Renaming the current file in Vim

Question

How should I rename my current file in Vim?

For example:

• I am editing person.html_erb_spec.rb
• I would like it renamed to person

Answer 1

Vim does have a rename function, but unfortunately it does not retain the history.

The easiest OS agnostic way to rename a file without losing the history would be:

:saveas new_file_name
:call delete(expand('#:p'))

expand('#:p') returns the full path of the older file.

Use :bd # if you also want to delete the older file from the buffer list.

Or create a plugin

If you want to use a quick command to rename the file, add a new file under ~/.vim/plugin with the following contents:

function! s:rename_file(new_file_path)
  execute 'saveas ' . a:new_file_path
  call delete(expand('#:p'))
  bd #
endfunction

command! -nargs=1 -complete=file Rename call rename_file()

The command Rename will help you to quickly rename a file.