How do I close the current buffer in Vim?

Explanation

How it works

The :bdelete command (often abbreviated :bd) removes the current buffer from Vim's buffer list and closes it. If the buffer has unsaved changes, Vim will warn you and refuse to close it unless you force it with :bdelete!.

When you close a buffer, Vim will display the next buffer in the window. If there are no other buffers, the window will show an empty buffer.

You can also close a specific buffer by number or name:

• :bdelete 3 closes buffer number 3
• :bdelete file.txt closes the buffer for file.txt
• :3,5bdelete closes buffers 3 through 5

Example

Suppose you have three files open and want to close the current one:

1. Run :ls to see your buffers:

     1 #    "main.py"    line 1
     2 %a   "utils.py"   line 5
     3      "config.py"  line 1
   

2. The %a marker shows utils.py is active. Run :bd to close it.
3. Run :ls again to confirm it is removed from the list.

If you have unsaved changes and want to discard them, use :bd! to force-close the buffer without saving.

This is one of the most common buffer management commands and pairs well with :bnext and :bprev for navigating between buffers.