Neovim vim-pack¶

ID: vim-pack
Links: Documentation · Repository
Upstream stars: ⭐ 102,669
Last commit: 2026-09-29
Version requirement: >= 0.12
Platforms: 🅱️ BSD · 🐧 Linux · 🍎 macOS · ⨂ Unix · 🪟 Windows
Operations: installed · install · upgrade · upgrade_all · remove
purl types: pkg:vim-pack/
CLI name: nvim
Every call: nvim --clean --headless <command> -c cquit
Issues and PRs: 📦 manager: neovim-based
Source: neovim.py

Neovim’s built-in plugin manager.

vim.pack is a Lua API shipped in Neovim’s core since 0.12, not a standalone binary: each operation below is a Lua one-liner evaluated by a throw-away Neovim process. Plugins are Git clones under stdpath('data')/site/pack/core/opt, pinned by a nvim-pack-lock.json lock file in stdpath('config'). Packages are keyed on their src URL, the only identifier that round-trips through every operation below.

What `mpm` adds to `vim-pack`¶

mpm reaches across every manager at once, not vim-pack alone: mpm installed and mpm outdated cover vim-pack alongside every other manager you run in one table, mpm upgrade --all updates them together, and mpm sbom exports the whole machine as one bill of materials.

Every mpm command also gains --dry-run and --plan previews, cross-scheme version comparison and purl identifiers. See manager augmentations for how each one is built.

Your `vim-pack` commands, in `mpm`¶

You already know vim-pack: each operation maps one-to-one onto mpm, in an interface shared by every manager.

To…	With `vim-pack`	With `mpm`
List what’s installed	`nvim 'lua io.write(vim.json.encode(vim.pack.get(nil, {info = false}))) os.exit(0)' 'cquit'`	`mpm --vim-pack installed`
Install a package	`nvim 'lua vim.pack.add({{src = "https://github.com/tpope/vim-sensible"}}, {confirm = false, load = false}) os.exit(0)' 'cquit'`	`mpm install pkg:vim-pack/cquit`
Upgrade one package	`nvim 'lua for _, p in ipairs(vim.pack.get(nil, {info = false})) do if p.spec.src == "https://github.com/tpope/vim-sensible" then vim.pack.update({p.spec.name}, {force = true}) end end os.exit(0)' 'cquit'`	`mpm --vim-pack upgrade cquit`
Upgrade everything	`nvim 'lua vim.pack.update(nil, {force = true}) os.exit(0)' 'cquit'`	`mpm --vim-pack upgrade --all`
Remove a package	`nvim 'lua for _, p in ipairs(vim.pack.get(nil, {info = false})) do if p.spec.src == "https://github.com/tpope/vim-sensible" then vim.pack.del({p.spec.name}, {force = true}) end end os.exit(0)' 'cquit'`	`mpm remove pkg:vim-pack/cquit`

Prefix any command above with --dry-run to simulate the underlying manager calls without touching the system: the safe way to watch what mpm would do before trusting it.

Operations¶

Operation	Supported	Notes
`installed`	✅
`outdated`	❌	There is no read-only “list upgradable” call; `upgrade --all` still works.
`orphans`
`search`
`install`	✅	A plugin is on disk after the install but loads only once a matching `vim.pack.add()` call is added to the configuration.
`upgrade`	✅
`upgrade_all`	✅
`remove`	✅
`sync`
`cleanup`
`doctor`

Configuration¶

Ignore vim-pack on the mpm CLI by passing the --no-vim-pack option.
Ignore it for every run in your configuration:
```
[mpm]
vim-pack = false
```
Raise the timeout of all vim-pack calls:
```
[mpm.overrides.vim-pack]
timeout = 900
```

Run mpm config-template vim-pack to print all overridable settings for your configuration file:

[mpm.overrides.vim-pack]
cli_names = [
    "nvim",
]
cli_search_path = []
dry_run = false
ignore_auto_updates = true
plan = false
post_args = [
    "-c",
    "cquit",
]
pre_args = [
    "--clean",
    "--headless",
]
pre_cmds = []
requirement = ">=0.12.0"
stop_on_error = false
unmaintained = false
version_cli_options = [
    "--version",
]
version_regexes = [
    "NVIM\\s+v(?P<version>\\S+)",
]

The arguments and environment variables listed in the box atop this page are forced on every vim-pack call, so runs stay quiet, non-interactive and reproducible: the defaults you would set in CI anyway.

Recipes¶

A few jobs you would otherwise script around vim-pack, one mpm command each:

Snapshot and clone a machine: mpm --vim-pack dump vim-pack.toml, then mpm restore vim-pack.toml on the next one.
Export a compliance SBOM: mpm --vim-pack sbom (CycloneDX by default, --spdx for SPDX).

Privilege escalation¶

mpm runs this manager as the current user and never prepends sudo by default. Flip the policy for its privileged operations with --sudo or the per-manager sudo override.

None of its operations is privileged.

See privilege escalation for the full policy.

Cooldown¶

State of Neovim vim-pack’s release-age gating, from the cooldown support table:

Status: ❌ None

A cooldown only pays off where a compromised release can be withdrawn while the clock runs, and can only be emulated where the registry dates its releases. From the retraction table:

Registry: Upstream Git clones
Retraction: None: a plugin is cloned straight from its upstream repository, so withdrawing a bad revision is its author force-pushing, retagging or deleting it themselves. No index sits in between
Publish date: ❌ a commit or tag date is set by the author and freely rewritable

With --cooldown set, mpm skips this manager’s install and upgrade operations rather than run them unguarded (fail-closed); --cooldown best-effort opts back in.

Reference traces¶

A collection of raw native outputs captured from the manager’s own CLI and recorded in the manager source. If you know Neovim vim-pack well and a transcript below looks wrong, or a newer release changed its output format, report it.

$ nvim --clean --headless \
> -c 'lua io.write(vim.json.encode(vim.pack.get(nil, {info = false}))) os.exit(0)' \
> -c 'cquit'
[{"active":false,"rev":"0ce2d843d6f588bb0c8c7eec6449171615dc56d9","spec":{"name":"vim-sensible","src":"https://github.com/tpope/vim-sensible"},"path":"/home/kev/.local/share/nvim/site/pack/core/opt/vim-sensible"},{"active":false,"rev":"a2e1f2b2e2e5a4c1d0f9b8a7c6d5e4f3a2b1c0d9","spec":{"name":"plenary.nvim","src":"https://github.com/nvim-lua/plenary.nvim"},"path":"/home/kev/.local/share/nvim/site/pack/core/opt/plenary.nvim"}]

Version check¶

The version is probed by running:

$ nvim --version
NVIM v0.12.4
Build type: Release
LuaJIT 2.1.1785763465

and extracted with:

r"NVIM\s+v(?P<version>\S+)"

Upstream project¶

Metrics	`neovim/neovim`
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Popularity
Metadata

Changelog¶

7.6.0 (2026-08-10)
- Add Neovim’s built-in vim.pack plugin manager (Neovim 0.12 and above) with installed, install, remove and upgrade support. Plugins are keyed on their source URL, and each operation is a Lua one-liner run by a --clean --headless Neovim.