How to get the original vim files on mac?

Question

I accidentally deleted some files in the vim73 folder on my mac. How can I get the original files of my vim?

Answer 1

You can't hit a button and have this folder back. A system upgrade or a full re-install may help but it's maybe a little bit too much.

You could also install Vim from the sources and specify the default location as target. Normally I don't advocate that kind of method but you already messed with your system so…

The best solution, IMO, is simply to install another Vim, anywhere, and completely forget about the default Vim. It has always sucked in one way or the other anyway and the absolute best solution for using Vim on a Mac is still the same as it has been for quite some time: install (manualy or with Homebrew) MacVim which comes with a CLI executable.

And stop messing with those default files! If you want to customize/install stuff, do that in ~/.vim.

Answer 2

Do you use Time Machine?

If not, you should.

It really helps in times like these.

Plus it's SUPER easy to use.

Answer 3

If you don’t want to reinstall vim (which is the preferred solution) then runtime files (those that are in /usr/share/vim/vim73) are located in mercurial repository of vim in runtime/ subfolder: http://code.google.com/p/vim/source/browse/runtime. You may need to specify exact vim version like http://code.google.com/p/vim/source/browse/runtime?name=v7-3-712 (directly in URL or by selecting in “Tag:” list), but most of time vim runtime files from newer versions work normally on older ones.

Note though that I would recommend reinstalling vim, not trying to undo the changes manually.

Answer 4

I would uninstall then reinstall vim, using whatever you used to install it in the first place.