How do I make a key mapping fire immediately without waiting for longer mappings to time out?

Q: How do I make a key mapping fire immediately without waiting for longer mappings to time out?

`nnoremap {key} {action}` The ` ` flag on a mapping tells Vim not to delay waiting for a longer key sequence. Normally, when you press a key that is the prefix of another mapping, Vim waits for `timeoutlen` milliseconds to see if you'll type more keys. With ` `, the mapping fires immediately the moment Vim can match it. ## How it works By default, if you have these two mappings: ```vim nnoremap f :find nnoremap ff :Files ``` After pressing ` f`, Vim pauses and waits — if you type `f` again it runs ` ff`; otherwise, after the timeout it runs ` f`. Adding ` ` to the shorter mapping eliminates that pause: ```vim nnoremap f :find ``` Now ` f` fires immediately without any delay, even though ` ff` still exists. ## Example Useful in plugin configurations where you want a root key to respond instantly: ```vim " Bind d to a quick action, skip the pause nnoremap d :bdelete " Longer binding still works when typed quickly nnoremap dd :bdelete! ``` Pressing ` d` now runs `:bdelete` without waiting. Pressing ` dd` quickly still triggers the second mapping. ## Tips - ` ` only matters when the same key is a prefix of another mapping in the same mode - Consider using ` ` on your most frequently used mappings to eliminate the `timeoutlen` delay - Combine with `set timeoutlen=500` to tune the default wait time for mappings without ` ` - The ` ` flag can be applied in any mapping command: `nnoremap`, `vnoremap`, `inoremap`, etc.

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`nnoremap {key} {action}` The `` flag on a mapping tells Vim not to delay waiting for a longer key sequence. Normally, when you press a key that is the prefix of another mapping, Vim waits for `timeoutlen` milliseconds to see if you'll type more keys. With ``, the mapping fires immediately the moment Vim can match it. ## How it works By default, if you have these two mappings: ```vim nnoremap f :find nnoremap ff :Files ``` After pressing `f`, Vim pauses and waits — if you type `f` again it runs `ff`; otherwise, after the timeout it runs `f`. Adding `` to the shorter mapping eliminates that pause: ```vim nnoremap f :find ``` Now `f` fires immediately without any delay, even though `ff` still exists. ## Example Useful in plugin configurations where you want a root key to respond instantly: ```vim " Bind d to a quick action, skip the pause nnoremap d :bdelete " Longer binding still works when typed quickly nnoremap dd :bdelete! ``` Pressing `d` now runs `:bdelete` without waiting. Pressing `dd` quickly still triggers the second mapping. ## Tips - `` only matters when the same key is a prefix of another mapping in the same mode - Consider using `` on your most frequently used mappings to eliminate the `timeoutlen` delay - Combine with `set timeoutlen=500` to tune the default wait time for mappings without `` - The `` flag can be applied in any mapping command: `nnoremap`, `vnoremap`, `inoremap`, etc.

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