How do I load project-specific Vim settings automatically when opening files in a directory?

Explanation

Vim's exrc option tells Vim to look for a .vimrc (or .exrc) file in the current directory when it starts and source it automatically. This lets you define per-project settings — such as indentation style, makeprg, or project-specific key mappings — without modifying your global ~/.vimrc.

How it works

• Add set exrc to your ~/.vimrc to enable the feature globally.
• When Vim starts from a project directory, it searches for .vimrc or .exrc in that directory and sources it.
• To prevent arbitrary code execution, also add set secure — this restricts what local .vimrc files can do (no shell commands, no writes).

Example

" In ~/.vimrc:
set exrc
set secure

" In /projects/myapp/.vimrc:
setlocal tabstop=2 shiftwidth=2 expandtab
setlocal makeprg=npm\ test
nnoremap <leader>t :make<CR>

Now, every time you open Vim from /projects/myapp/, the project's two-space indentation and test mapping are applied automatically.

Tips

• Always pair exrc with secure to avoid executing malicious .vimrc files from untrusted repositories.
• Neovim supports a more powerful alternative via the exrc option and .nvim.lua files (Neovim 0.9+), which can contain full Lua configuration.
• Commit the project .vimrc to your repository so teammates who also use Vim benefit from the same settings.