How do I rename, move, or delete the current file from inside Vim using vim-eunuch?

Explanation

vim-eunuch (by Tim Pope) adds Unix shell operations as first-class Vim commands. Instead of leaving Vim to rename or move a file in the terminal, you can do it directly with :Rename, :Move, :Delete, :Mkdir, and more — with the buffer automatically updated to reflect the new path.

How it works

Key commands provided by vim-eunuch:

• :Rename {newname} — rename the current file (in the same directory); the buffer's name updates automatically
• :Move {path} — move the file to a new path (supports different directories)
• :Delete — delete the current file and wipe the buffer
• :Mkdir {dir} — create a directory (with -p for nested)
• :Chmod {mode} — change file permissions (e.g., :Chmod +x)
• :SudoWrite — write the current file with sudo (the classic :w !sudo tee % workaround, built in)
• :SudoEdit {file} — open a file with sudo privileges

Install with your plugin manager: Plug 'tpope/vim-eunuch'

Example

Rename the current file from utils.js to helpers.js:

:Rename helpers.js

The buffer is now associated with helpers.js and the old file is gone — no terminal required.

Tips

• :Rename only changes the filename; :Move can relocate to a different directory
• :Delete asks for confirmation before deleting — unlike :!rm % which deletes without prompting
• :Chmod +x % then :SudoWrite is the fastest way to make a script executable and save it in one session
• vim-eunuch also auto-sets the filetype for new shebang files: creating a new file with #!/usr/bin/env python3 on the first line will set filetype=python automatically