DEVOURED
Vim Classic and EVi forked from Vim in 2026 to maintain human-only codebases after Vim and Neovim began incorporating LLM-generated code.
What: Vim Classic forked from Vim 8.3 and EVi split from pre-LLM Vim, both rejecting AI-generated contributions now in mainline Vim and Neovim. The article catalogs 20+ vi descendants spanning 1977-2027, including the original BSD vi, clones like Vim (1991) and Neovim (2014), and vi-inspired editors like Kakoune and Helix.
Why it matters: The forks signal a divide in the development community over LLM-generated code in foundational tools, with some developers prioritizing human-maintained codebases for reliability and transparency in their daily editors.
Takeaway: Vim or Neovim users who want to avoid LLM-generated code can switch to Vim Classic (vim-classic.org) or EVi (codeberg.org/evi-editor/evi).
Deep dive
- vi (1977) remains popular despite a steep learning curve because it enables highly efficient editing once mastered and is available everywhere through native tools or IDE keybindings (VS Code, IntelliJ IDEA, XCode)
- vi 2.0 (1979) was large for its time and required a commercial AT&T UNIX license in the 1980s, prompting multiple developers to create free clones for personal computers like MS-DOS, Minix, and Atari ST
- Vim (1991) is the most widely used vi clone, derived from STevie (an Atari ST/Amiga editor), adding windows, multiple buffers, scripting options, and UTF-8 support while handling GB-sized files
- Neovim (2014) modernized Vim by removing ancient platform support and adding LSP support, a built-in terminal emulator, and Lua scripting to replace VimScript
- nvi (1994) was a BSD-licensed reimplementation intended to match original vi behavior exactly, used in 4BSD releases, but still lacks UTF-8 support after three decades
- Both Vim and Neovim now incorporate LLM-generated code into their core, prompting two 2026 forks: Vim Classic (from v8.3) and EVi (from pre-LLM Vim) committed to human-only development
- The ecosystem includes minimalist variants like BusyBox vi (used in Alpine Linux and embedded systems), xvi (the smallest vi clone), and OpenBSD's extensively cleaned-up nvi derivative
- Alternative modal editors like Kakoune (2012), vis (2015 with structural regular expressions from Plan 9 sam), and Helix (2021) adopt vi-inspired modal editing but use different keybindings to explore new design philosophies
Decoder
- Modal editor: Text editor with distinct modes (insert, normal, visual) where keys perform different functions depending on the mode, unlike modeless editors where typing always inserts text
- Structural regular expressions: Pattern matching that operates on hierarchical text structure rather than linear character sequences, from the Plan 9 sam editor
Original article
vi-style editors remain popular because, despite their age and steep learning curve, they enable highly efficient editing and are available almost everywhere through native tools or keybindings.
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