VIM for DevOps

A lightweight, optimized Vim configuration for DevOps engineers: language server completion, linting and formatting on save, and first-class support for the file types you touch every day — Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible, Helm, shell, Python and Go.

Features

• Language server completion through CoC.nvim
• Lint and format on save through ALE
• DevOps file types covered out of the box: Dockerfile, Kubernetes/Helm YAML, Terraform/HCL, Ansible, Vagrant, Nginx, TOML, JSON and shell
• Lazy plugin loading keyed on commands and file types to keep startup fast
• Git workflow with fugitive and gitgutter
• Persistent undo, sane search behaviour, and split/window defaults
• Idempotent installer with backup, dry-run and uninstall support

Requirements

Requirement	Why
Vim 8.1+ with +job and +timers	CoC.nvim and ALE run jobs asynchronously
git, curl (or wget)	Plugin download
Node.js 16+	CoC.nvim language servers
A Nerd Font	File icons in NERDTree and the status line
A true-color terminal	termguicolors and the onedark theme

Installation

Scripted (recommended)

git clone https://github.com/maateen/vim-for-devops.git
cd vim-for-devops
./install.sh

The script backs up ~/.vimrc and your existing Vim configuration, installs vim-plug and the plugins, installs vim-go binaries when Go is available, and reports which optional tools are missing.

Option	Description
-y, --yes	Unattended install (assume yes)
-n, --dry-run	Print every action without changing anything
-u, --uninstall	Move the current config aside and restore the latest backup
-h, --help	Show usage

Manual

1. Copy the configuration:

   cp vimrc ~/.vimrc
   

2. Install vim-plug:

   curl -fLo ~/.vim/autoload/plug.vim --create-dirs \
       https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junegunn/vim-plug/master/plug.vim
   

3. Install the plugins from inside Vim:

   :PlugInstall
   

4. Install the language servers you need:

   :CocInstall coc-json coc-yaml coc-sh coc-go coc-pyright
   

   Run :CocList marketplace to browse extensions such as coc-docker or coc-ansible.

Supported technologies

Technology	Provided by
Docker	Dockerfile syntax, hadolint linting
Kubernetes	YAML syntax, schema-aware coc-yaml
Helm	Chart and template syntax
Terraform / HCL	Syntax, alignment, terraform fmt on save, tflint
Ansible	Playbook syntax, ansible-lint
Vagrant	Vagrantfile file type
Python	black/isort on save, mypy/pylint diagnostics
Go	vim-go, gofmt on save, gd/gr through CoC
YAML / JSON / TOML	Syntax, yamllint/yamlfix, jq
Shell	shellcheck, shfmt on save
Nginx	Directive and block syntax

Key mappings

Leader key is ,.

Basic operations

Key	Action
Ctrl+s	Save file
Ctrl+w	Close buffer
Ctrl+z	Undo
Ctrl+r	Redo

File navigation

Key	Action
Ctrl+t	Toggle file explorer
Ctrl+e	Find current file in explorer

IDE features

Key	Action
Ctrl+i	Enable IDE mode (Git gutter + file explorer)
Ctrl+g	Enable Git gutter
Ctrl+f	Toggle distraction-free mode
Ctrl+d	Open terminal below

Code intelligence (CoC)

Key	Action
gd	Go to definition
gy	Go to type definition
gi	Go to implementation
gr	Find references
K	Show documentation
,rn	Rename symbol
,ca	Code actions

Git

Key	Action
,gs	:Git status
,gd	Side-by-side diff
,gl	Commit log

Buffers and tabs

Key	Action
,t	New tab
,n	Next buffer
,p	Previous buffer

Quick toggles

Key	Action
,i	Toggle indent guides

Comments

Key	Action
,cc	Comment the current line or selection
,cu	Uncomment the current line or selection

Formatting and linting

ALE formats on save for the file types below and always trims trailing whitespace. Disable it globally with let g:ale_fix_on_save = 0 in ~/.vimrc.

File type	Fixer(s)	Linter(s)
Any	trailing whitespace/lines	—
Python	black, isort	mypy, pylint
Shell	shfmt	shellcheck
Terraform	terraform fmt	tflint
YAML	yamlfix	yamllint
JSON	jq	—
Dockerfile	—	hadolint
Ansible	—	ansible-lint

Install only the tools you need; missing ones are skipped. Common install commands:

# macOS
brew install black isort mypy pylint shfmt shellcheck hadolint \
             terraform tflint ansible-lint yamllint jq node

# Python tools (any platform)
pipx install black isort mypy pylint yamllint yamlfix ansible-lint

hadolint, tflint, terraform and shfmt also ship as standalone binaries — see their release pages if your package manager does not provide them.

Customization

The configuration is a single, commented vimrc; edit it directly or keep your overrides in a separate file.

• Theme — colorscheme onedark and the g:onedark_* options in the theme section. The options must stay above colorscheme.
• Key mappings — the Key mappings section at the bottom.
• Lint/format behaviour — g:ale_fixers and g:ale_linters.

• Machine-specific overrides — put them in ~/.vimrc.local, which is sourced at the end if it exists. It is never overwritten by the installer:

  " ~/.vimrc.local
  set colorcolumn=100
  

• Language-server settings — use coc-settings.json; :CocConfig opens it.

Changes to ~/.vimrc are re-sourced automatically when you save the file.

Project structure

.
├── vimrc                  # The configuration
├── install.sh             # Installer, backup and uninstall helper
├── README.md              # This file
├── _config.yml            # GitHub Pages / Jekyll settings
├── CNAME                  # Custom domain for the documentation site
└── .github/workflows/     # GitHub Pages deployment

Troubleshooting

Plugins are missing or out of date Run :PlugInstall (or :PlugUpdate) inside Vim, then check :PlugStatus.

CoC does not complete anything CoC needs Node.js and Vim 8.1+ with +job and +timers. Check vim --version, then run :CocInfo and install a server for the current file type with :CocInstall coc-yaml (for example).

gd does nothing in a Go file vim-go’s own gd mapping is disabled so CoC owns it. Install coc-go and make sure gopls is on your PATH.

Icons render as boxes Install a Nerd Font and select it in your terminal. Without it, the UI still works but file icons fall back to placeholders.

Colors look wrong or the background is unreadable The config enables termguicolors, which requires a true-color terminal. Remove the set termguicolors line (or run :set notermguicolors) if your terminal does not support it.

A fixer or linter never runs ALEInfo lists the tools it found. Install the missing binary, or remove it from g:ale_fixers / g:ale_linters.

Startup feels slow Measure it with vim --startuptime /tmp/startup.log +q and look for heavy plugins. Most language plugins are already lazy-loaded.

Uninstall

./install.sh --uninstall

The script moves ~/.vimrc and the Vim configuration directories to ~/.vim-removed-<timestamp>, restores the newest ~/.vim-backup-* snapshot, and keeps the shared plugin cache in ~/.vim/plugged. Nothing is deleted permanently.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Keep the configuration portable across macOS and Linux, keep mappings documented here, and run bash -n install.sh before submitting a change to the installer.

License

GNU General Public License v3.0 © Maksudur Rahman Maateen