vim-visual-multi is a plugin that brings multi-cursor functionality to Vim and Neovim similar to what many modern editors provide. Instead of only using Vim’s traditional visual or block modes, this plugin allows you to set up multiple cursors (and multiple selection spots) and perform edits simultaneously in several places at once. You can add cursors by selecting words or using vertical cursor movements, then enter insert or normal mode and your commands are replicated across all active cursors. It supports both “cursor mode” (where each cursor acts like a normal mode cursor) and “extend mode” (where each behaves like a visual-mode selection), switching with Tab. Because it works mostly from normal mode (rather than depending purely on visual-block mode), it integrates more naturally into standard Vim workflows. Users often report that for repetitive edits—renaming variables, aligning columns, or editing many similar lines—it dramatically cuts down keystrokes.
Features
- Add and manage multiple cursors/selections across a buffer
- Vertical cursor creation (e.g., Ctrl-Down/Up) and occurrence based selection (Ctrl-N)
- Two modes: cursor mode (normal-style) and extend mode (visual-style)
- Run normal-mode commands, macros or ex commands simultaneously on all cursors
- Regex or visual-mode based pattern selection across multiple spots
- Customizable key-mappings and behaviour for advanced editing