How do I suppress Vim's startup splash screen and reduce noisy status messages?
Answer
:set shortmess+=I
Explanation
The shortmess option is a string of single-character flags that tell Vim which messages to suppress or abbreviate. Adding I is the most common use — it removes the intro screen that appears when you start Vim without a file argument.
How it works
shortmessis a string option where each letter controls a different category of message- Use
+=to add flags without removing existing ones - Use
-=to remove specific flags
Useful flags:
| Flag | Effect |
|---|---|
I |
Suppress the intro splash screen on startup |
c |
No completion menu messages ("Pattern not found", scanning...) |
s |
No "search hit BOTTOM, continuing at TOP" wrap messages |
W |
No "written" message after writing a file |
a |
Use short abbreviations in messages (e.g. "W" instead of "WRITTEN") |
Example
In your vimrc, to silence the most common distractions:
set shortmess+=Ic
Iremoves the startup screencsuppresses the "match N of M" and scanning messages during completion
To see what flags are currently set:
:set shortmess?
Tips
:verbose set shortmess?shows which file last changed this optionshortmessflags stack — each character is independent- Adding
Asuppresses swap file warnings (use with care — you may miss recovery prompts)