How do I make Vim display partial key sequences and selected character counts in real time?

Explanation

The showcmd option makes Vim display the currently-typed command in the bottom-right corner of the screen, giving you live feedback as you build up key sequences. It also shows the dimensions of visual selections. For users who work with counts, operators, and complex motions, showcmd provides a constant heads-up display of what Vim is about to do.

How it works

With showcmd enabled, the bottom-right corner shows:

• Pending operator + count: If you type 3d, you see 3d before the motion, so you know Vim is waiting for a motion to delete 3 of something
• Visual selection size: In character visual mode (v), it shows the number of characters selected. In line visual mode (V), it shows the line count. In block visual mode (<C-v>), it shows {rows}x{cols} — the dimensions of the block
• Partial keystrokes: If you press <C-w> while waiting for a window command, it shows that prefix so you know the key was registered

Example

Enable it permanently in your vimrc:

set showcmd

Then in normal mode, press 5, and the status area shows 5. Press d, it shows 5d. Press w, and Vim deletes 5 words — then the display clears.

In visual block mode, select a 3×10 region and the display reads 3x10.

Tips

• showcmd is on by default in many distributions via the built-in defaults.vim, but it is not on by default in a bare Vim installation
• It has no performance cost — the display update is negligible
• Combine with showmode (which shows -- INSERT --, -- VISUAL --, etc.) for full situational awareness
• Particularly useful when learning Vim: seeing d waiting for a motion reinforces the operator + motion grammar