmd>BufferGoto 2<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<A-3>', '<Cmd>BufferGoto 3<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<A-4>', '<Cmd>BufferGoto 4<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<A-5>', '<Cmd>BufferGoto 5<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<A-6>', '<Cmd>BufferGoto 6<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<A-7>', '<Cmd>BufferGoto 7<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<A-8>', '<Cmd>BufferGoto 8<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<A-9>', '<Cmd>BufferGoto 9<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<A-0>', '<Cmd>BufferLast<CR>', opts)

-- Pin/unpin buffer
map('n', '<A-p>', '<Cmd>BufferPin<CR>', opts)

-- Goto pinned/unpinned buffer
--                 :BufferGotoPinned
--                 :BufferGotoUnpinned

-- Close buffer
map('n', '<A-c>', '<Cmd>BufferClose<CR>', opts)

-- Wipeout buffer
--                 :BufferWipeout

-- Close commands
--                 :BufferCloseAllButCurrent
--                 :BufferCloseAllButPinned
--                 :BufferCloseAllButCurrentOrPinned
--                 :BufferCloseBuffersLeft
--                 :BufferCloseBuffersRight

-- Magic buffer-picking mode
map('n', '<C-p>',   '<Cmd>BufferPick<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<C-s-p>', '<Cmd>BufferPickDelete<CR>', opts)

-- Sort automatically by...
map('n', '<Space>bb', '<Cmd>BufferOrderByBufferNumber<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<Space>bn', '<Cmd>BufferOrderByName<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<Space>bd', '<Cmd>BufferOrderByDirectory<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<Space>bl', '<Cmd>BufferOrderByLanguage<CR>', opts)
map('n', '<Space>bw', '<Cmd>BufferOrderByWindowNumber<CR>', opts)

-- Other:
-- :BarbarEnable - enables barbar (enabled by default)
-- :BarbarDisable - very bad command, should never be used

Options

Note

If you're using Vim Script, just wrap setup like this:

let g:barbar_auto_setup = v:false " disable auto-setup
lua << EOF
  require'barbar'.setup {…}
EOF

vim.g.barbar_auto_setup = false -- disable auto-setup

require'barbar'.setup {
  -- WARN: do not copy everything below into your config!
  --       It is just an example of what configuration options there are.
  --       The defaults are suitable for most people.

  -- Enable/disable animations
  animation = true,

  -- Automatically hide the tabline when there are this many buffers left.
  -- Set to any value >=0 to enable.
  auto_hide = false,

  -- Enable/disable current/total tabpages indicator (top right corner)
  tabpages = true,

  -- Enables/disable clickable tabs
  --  - left-click: go to buffer
  --  - middle-click: delete buffer
  clickable = true,

  -- Excludes buffers from the tabline
  exclude_ft = {'javascript'},
  exclude_name = {'package.json'},

  -- A buffer to this direction will be focused (if it exists) when closing the current buffer.
  -- Valid options are 'left' (the default), 'previous', and 'right'
  focus_on_close = 'left',

  -- Hide inactive buffers and file extensions. Other options are `alternate`, `current`, and `visible`.
  hide = {extensions = true, inactive = true},

  -- Disable highlighting alternate buffers
  highlight_alternate = false,

  -- Disable highlighting file icons in inactive buffers

romgrk

View profile

View on GitHub
GitHub Stars2.7k
CategoryDevelopment
Updated23h ago
Forks94
romgrk/barbar.nvim

Languages

Lua

Security Score

85/100

Audited on Mar 28, 2026

No findings