How do I find all files matching a pattern across all directories in Vim's runtimepath?

Explanation

globpath() is a Vimscript function that searches all directories in a given path list for files matching a glob pattern. When you pass &rtp (the value of runtimepath) as the first argument, it searches every directory Vim knows about — installed plugins, system runtime, and your personal config — making it ideal for discovering files, writing conditional logic, or debugging your configuration.

How it works

• globpath(pathlist, pattern) — searches each directory in the comma-separated pathlist for pattern
• &rtp — reads the current runtimepath option value
• Returns a newline-separated string of matching file paths
• Pass 0, 1 as extra arguments to get a List instead of a string

Example

Find all ftplugin/python.vim files across the runtimepath:

:echo globpath(&rtp, 'ftplugin/python.vim')

/usr/share/vim/vim91/ftplugin/python.vim
~/.vim/ftplugin/python.vim

Get all installed colorscheme names as a List:

:let schemes = map(
\   globpath(&rtp, 'colors/*.vim', 0, 1),
\   'fnamemodify(v:val, ":t:r")')
:echo schemes

Tips

• Use the List form for cleaner iteration: globpath(&rtp, 'plugin/*.vim', 0, 1)
• Check for optional features: if !empty(globpath(&rtp, 'plugin/fugitive.vim')) — but note :packadd may not have loaded it yet
• glob() is simpler for single-directory searches; globpath() is for multi-directory path lists
• Works with any path string, not just &rtp: globpath(&packpath, 'pack/**/start/*', 0, 1) lists all packages