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In my python project root folder, there are multiple directories, some of which contain hidden sub-directories specifying python virtual environments. I want to open all my python files recursively from the root directory except the ones that lie along any path containing a hidden folder. This is because I don't want to load any virtual environment specific python files as there are thousands of them - I only want to load my project's python files.

I tried running :n [^.]**/*.py but it doesn't work, it still opens all python files.

I also tried reading about the ** wildcard in the docs, but I couldn't find how to make it match folders whose name matches a specific pattern (namely not starting with a .).

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  • As pointed out by @D Ben Knobole, Maybe you need a fuzzy file opener like fzf.vim or leaderf. Better, use language server protocol and navigate your code easily. I am sure you do not need to open all your project files.
    – jdhao
    Nov 17, 2020 at 7:36

1 Answer 1

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Vim paths in that context are more like shell-globs than regular-expressions.

A simple solution in a *nix shell would be

$ vim **/*.py

(This needs extglob in bash, I think, but should work out of the box in zsh.)

Inside of vim, I'm surprised it would match hidden files in the first place, though :help wildcard is clear that it matches "anything."

If you can narrow down the patter, that might help (e.g., src/**/*.py).

Otherwise, you could use a more complex command:

:next `find . -not -path .env -name '*.py'`
:next `git ls-files '*.py'`

etc.

You could create a mapping, if you like:

nnoremap <keys> :next `find . -not -path '*/.*' -type f -name '*.'`<Left><Left>

etc.

These commands can become quite complex, depending on what you're doing, so I won't show all the variations here.


I'll just note as an addendum that I don't generally open all my project files at once; I focus on one or two, and sometimes over a long session (or over a persistent ) lots of files accumulate.

It can be handy to add lots of things to the arglist, however, to allow :argdo or :vimgrep /.../ ##. Depending on the case, using the quickfix (combined with :grep or similar) and :cdo/:Cfilter, etc., can be more useful/less invasive/easier to setup.


@filbranden points out wildignore, which you could probably set to include .* to avoid matching hidden things.


In all honesty, though, I can't really reproduce the issue. In a directory like this:

.
├── .env
│   ├── a.py
│   ├── b.py
│   └── c.py
├── a.py
├── b.py
└── c.py

1 directory, 6 files

Running vim -u NONE --noplugin --clean, I have

:next **/*.py
:args
[a.py] b.py c.py
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  • On zsh vim **/*.py doesn't ignore hidden files actually. The next command works, but I need to tweak it a bit to not include any hidden folder automatically (without specifying the name). I didn't know it can be paired with the find command. I'll make this modification and edit and accept your answer when I get the chance. Thanks!
    – WalksB
    Nov 16, 2020 at 20:07
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    @ZaidGharaybeh it does for me in zsh; could be different options or something.
    – D. Ben Knoble
    Nov 16, 2020 at 20:08
  • @ZaidGharaybeh See :help 'wildignore'
    – filbranden
    Nov 16, 2020 at 23:25
  • @ZaidGharaybeh I rejected your edit only because I felt you substantially modified some of the points I was making. I did try to include some of your points, though; if you feel you need to expound further on what exactly your solution was, you can write another answer. Edits are generally for improvement, and while I agree that some of your changes improved the post, others did not (IMO).
    – D. Ben Knoble
    Nov 17, 2020 at 14:40

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