How do I quickly open my vimrc configuration file from anywhere in Vim?

Explanation

The :e $MYVIMRC command opens your Vim or Neovim configuration file instantly, no matter where it lives. The $MYVIMRC variable is set by Vim at startup and always points to the correct config file — whether that's ~/.vimrc, ~/.config/nvim/init.vim, or ~/.config/nvim/init.lua.

How it works

• $MYVIMRC is a built-in Vim environment variable automatically set to the path of the loaded vimrc
• :e (:edit) opens the file in the current window
• Since $MYVIMRC is expanded by Vim before the shell, it works correctly even if the path contains spaces or platform-specific separators
• You can inspect its value with :echo $MYVIMRC

Example

:echo $MYVIMRC
" → /home/user/.config/nvim/init.lua

:e $MYVIMRC
" → opens the file

After editing, reload the config without restarting:

:source $MYVIMRC

Tips

• Map this to a leader key for instant access from any buffer: nnoremap <leader>ev :e $MYVIMRC<CR>
• Pair with a reload mapping: nnoremap <leader>sv :source $MYVIMRC<CR>
• Use :tabe $MYVIMRC to open in a new tab without losing your current layout
• For Neovim Lua users, $MYVIMRC still works even when using init.lua