Autoreload vimrc when writing to vimscript files

Question

I wanted to have my vimrc automatically update when I write to a .vim file using this autocmd:

autocmd BufWritePost *.vim,$MYVIMRC source $MYVIMRC

But for some reason when I have this enabled and then do :w in my vimrc, my vimrc is pasted into my current buffer at the cursor position. How can I prevent this, and why does source behave like this?

Answer 1

This code works:

augroup reload_vimrc
    autocmd!
    autocmd BufWritePost *.vim,vimrc,$MYVIMRC ++once source $MYVIMRC | e
augroup END

It

1. does the augroup group/autocmd! dance to set up a group and clear any commands already in it
2. establishes a one-time (++once) autocmd that
   1. sources the vimrc
   2. uses :edit to re-edit the current file (effectively sourcing its ftplugins and such again)
3. Ends the group