How do I list only modified or active buffers in Vim?

Explanation

The :ls command (or :buffers) supports filter flags that narrow the buffer list to specific states. Instead of scrolling through dozens of buffers to find the ones you've changed, :ls + shows only modified buffers — making it easy to review unsaved work before quitting.

How it works

• :ls — list all buffers
• :ls + — list only modified (unsaved) buffers
• :ls a — list only active (loaded and visible) buffers
• :ls h — list only hidden (loaded but not visible) buffers
• :ls u — list unlisted buffers (normally hidden from :ls)
• :ls ! — list all buffers including unlisted ones

Example

With 10 files open but only 2 modified:

:ls
  1  h   "README.md"            line 1
  2 %a + "src/main.go"          line 45
  3  h   "src/handler.go"       line 1
  4 #h + "src/config.go"        line 12

Running :ls + shows only:

  2 %a + "src/main.go"          line 45
  4 #h + "src/config.go"        line 12

The + flag in the listing confirms these buffers have unsaved changes.

Tips

• Use :ls + before :qa to check what needs saving
• Combine with :wall to save all modified buffers at once
• The % marker indicates the current buffer, # is the alternate buffer
• In Neovim, :ls t shows terminal buffers