How do I open a file in Vim without triggering any autocmds for faster loading?

Explanation

When you have heavy autocmds registered for BufRead, BufEnter, or FileType events — such as LSP clients, formatters, or syntax processors — opening a large or binary file can be slow. Prefixing :e with :noautocmd skips all autocmd processing for that operation, giving you instant access to the file.

How it works

• :noautocmd is a command modifier that suppresses all autocmd events for the next command
• :noautocmd e {file} opens the file without firing BufRead, BufEnter, FileType, or any other autocmds
• The file is loaded into the buffer, but syntax highlighting, LSP attachment, and other plugin hooks are skipped

Example

Opening a 50,000-line log file with heavy LSP autocmds:

:noautocmd e /var/log/massive.log

Instead of waiting seconds for LSP to index it, the file opens immediately. You can still navigate and search normally.

Tips

• Works with any Ex command: :noautocmd r file reads without autocmds, :noautocmd w writes without triggering BufWritePre formatters
• To re-apply autocmds after opening (e.g. to activate syntax): :doautocmd BufRead
• Useful in scripts when you need to edit files in bulk without triggering heavy processing on each: :noautocmd bufdo %s/old/new/g | update
• Does not permanently disable autocmds — only for the single command it modifies