How to manually install pangloss JavaScript plugin?

Question

If possible, I would prefer to not start using a package manager for now.

I'm trying to manually install this plugin for editing JS files: https://github.com/pangloss/vim-javascript

I have looked around, and tested several things, but for some reason I can't get it to work.

How would you go about "manually" installing the pangloss plugin without using pathogen, or a package manager?

It's my first question here. Hope this makes sense.

Answer 1

TL;DR Use :h packages

You will need

• the plugin code (github is easiest, though if you just have a copy of the source tree lying around, that works too)

A brief history of time managing plugins¹

I won't go into extreme detail here unless it is requested. This is mostly a background section, and can be skipped if needed.

In the dark ages, you used to need to put all plugin code next to each other, so (for example) your ~/.vim/plugin would have

• plugin-a.vim
• unrelated-plugin-b.vim
• etc.

Updating and removing plugins was a nightmare: what did you do if an update removed a file? How did you know which files belonged with which plugins and needed deletion?

Pathogen gave us bundle to keep things separate, and that's what packages do too².

Pathogen (typically) adds each directory under, e.g., ~/.vim/bundle to the 'runtimepath'. In other words, you could have

• ~/.vim/bundle/mypluginhere, and
• ~/.vim/bundle/pangloss-javascript-here

But you still managed those directories yourself. (Other plugin managers can do that for you, but you don't need—or always want—that).

The advantage of this is described Plugin layout in the Dark Ages and A New Hope: Plugin Layout with Pathogen.

Packages bring to vim8 what pathogen had already done for previous vim versions, and they do so natively. Packages provide a way of adding segmented components to the 'runtimepath' (remember that this path controls where vim looks for plugin code, autoload scripts, filetype plugins, &c.).

Enter packages

Packages use 'packpath', which is a bit like a combination of bundle and 'runtimepath'.

What you need to know is that you can put a complete copy of the plugin source tree in ~/.vim/pack/<any-name-you-want>/start/<plugin-name>. (The adept user may want to investigate opt as well.)

That's it. It will be loaded for you by vim.

Some management strategies with git

1. git-clone: this strategy is for users who just want to clone the plugin and have it run. Typical interaction looks like

# git clone <path/to/repo> ~/.vim/pack/<other-plugins>/start/<plugin-name>

2. git-submodule: this strategy is for folks like me who keep their dotfiles/vim configs in version control. Typical interaction looks like

# git -C <dotfile-dir> submodule add <path/to/repo> <dotfile-vim-dir>/pack/<other-plugins>/start/<plugin-name>

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1. I omit all plugin managers except pathogen, which is actually a 'runtimepath' manager. This little lie won't hurt anyone, though.
2. They have a slightly broader use case. I'm aware, but I don't find it necessary for the purposes of this question.