How do I change the cursor between Normal and Insert modes in Vim?

Question

I would like to know how to change, if possible, the cursor in Vim (in color, shape, etc.) depending on what mode you are in.

I am constantly forgetting that I am not

Answer 1

To change the shape of the cursor in different modes, you can add the following into your .vimrc file.

For the GNOME Terminal (version 2.26):

if has("autocmd")
  au InsertEnter * silent execute "!gconftool-2 --type string --set /apps/gnome-terminal/profiles/Default/cursor_shape ibeam"
  au InsertLeave * silent execute "!gconftool-2 --type string --set /apps/gnome-terminal/profiles/Default/cursor_shape block"
  au VimLeave * silent execute "!gconftool-2 --type string --set /apps/gnome-terminal/profiles/Default/cursor_shape ibeam"
endif

If you use more than one profile in GNOME Terminal, you might have to adapt this to your profiles.

For Konsole in KDE4:

let &t_SI = "\]50;CursorShape=1\x7"
let &t_EI = "\]50;CursorShape=0\x7"

This works with multiple tabs and windows.

See also: “Change cursor shape in different modes” on Vim Tips Wiki.