How do I prepend a value to the beginning of a comma-separated Vim option like path or wildignore?

Explanation

Vim's :set option^=value operator prepends a value to the front of a list-style option, giving it the highest priority. This is the lesser-known counterpart to += (which appends). For options like path, runtimepath, and wildignore, Vim processes entries in order — so position matters.

How it works

• :set option+=value — appends value to the end of the list (lower priority)
• :set option^=value — prepends value to the beginning of the list (higher priority)
• :set option-=value — removes value from the list
• :set option& — resets the option to its default

These operators work on comma-separated list options: path, runtimepath, backupskip, wildignore, tags, suffixes, complete, and others.

Example

To make Vim search the local ./include directory before any other path entries:

:set path^=./include

To prepend your project's vendor directory at the front of runtimepath so its scripts load first:

:set runtimepath^=~/.vim/vendor/myplugin

Tips

• Check the current value of any list option with :set option?
• Use :set option& to reset a list option to its default value before rebuilding it.
• In a vimrc, prefer ^= for project-local overrides and += for additive configuration.