The generic way to handle building/running/testing/deploying tasks by imitating vscode's task system.
- asynctasks.vim - modern task system
- Introduction
- Get Started
- Advanced Topics
- Ask for user input
- Internal variables
- Task with different profiles
- Different system with different commands
- Data source for fuzzy finders
- Extensions
- Run last task
- Options
- The
g:asynctasks_config_name
option - The
g:asynctasks_rtp_config
option - The
g:asynctasks_extra_config
option - The
g:asynctasks_term_pos
option - The
g:asynctasks_term_cols
option - The
g:asynctasks_term_rows
option - The
g:asynctasks_term_focus
option - The
g:asynctasks_term_reuse
option - The
g:asynctasks_term_hidden
option - The
g:asynctasks_term_listed
option - The
g:asynctasks_term_close
option - The
g:asynctasks_confirm
option - The
g:asynctasks_filetype
option - The
g:asynctasks_template
option
- The
- Specification
- Command Line Tool
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Credit
This readme is also available in:
As vim 8.0 was released in 2017, we have got many wonderful plugins like LSP, DAP, and asynchronous linters. Even things like vimspector, which could only be imagined in emacs in the past, now become a reality in vim.
However, vim still lack an elegant task system to speed up your inner software development cycle (edit, compile, test). Many people are still dealing with those building, testing, and deploying tasks in such a primitive or flaky way. Therefore, I decided to create this plugin and introduce vscode's task-like mechanisms to vim.
Vscode creates a .vscode
folder in your project root directory and uses a .vscode/tasks.json
file to define project-specific tasks. Similar, asynctasks.vim
uses a .tasks
file in your project folders for local tasks and uses ~/.vim/tasks.ini
to define global tasks for generic projects.
This is very simple, but most good designs always start from simple concepts. You will benefit a lot from the productivity and possibility of this task system.
Install with vim-plug
:
Plug 'skywind3000/asynctasks.vim'
Plug 'skywind3000/asyncrun.vim'
It requires asyncrun.vim 2.4.0 or above. Don't forget to setup:
let g:asyncrun_open = 6
And quickfix window can be opened automatically, otherwise you can't see the task output unless using :copen
manually.
It's convenient for me to build and run a single file directly without creating a new project for that if I want to try some small and new ideas. In this circumstance, we can use :AsyncTaskEdit
command to edit the .tasks
configuration file in your current project root directory:
[file-build]
# macros in the "$(...)" form will be substituted,
# shell command, use quotation for filenames containing spaces
command=gcc -O2 "$(VIM_FILEPATH)" -o "$(VIM_FILEDIR)/$(VIM_FILENOEXT)"
# working directory
cwd=$(VIM_FILEDIR)
[file-run]
command="$(VIM_FILEDIR)/$(VIM_FILENOEXT)"
cwd=$(VIM_FILEDIR)
# output mode: run in a terminal
output=terminal
There are two tasks file-build
and file-run
defined in this .tasks
file. Then from the directory where this .tasks
reside and its child directories, you can use:
:AsyncTask file-build
:AsyncTask file-run
To build and run the current file:
This is the result of :AsyncTask file-build
, the command output displays in the quickfix window and errors are matched with errorformat
. You can navigate the command output in the quickfix window or use :cnext
/:cprev
to jump between errors.
There are many macros can be used in the command field and will be expanded and replaced when task starts. Having a fast, low-friction Edit/Build/Test cycle is one of the best and easiest ways to increase developer productivity, so we will map them to F5 and F9:
noremap <silent><f5> :AsyncTask file-run<cr>
noremap <silent><f9> :AsyncTask file-build<cr>
Put the code above in your vimrc
and you can have F9 to compile current file and F5 to run it. And you may ask, this is for C/C++ only, what if you want to run a python script, should you create a new task file-run-python
? Totally unnecessary, commands can match with file types:
[file-run]
command="$(VIM_FILEPATH)"
command:c,cpp="$(VIM_PATHNOEXT)"
command:go="$(VIM_PATHNOEXT)"
command:python=python "$(VIM_FILENAME)"
command:javascript=node "$(VIM_FILENAME)"
command:sh=sh "$(VIM_FILENAME)"
command:lua=lua "$(VIM_FILENAME)"
command:perl=perl "$(VIM_FILENAME)"
command:ruby=ruby "$(VIM_FILENAME)"
output=terminal
cwd=$(VIM_FILEDIR)
save=2
The command
followed by a colon accepts file type list separated by comma. If the current file type cannot be matched, the default command will be used. The -save=2
represents to save all modified buffers before running the task.
At this point, you can have your F5
to run all type of files. And plugins like quickrun can be obsoleted immediately, they can't do better than this. Then we continue to polish file-build
to support more file types:
[file-build]
command:c,cpp=gcc -O2 -Wall "$(VIM_FILEPATH)" -o "$(VIM_PATHNOEXT)" -lstdc++ -lm -msse3
command:go=go build -o "$(VIM_PATHNOEXT)" "$(VIM_FILEPATH)"
command:make=make -f "$(VIM_FILEPATH)"
output=quickfix
cwd=$(VIM_FILEDIR)
save=2
Again, F9 can be used to compile many file types, same keybind, different command. This two tasks can be defined in local .tasks
and work for the project scope or in the ~/.vim/tasks.ini
and work for all project. Much more elegant than using the old &makeprg
or calling asyncrun
/neomake
with a lot if
/else
in your vimrc
.
Tasks for running compilers or grep may set output=quickfix
(default), because the output can use errorformat to match errors in the quickfix window, while tasks for running your file/project may set output=terminal
.
When you set output
to terminal
, you can further specify what type of terminal do you want to use exactly, like: a simulated terminal in quickfix window (without matching the errorformat)? the triditional !
command in vim? the internal terminal ? an external terminal window ? or in a tmux split window ?? The detail will be discussed later.
If you want to do something with a project, you must figure out where the project locates. asynctasks.vim
and its backend asyncrun.vim
choose a widely used method called root markers
to indentify the project root directory. The project root is one of the nearest parent directory containing these markers:
let g:asyncrun_rootmarks = ['.git', '.svn', '.root', '.project', '.hg']
If none of the parent directories contains these root markers, the directory of the current file is used as the project root.
There is a corner case: if current buffer is not a normal file buffer (eg. a tool window) or is an unnamed new buffer, vim's current working directory (which :pwd
returns) will be used as the project root.
Once we got the project location, the macro $(VIM_ROOT)
, or its alias <root>
, can be used to represent the project root:
What if your current project is not in any git
/subversion
repository ? How to find out where is my project root ? The solution is very simple, just put an empty .root
file in your project root, it has been defined in g:asyncrun_rootmarks
before.
Tasks related to projects can be defined by using this:
[project-build]
command=make
# set the working directory to the project root.
cwd=$(VIM_ROOT)
[project-run]
command=make run
# <root> is an alias to `$(VIM_ROOT)`, a little easier to type.
cwd=<root>
output=terminal
We assign F6 and F7 for them:
noremap <silent><f6> :AsyncTask project-run<cr>
noremap <silent><f7> :AsyncTask project-build<cr>
Now, F7 can be used to build your project and F6 can be used run your project. You may ask again, this is for gnu-make
only, but there are a lot of build tools like cmake, ninja and bazel, should you define new tasks as project-build-cmake
or project-build-ninja
and assign different keymaps for them ?
No, you don't have to. The easiest way is to put previous project-build
and project-run
in your ~/.vim/tasks.ini
as the default and global tasks, you can use them directly for generic projects using make
.
For other type of projects, for example, I am using msbuild
in my project A
. And I can define a new project-build
task in the local .tasks
file residing in project A
:
[project-build]
command=vcvars32 > nul && msbuild build/StreamNet.vcxproj /property:Configuration=Debug /nologo /verbosity:quiet
cwd=<root>
errorformat=%f(%l):%m
[project-run]
command=build/Debug/StreamNet.exe
cwd=<root>
output=terminal
The .tasks
configuration file are read top to bottom and the most recent tasks found take precedence. and local tasks always have higher priority than the global tasks.
Task defined in .tasks
will always override the task with the same name in ~/.vim/tasks.ini
. So, in project A
, our two old friends project-build
and project-run
have been replaced with the local methods.
Firstly, the new project-build
task will call vcvars32.bat
to setup environment variables, then, use a &&
to concatenate msbuild
command. errorformat
is initialized to %f(%l):%m
for matching Visual C++
errors in this task.
We can still use F7
to build this project and F6
to run it. We don't have to change our habit if we are working in a different type of project. Unified workflow can be used in different type of projects. This is the power of local/global tasks combination.
Bonus: use :AsyncTaskEdit
to edit local tasks, and :AsyncTaskEdit!
to edit global tasks.
What tasks do you have in current project ? Where are they defined ? Has one global task been overrided by a local one ? We use :AsyncTaskList
command to answer these questions:
It will display task name, command and where it has been defined.
Bonus: tasks starting with a dot "." will be hidden (eg. ".file-test-temp1"), use :AsyncTaskList!
to see them all.
asynctasks.vim
supports macro variable substitution in command
and cwd
fileds, available macros are:
$(VIM_FILEPATH) # File name of current buffer with full path.
$(VIM_FILENAME) # File name of current buffer without path.
$(VIM_FILEDIR) # Full path of current buffer without the file name.
$(VIM_FILEEXT) # File extension of current buffer.
$(VIM_FILETYPE) # File type (value of &ft in vim)
$(VIM_FILENOEXT) # File name of current buffer without path and extension.
$(VIM_PATHNOEXT) # Current file name with full path but without extension.
$(VIM_CWD) # Current directory (which :pwd returns).
$(VIM_RELDIR) # File path relativize to current directory.
$(VIM_RELNAME) # File name relativize to current directory.
$(VIM_ROOT) # Project root directory.
$(VIM_CWORD) # Word under cursor.
$(VIM_CFILE) # File name under cursor.
$(VIM_CLINE) # Cursor line number in current buffer
$(VIM_GUI) # has('gui_runnin')?
$(VIM_VERSION) # Value of v:version.
$(VIM_COLUMNS) # Current screen width.
$(VIM_LINES) # Current screen height.
$(VIM_SVRNAME) # Value of v:servername.
$(VIM_PRONAME) # Name of current project root directory
$(VIM_DIRNAME) # Name of current directory
$(VIM_INIFILE) # Full path name of current ini (.tasks) file.
$(VIM_INIHOME) # Where the ini file locates.
They will be expanded and replaced in the command
and cwd
fields. System environment variables with same names are also initialized as the same value. If one of your task has many complex shell commands, you can put the commands in a shell script and execute it in the task:
[project-build]
command=build/my-build-task.sh
cwd=<root>
In this case, you don't have to pass any argument to my-build-task.sh
, because the shell script can read environment variable $VIM_FILENAME
to access current file name. By utilizing system environment variables with external script file, you can describe many complex tasks in your project. And of course, much more powerful than defining some keymaps for !
command in your vimrc
.
There is a :AsyncTaskMacro
command for you to display macro help:
From left to right, is the macro name, what does it stand for and current value. You don't have to check the documentation when you are editing your task configuration.
There is an output
field in each task's configuration, it can be one of:
quickfix
: default mode, output to the quickfix window and match witherrorformat
.terminal
: run in a terminal.
Nothing to talk about output=quickfix
, and if you set output
to terminal
your can further specify the terminal type by setting:
let g:asynctasks_term_pos = 'xxx'
to specify what terminal do you want to use, available options are:
Name | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
quickfix |
simulation | Default, simulate a terminal in quickfix window (output will not match the errorformat) |
vim |
- | Use the old ! command to run your task, some people still like it |
tab |
internal terminal | open a new internal terminal in a new tab |
TAB |
internal terminal | similar to tab but open in the left side (easy to return to the previous tab) |
top |
internal terminal | open a reusable internal terminal above current window |
bottom |
internal terminal | open a reusable internal terminal under current window |
left |
internal terminal | open a reusable internal terminal on the left |
right |
internal terminal | open a reusable internal terminal on the right |
external |
external terminal | use a new system terminal to run your task |
hide |
hidden | run in the background |
You can set a pos
field in a task to override global g:asynctasks_term_pos
value in the given task.
Almost all the possible methods are here, choose your favorite one.
When output
is terminal
, and if you set:
let g:asynctasks_term_pos = 'bottom'
Command :AsyncTask file-run
will open an internal terminal under your current window:
If the previous terminal session has finished, the window will be resused. When you set g:asynctasks_term_pos
to one of top
, bottom
, left
and right
, these two options below can allow you change the terminal size:
let g:asynctasks_term_rows = 10 " set height for the horizontal terminal split
let g:asynctasks_term_cols = 80 " set width for vertical terminal split
If a terminal split window is too small for you, you can setup:
let g:asynctasks_term_pos = 'tab'
A whole tab can be used to display the internal terminal:
Almost all the vim screen are occupied, is it big enough to fit your need ? This is my most favorite one.
The default quickfix
can also be used to run your task, but it is not capable to handle user input, and if your program will interact with user, you may choose a real terminal.
Bonus:
- tab terminal can also be reusable if you set
g:asynctasks_term_reuse
to1
. - you can prevent focus changing if you set
g:asynctasks_term_focus
to0
(split terminals only).
(When you are using internal terminal, asynctasks.vim
encourage you to setup ALT+HJKL
to jump around windows and ALT+q
to exit to terminal normal mode).
Many desktop developer using Visual Studio on Windows prefer to run their programs in a new cmd window, we can use external
for this:
let g:asynctasks_term_pos = 'external'
Then, every task with output=terminal
will open a new cmd
window:
Familiar feeling like you are working in Visual Studio.
asynctasks.vim
provide you all the possible ways to run a command in vim with no compromise. Choose one you like.
Powered by AsyncRun's customizable runners, tasks can be executed in any way you want. Here is a list of pre-included runners:
Runner | Description | Requirement | Link |
---|---|---|---|
gnome |
run in a new gnome terminal | GNOME | gnome.vim |
gnome_tab |
run in a new gnome terminal tab | GNOME | gnome_tab.vim |
xterm |
run in a xterm window | xterm | xterm.vim |
tmux |
run in a separated tmux pane | Vimux | tmux.vim |
floaterm |
run in a new floaterm window | floaterm | floaterm.vim |
floaterm_reuse |
run in a reusable floaterm window | floaterm | floaterm_reuse.vim |
quickui |
run in a quickui window | vim-quickui | quickui.vim |
toggleterm |
run in a toggleterm window | toggleterm.nvim | toggleterm.vim |
termhelp |
run in terminal help | vim-terminal-help | termhelp.vim |
xfce |
run in a new xfce terminal | xfce4-terminal | xfce.vim |
konsole |
run in a new konsole terminal | KDE | konsole.vim |
macos |
run in a macOS system terminal | macos | macos.vim |
iterm |
run in a new iterm2 tab | macos + iTerm2 | iterm.vim |
When a runner is defined for AsyncRun, it can be used by providing a pos
option:
[file-run]
command=python "$(VIM_FILEPATH)"
cwd=$(VIM_FILEDIR)
output=terminal
pos=gnome
Then use:
:AsyncTask file-run
The task will be executed in the gnome-terminal
:
If you have many tasks need this pos
option, no need to specify them one-by-one, the global settings may be helpful:
let g:asynctasks_term_pos = 'gnome'
After that, every task with output=terminal
option could be executed in the gnome-terminal
.
Remember, the output
option must be terminal
and the local option pos
has higher priority and can override global option g:asynctasks_term_pos
.
It is quite easy to create a new runner, see the customize-runner.
Continue hacking in asynctasks.vim
:
Some tasks, eg finding strings in current project, may need to ask user to input some keywords before start.
If command
field contains macros in the $(-...)
pattern:
[task1]
command=echo hello $(-name), you are a $(-gender).
output=terminal
When you start the task by:
:AsyncTask task1
You are required to input the values of $(-name)
and $(-gender)
in the prompt area:
There are two variable you need to provide, input them one by one, press ESC
to give up and ENTER
to confirm. The task will start when you finished:
As you see, $(-name)
has been substituted with the value you just provided.
Input value can also be provided as command arguments of AsyncTask {name}
:
:AsyncTask task1 -name=Batman -gender=boy
If the value is present in the arguments, AsyncTask will not ask you repeatly.
Hint: use $(-prompt:default)
to provide a default value, $(-prompt:)
to remember input history. and $(-gender:&male,&female)
to provide multiple choices.
Real example used by myself:
[grep]
command=rg -n --no-heading --color never "$(-word)" "<root>" -tcpp -tc -tpy -tvim -tgo -tasm
cwd=$(VIM_ROOT)
errorformat=%f:%l:%m
Here is my global grep
task. Each time I use :AsyncTask grep
in any of my project, it prompts me to input word
before searching, I can use <C-r><C-w>
to pickup word under cursor or input something new.
The value of word
can also be provided in the arguments:
:AsyncTask grep -word=hello
If I need other filetypes to search in certain project, I can redifine a new grep
with different parameters for this project.
But most of time, a global grep
task is enough, rg supports .ignore
files for different files, I can use them to prevent searching in unnecessary files. Check rg documentation for --ignore-file
.
Internal variables can be used in many ways, e.g., to manage multiple building targets. They are defined in the [+]
section of .tasks
files:
[+]
build_target=build_x86
test_target=test_x86
[project-build]
command=make $(+build_target)
cwd=<root>
[project-test]
command=make $(+test_target)
cwd=<root>
Patterns which match $(+var_name)
in the command
field will be substituted with the corresponding value defined in the [+]
section.
Which means, the new command in "project-build" will become:
make build_x86
It is a efficient way to switch current building target by changing the variable values in the [+]
section without modifying the command
option every time.
Internal variables can be provided in the argument list as +varname=value
:
:AsyncTask project-test +test_target=mytest
Default values can be defined as $(+varname:default)
form, it will be used if variables are absent in both [+]
section and :AsyncTask xxx
arguments.
[project-test]
command=make $(+test_target:testall)
cwd=<root>
The global dictionary g:asynctasks_environ
is the third way to define a variable, it's a convenient place for vimscript:
let g:asynctasks_environ = {'foo': '100', 'bar': '200' }
Same variable can be defined in the different places, priorities are:
- Low priority: global
[+]
section. - Normal priority: local
[+]
section. - High priority: vimscript object
g:asynctasks_environ
. - The highest priority:
+varname=value
arguments of:AsyncTask
command.
The one with higher priority will overshadow the lower one. By utilizing this feature, we can simplify most similar tasks.
e.g. we have two tasks file-build
and project-find
in the global config ~/.vim/tasks.ini
:
[file-build]
command=gcc -O2 -Wall "$(VIM_FILEPATH)" -o "$(VIM_PATHNOEXT)" $(+cflags:)
cwd=$(VIM_FILEDIR)
[project-find]
command=rg -n --no-heading --color never "$(-word)" "<root>" $(+findargs:)
cwd=$(VIM_ROOT)
errorformat=%f:%l:%m
Both of them have introduced a variable with a default value of empty string. Sometimes, we don't need to redefine the tasks, just init the two variables in the local .tasks
:
[+]
clags=-g -gprof
findargs=-tcpp
It's more flexable if we have the same local tasks with similar arguments.
One task can have many different profiles
:
[task1:release]
command=gcc -O2 "$(VIM_FILEPATH)" -o "$(VIM_PATHNOEXT)"
cwd=$(VIM_FILEDIR)
[task1:debug]
command=gcc -g "$(VIM_FILEPATH)" -o "$(VIM_PATHNOEXT)"
cwd=$(VIM_FILEDIR)
Here we have task1
with two different profiles release
and debug
. The default profile is debug
, change it to release
by:
:AsyncTaskProfile release
or
let g:asynctasks_profile = 'release'
Then, :AsyncTask task1
will run tasks1
with profile release
.
Bonus: When using AsyncTaskProfile
command with more than one arguments:
:AsyncTaskProfile debug release
A dialog will popup to allow you pick between debug
and release
, and previous selected item is remembered.
This plugin can select command for given system:
[task1]
command=echo default
command/win32=echo win32 default
command/linux=echo linux default
command:c,cpp/win32=echo c/c++ for win32
command:c,cpp/linux=echo c/c++ for linux
Both filetype
and system
can be used as filter. Default command (the first one) will be chosen if mismatch.
Change this option to specify your system:
let g:asynctasks_system = 'macos'
Then command ending with /macos
will be selected.
A fuzzy finder can help you pick a task easily:
This plugin have some apis to fetch task information, which makes integration very easy:
let current_tasks = asynctasks#list("")
It returns a list of items, each item represents a task. And it can be used as the data source for fuzzy finders like fzf.vim
or Leaderf
.
Here is an instruction to integrate with fzf
, leaderf
, coc-list
and fzf-lua
.
Existing UI extensions for fuzzy-finders:
Extension | Author | Description |
---|---|---|
fzf-lua-asynctasks | Yaroslav Mazuryk | fzf-lua integration |
telescope-asynctasks.nvim | Gustavo Sampaio | telescope integration |
coc-tasks | voldikss | coc integration |
There is a command to run last task without typing its name again:
:AsyncTaskLast
Can be binded to a hotkey for repeatedly running task.
Don't like the .tasks
file name ? Rename it as you want:
let g:asynctasks_config_name = '.asynctask'
let g:asynctasks_config_name = '.git/tasks.ini'
When you get multiple local configurations to load, a comma separated list (or just a list) can also be accepted:
let g:asynctasks_config_name = '.tasks,.git/tasks.ini,.svn/tasks.ini'
let g:asynctasks_config_name = ['.tasks', '.git/tasks.ini', '.svn/tasks.ini']
Don't like the global tasks.ini
file name in your ~/.vim
? Change it to:
let g:asynctasks_rtp_config = "asynctasks.ini"
A list of additional global task configuration files, you can indicate other global configurations:
let g:asynctasks_extra_config = [
\ '~/github/my_dotfiles/my_tasks.ini',
\ '~/.config/tasks/local_tasks.ini',
\ ]
Then, these two additional globla configurations will be loaded after reading ~/.vim/tasks.ini
.
What terminal do you want to run your task. see Task running modes.
Internal terminal width when using vertical split.
Internal terminal height when using horizontal split.
Set to zero to keep focus when using an internal terminal in a new split.
Set to 1
to reuse internal terminal when open it in a new tab.
The g:asynctasks_term_hidden
option
If it is set to 1
, the internal terminal buffers will set bufhidden
to hide
.
Set to zero to hide terminal buffer from buffer list (set nolisted
).
Set to 1
to close the terminal window when task finished.
Set to zero to skip filename confirmation in :AsyncTaskEdit
.
The filetype of the task configuration file, default to "taskini".
Command :AsyncTaskEdit
accept a template file name, the content of template will be used if you are creating a new task config file:
let g:asynctask_template = '~/.vim/task_template.ini'
And templates can be defined in your ~/.vim/task_template.ini
like:
{cmake}
[project-init]
command=mkdir build && cd build && cmake ..
cwd=<root>
[project-build]
command=cmake --build build
cwd=<root>
errorformat=%. %#--> %f:%l:%c
[project-run]
command=build/$(VIM_PRONAME)
cwd=<root>
output=terminal
{cargo}
[project-init]
command=cargo update
cwd=<root>
[project-build]
command=cargo build
cwd=<root>
[project-run]
command=cargo run
cwd=<root>
output=terminal
Command:
:AsyncTaskEdit cargo
Will create a new file with the template "cargo", if the file doesn't exist.
A full configuration specification can be found here:
And there are many examples about: cmake, grep, ninja, wsl and more:
This plugin provides you an asynctask.py
script (in the bin
folder) when you want to run tasks right in your shell:
# run tasks in any child directory of your project
# no need to go back to project root directory, because "cwd=<root>".
$ asynctask project-build
# compile a file
$ asynctask file-build hello.c
# run a file
$ asynctask file-run hello.c
Use fzf
to select task:
For more information, please visit:
See the:
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