vim/Q/What is a tabpage in vim?

• What is a tabpage in vim? card

  • Answer/Official from :help tabpage

    • Short answer

      • A tabpage is vim's highest-level workspace container — it holds one or more windows, which are viewports onto buffers.

    • Three-level hierarchy

      • Tabpage — a full-screen workspace; each tabpage has its own window layout
        • Window — a viewport onto a buffer; created via :split / :vsplit within a tabpage
          • Buffer — the in-memory text of a file; persists even when no window is showing it

    • When to use tabs

      • tabpages let you maintain separate window layouts for distinct tasks (e.g., editing one module vs. reviewing another) without disrupting either layout when switching.

    • Key commands and keys

      • :tabnew / :tabe[dit] {file} — open a new tabpage (optionally loading a file)
      • :tabc[lose] — close the current tabpage
      • :tabs — list all tabpages and their windows
      • :tabm[ove] {N} — move current tabpage to position N (0-indexed)
      • gt — go to the next tabpage
      • gT — go to the previous tabpage
      • {N}gt — jump to tabpage N (1-indexed)
    • vim help: tabpage