How do I show invisible characters like tabs and trailing spaces?

Explanation

The :set list command makes invisible characters visible by displaying them as special symbols. Tabs, trailing spaces, non-breaking spaces, and line endings are all shown using configurable placeholder characters. This is essential for debugging whitespace issues, enforcing coding standards, and catching hidden formatting problems.

How it works

• :set list enables list mode, which renders invisible characters using the symbols defined by the listchars option
• :set nolist disables list mode and returns to normal display
• :set list! toggles list mode on and off

Default display

With default settings, :set list shows:

• Tabs as ^I
• End of line as $

The default symbols are not very readable, so most users customize listchars.

Customizing listchars

Add this to your vimrc for a much better experience:

set listchars=tab:→\ ,trail:·,nbsp:␣,eol:↵,extends:»,precedes:«

This shows:

• → for tabs (arrow followed by spaces)
• · for trailing spaces
• ␣ for non-breaking spaces
• ↵ for end-of-line characters
• » when a line extends beyond the screen to the right
• « when a line extends beyond the screen to the left

Tips

• Use :set list! to quickly toggle the display on and off
• Many users keep list enabled permanently and rely on listchars to make the display unobtrusive
• If you only care about trailing whitespace, you can highlight it with a match command instead:

match ErrorMsg /\s\+$/

• Use :set listchars (without =) to see the current listchars configuration
• The eol character can be noisy — omit it from listchars if you find it distracting
• Combine with :set number and :set cursorline for maximum visibility while debugging formatting issues