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?

I'm using Cygwin's Gvim, and Ctrll+PgUp/PgDown works. Unfortunately, Ctrl+PgUp seems to be ignored a lot of the time unless I Alt+Tab to another application and Alt+Tab back. — user2153235, Apr 13 '23 at 22:49

score 410 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 11 '12 at 02:19

410

Next tab: gt

Prior tab: gT

Numbered tab: nnngt

answered Apr 11 '12 at 02:19

ephemient

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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. – Matthew Apr 11 '12 at 02:46
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What about mapping function keys to `nnn` `g` `t`? E.g., `:map 2gt`. There is the problem that `` 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. – garyjohn Apr 11 '12 at 05:00
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I found it very convenient to use '<' and '>' – Igor Stoppa Feb 22 '16 at 16:14
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Last tab: `:tabl` command (full form: `:tablast`). – Ruslan May 25 '20 at 17:06

score 80 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 19 '16 at 19:36

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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>

edited Apr 19 '16 at 19:36

Scott - Слава Україні

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answered Nov 12 '13 at 20:59

unblevable

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You need `au TabLeave * let g:lasttab = tabpagenr()` for `c-l` to work: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2119754/switch-to-last-active-tab-in-vim – Ciro Santilli OurBigBook.com Oct 16 '14 at 12:31
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I'd add `h/l` for `gT` and `gt` – Brenden Apr 07 '16 at 20:13
I think this answer is the most appropriate regarding the OP needs expressed. – Adrien Feb 20 '20 at 11:56

Arnold Gandarillas · Answer 3 · 2015-07-02T16:15:21.413

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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.

edited Jul 02 '15 at 16:15

answered Mar 03 '15 at 14:21

Arnold Gandarillas

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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. – Léo Léopold Hertz 준영 May 14 '16 at 05:47
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Use arrow keys will slow you down. I have them disabled – Ask and Learn Jul 19 '16 at 05:03
Yup... Best answer! – The Vivandiere Sep 09 '16 at 18:08
Sadly "Ctrl" gave me problems in vmplayer, so I changed to keys "Backspace" and "Enter". – Boris Däppen Jul 13 '17 at 11:30
Mac users: you may need to disable the default Mission Control spaces keyboard shortcuts: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/15719135/how-to-disable-keyboard-shortcuts-in-mac-os-x#answer-15719195 – 4Z4T4R Aug 29 '17 at 22:52
@AskandLearn I think is a lot quicker than :tn repeated many times – Noel Evans Aug 29 '19 at 10:30
this should be the accepted answer – JDS Jan 21 '20 at 01:05
On Mac it worked for me with `command` + `Ctrl` + `arrow-keys` – Grijesh Chauhan Jun 10 '20 at 07:53
I thought one of the key characteristics of vim was that all commands used plain characters. No CTRL or ALT or Fn. Really, something faster than ngt? (Don't tell me you have more than 9 tabs open). 3 keystrokes? I upvoted this answer because of the last part of the asnwer. – Johannes Linkels Dec 02 '22 at 02:11

score 35 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 03 '16 at 10:59

35

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.

answered Jul 03 '16 at 10:59

Stefan Magnuson

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I love this solution, intuitive and vim-like. No arrow keys needed. – Glorious Kale Apr 11 '19 at 12:34
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I agree. A very nice solution – j sad Jul 16 '19 at 18:14
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this is really an intuitive solution. Thank you! – LeOn - Han Li Oct 11 '19 at 01:41

score 4 · Answer 5 · edited Dec 06 '22 at 02:00

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>

Is it possible to map - to the last toggle tab function. I've tried `nnoremap :exe "tabn ".g:lasttab` and `vnoremap :exe "tabn ".g:lasttab` without luck. — zzeroo, Sep 18 '19 at 09:16

score 4 · Answer 6 · answered Apr 11 '12 at 01:25

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(Unfortunately) vim also uses CtrlPgDn/PgUp to cycle through tabs. You'll need to use map to map tabn/tabp to something usable.

answered Apr 11 '12 at 01:25

Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams

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score 3 · Answer 7 · answered Oct 02 '17 at 15:32

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If you're using gvim or similar (i.e., something outside of the terminal), you can imitate the gnome-terminal behaviour you describe with:

" Map alt-x keys to jump to a tab
for i in range(1, 8)
  execute "nmap \<M-" . i . "> " . i . "gt"
endfor
nmap <M-9> :tablast<CR>

So alt-1 jumps to the first tab, etc. But alt-9 jumps to the last tab (as in Chrome).

You might want to wrap this in if has("gui_running") (although this doesn't seem to work with Neovim), or put this in .gvimrc.

answered Oct 02 '17 at 15:32

Joe Freeman

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Lol I don't know why Although This is the Only answer that satisfies the question Yet the least up-voted one – Susano Mar 31 '21 at 19:20
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@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. – slm May 29 '21 at 12:40

score 2 · Answer 8 · answered Dec 05 '22 at 23:55

I like to switch windows/tabs with fzf-vim. It is fast and

For instance you can make a bindkey <leader>w which calls Windows or Buffers. Also Jumps and Changes are useful tools for fast switching.

Buffers:

Windows :

Here some maps for fzf I am using frequently:

nnoremap <silent><Leader>f :Files<CR>
nnoremap <silent><leader>j :Jumps<CR>
nnoremap <silent><leader>c :Changes<CR>
nnoremap <silent><Leader>m :Marks<CR>
nnoremap <silent><Leader>w :Windows<CR>
nnoremap <silent><Leader>h :Helptags<CR>
nnoremap <silent><Leader>b :Buffers<CR>
nnoremap <silent><Leader>bl :BLines<CR>

`:Windows` (or `:W`) worked for me. Thanks! Fun fact: I have been accidentally pressing `:W` for _years_ and immediately backing out without ever looking at what it actually did! — Max Coplan, Jun 08 '23 at 15:17

score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Jul 17 '21 at 07:35

1

I encountered this problem the same as you,
but later I find out what I really need might be a Marker.
Especially when using uppercase characters like mA ,
It will take you to your marked tab by using "`A" as fast as it can.
Hope it can help.

answered Jul 17 '21 at 07:35

QuantumBlindVimTaoist

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In vim, how can I quickly switch between tabs?

9 Answers9

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