Vim 9.2 Debuts Full Wayland and XDG Base Directory Support

More than two years after the major 9.1 release, the Vim project has announced Vim 9.2, bringing a wide range of enhancements across scripting, completion, diff handling, interface design, and platform integration.

Stronger Vim9 Script Capabilities

A key focus of this release is expanding the Vim9 scripting language. Vim 9.2 introduces support for enums, generic functions, and tuple types, making scripts more expressive and structured.

The update also allows built-in functions to be used as methods, while class support gains improvements such as protected constructors via _new(). Additionally, the :defcompile command now fully compiles methods, improving performance and consistency for Vim9 scripts.

Smarter Completion Without Plugins

Insert mode completion has been upgraded with built-in fuzzy matching, allowing more flexible suggestions without requiring external plugins.

Users can now also complete words directly from registers using CTRL-X CTRL-R. New completeopt flags, including nosort and nearest, provide finer control over how suggestions are displayed and prioritized.

Improved Diff Mode

Vim’s diff mode has been refined to better align and present differences, especially in complex comparisons. This results in clearer visual output when reviewing code changes.

Wayland and Modern Linux Integration

Reflecting broader changes across the Linux ecosystem, Vim 9.2 adds support for Wayland, including graphical interface compatibility and clipboard integration.

The editor now also follows the XDG Base Directory specification, meaning configuration files can be stored in modern locations such as $HOME/.config/vim rather than relying solely on legacy paths.

Interface Updates Across Platforms

The user interface gains a new vertical tab panel option in addition to the traditional horizontal tabline, offering more layout flexibility.

On Windows systems from Microsoft, the graphical version improves dark mode support, fullscreen behavior, and toolbar icon design.

Updated Built-in Tutor

The built-in learning experience has also been refreshed. Improvements to the :Tutor plugin make interactive training inside Vim more modern and accessible for new users.

Availability

Vim 9.2 source archives are available now from the official project website, with distribution packages expected to arrive soon in Linux repositories.

To learn more, check out the official announcement.