How do I allow the cursor to sit one position past the end of the line in normal mode?

Explanation

By default, Vim's cursor cannot go past the last character of a line in normal mode — pressing $ lands on the final character, not after it. Setting virtualedit=onemore lifts that restriction by allowing the cursor to occupy one virtual position beyond the line's last character, without inserting whitespace.

This is the conservative alternative to virtualedit=all, which lets the cursor wander anywhere into empty space. onemore gives just enough extra freedom for operators and plugins that need to select a range ending after the last character.

How it works

• virtualedit=onemore — normal mode cursor can go one character past EOL
• virtualedit=block — past-EOL movement in Visual block mode only (common separate use)
• virtualedit=all — unrestricted virtual cursor placement everywhere
• Values can be combined: :set virtualedit=block,onemore

The virtual position is real for cursor placement and motion purposes, but no whitespace is added to the file unless you actually type text there.

Example

With a line containing hello (5 chars):

hello
     ^
     cursor can now land here (column 6)

Normally $ stops at column 5 (o). With onemore, you can reach column 6 and then use i to insert at that position without needing A (append).

Tips

• Some plugins (e.g., mini.nvim operators, vim-surround variations) require or work better with onemore
• Useful when writing mappings that need to select to the end of a line inclusively
• The <End> key in normal mode will also respect onemore and position past the last character
• Does not affect Insert or Visual modes — use virtualedit=insert or virtualedit=all for those