Can AI Exit Vim? (opens in new tab)

(theadamcolton.github.io)

37 pointstopwalktown3mo ago23 comments

23 comments

21 comments · 8 top-level

seanhunter3mo ago· 4 in thread

Obvious question demands an obvious answer. No. No-one can exit vim.

I started using it nearly 30 years ago now and there is still no end in sight. I’m pretty much convinced it’s just not possible at this point.

seanhunter2mo ago

The irony here is I have been using vim for nearly 30 years and I actually do sometimes have problems quitting. Some background needed.

Obviously I know how to exit so it's not that. I always have the following remap in my vimrc:

   > noremap :W :w
   > noremap :Q :q

What this means is if I'm going fast I don't need to get my little finger off the shift between the colon and the w/q to quit if I do it that way. Normally I quit using "ZZ" which doesn't require any shenanigans but whatever.

However, if I'm sshed into a remote machine or on a different account/in a docker container/vm or whatever and I don't have my .vimrc around most things are completely fine[1] except that I occasionally have some cognitive dissonance when I try to quit and nothing happens because I have subconsciously done ":Q" instead of "ZZ" or whatever, and my brain does a brief double-take before realising what happened.

[1] Yes you don't need a highly customized vimrc to function - most defaults are OK especially if you can load vim-sensible

griffzhowl3mo ago

Did you try turning your computer off and on?

layer83mo ago

It boots into Vim.

glouwbug3mo ago

:!poweroff

k3103mo ago· 4 in thread

https://theadamcolton.github.io/can-ai-exit-vim/

is 404

robobro3mo ago

remove the trailing slash

topwalktownOP3mo ago

Sorry! It should work now.

k3103mo ago

Thanks

:wq!

iainctduncan2mo ago

he exited!!!

bean4693mo ago· 3 in thread

My favorite big-brained way of quitting is ZZ (save and quit) and ZQ (quit without saving). Learned these shortcuts from a video by the legendary Luke Smith [1].

1. https://lukesmith.xyz

stonegray3mo ago

Wow, this is so much easier than what i’ve been doing:

:call system('kill -9 ' . getpid())

mwcz2mo ago

Brilliant. When is the next International Obfuscated Vim Exit contest?

1 more reply

ramon1562mo ago

`:!sudo shutdown`

topwalktownOP3mo ago· 2 in thread

I test if qwen3.5-35B-A3B can exit vim when running in a harness that allows it to read the raw terminal buffer and send raw key presses to the terminal. Enjoy!

slim3mo ago

what harness do you use ?

topwalktownOP3mo ago

I wrote it myself it python. The model runs in a loop and can either read the terminal or input keys. If it does neither the loop exits.

tim-tday2mo ago

Turns out this was the real test of Artificial General Intelligence all along.

Also: https://github.com/hakluke/how-to-exit-vim

stonegray3mo ago

Vimscript is extremely token efficient and very common in training data.

Dunno about constraining to a window, but vimscript itself could be a good way of sending editing commands.

NackerHughes2mo ago

The AI model is likely trained on Stack Overflow posts, or otherwise related content from wherever off the internet, so most likely it will have ripped off enough hand-written posts or articles on how to quit Vim. So of course it can regurgitate the required keystrokes on command.

And will the writers of those posts, who contributed their knowledge to help out their fellow humans, get a fraction of a penny for the hundreds and thousands and millions of dollars of profit the AI corps are making off the backs of their labour? I somehow doubt it.

meszmate2mo ago

Yeah, but it would still open three tabs, rewrite my config, and ask whether I meant :q or :qa!

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

23 comments

21 comments · 8 top-level

seanhunter3mo ago· 4 in thread

Obvious question demands an obvious answer. No. No-one can exit vim.

I started using it nearly 30 years ago now and there is still no end in sight. I’m pretty much convinced it’s just not possible at this point.

seanhunter2mo ago

The irony here is I have been using vim for nearly 30 years and I actually do sometimes have problems quitting. Some background needed.

Obviously I know how to exit so it's not that. I always have the following remap in my vimrc:

   > noremap :W :w
   > noremap :Q :q

[1] Yes you don't need a highly customized vimrc to function - most defaults are OK especially if you can load vim-sensible

griffzhowl3mo ago

Did you try turning your computer off and on?

layer83mo ago

It boots into Vim.

glouwbug3mo ago

:!poweroff

k3103mo ago· 4 in thread

https://theadamcolton.github.io/can-ai-exit-vim/

is 404

robobro3mo ago

remove the trailing slash

topwalktownOP3mo ago

Sorry! It should work now.

k3103mo ago

Thanks

:wq!

iainctduncan2mo ago

he exited!!!

bean4693mo ago· 3 in thread

My favorite big-brained way of quitting is ZZ (save and quit) and ZQ (quit without saving). Learned these shortcuts from a video by the legendary Luke Smith [1].

1. https://lukesmith.xyz

stonegray3mo ago

Wow, this is so much easier than what i’ve been doing:

:call system('kill -9 ' . getpid())

mwcz2mo ago

Brilliant. When is the next International Obfuscated Vim Exit contest?

1 more reply

ramon1562mo ago

`:!sudo shutdown`

topwalktownOP3mo ago· 2 in thread

I test if qwen3.5-35B-A3B can exit vim when running in a harness that allows it to read the raw terminal buffer and send raw key presses to the terminal. Enjoy!

slim3mo ago

what harness do you use ?

topwalktownOP3mo ago

I wrote it myself it python. The model runs in a loop and can either read the terminal or input keys. If it does neither the loop exits.

tim-tday2mo ago

Turns out this was the real test of Artificial General Intelligence all along.

Also: https://github.com/hakluke/how-to-exit-vim

stonegray3mo ago

Vimscript is extremely token efficient and very common in training data.

Dunno about constraining to a window, but vimscript itself could be a good way of sending editing commands.

NackerHughes2mo ago

meszmate2mo ago

Yeah, but it would still open three tabs, rewrite my config, and ask whether I meant :q or :qa!

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse