The pitch in brief
Ali, a Linux user learning Python, gives three reasons for leaning on Vim:
- Keyboard-centered navigation. He wants to stop reaching for the arrow keys.
- A fast path for throwaway scripts. Small experiments feel heavier in a full editor.
- Less AI in the way. He is a learner and wants to work through problems himself instead of glancing at a chat sidebar.
He does not claim to be an expert. He calls the start slow, says he still uses VS Code, and points to Neovim as a modern alternative.
How popular is Vim, really?
The article says 27% of developers use Vim. The Stack Overflow 2026 survey data backs that up. Vim was selected by 3,586 of 13,193 respondents, or 27.2%. VS Code led at 70.9%, and Neovim came in at 14.7%.
Two caveats apply:
- The question asked which editors respondents had used regularly over the past year, and it let them tick every option that applied. The percentages overlap, so many Vim users also use VS Code.
- The figure describes people who answered this survey. It is not a count of all developers.
The navigation argument
Ali's strongest point is practical. In Vim's normal mode, h, j, k and l move the cursor left, down, up and right. A count prefix repeats the motion, so 5j moves down five lines.
He also explains why those keys were chosen. Bill Joy created vi in 1976 while working on the Lear Siegler ADM-3A terminal, which used HJKL for cursor movement. That fits one keyboard-heritage source's description of the terminal. His article also quotes Joy's own vi manual, but I could not check that quotation against the original manual, so I am leaving it out.
Arrow keys still work in Vim. The gain Ali describes is keeping your hands on the home row. His claim that this saves hours is his own experience, and nothing in the source measures it.
The quick-script workflow
This is the most reusable part of the piece. Ali's loop for a scratch Python file looks like this:
- Open a terminal and run
vim test.py. - Enter insert mode and write a few lines.
- Return to normal mode and save with
:w. - Run
:!python3 %. The:!prefix runs a shell command, and%stands for the current file name. - Read the output, then press Enter to return to the editor.
The loop assumes a few things:
- Python 3 is installed and on your path.
- Your shell is configured normally.
- Vim is installed. It comes preinstalled on many Linux systems but not on all of them.
If the command fails, check that python3 runs from a normal terminal first.
The VS Code question
Ali is careful here. He says VS Code is not heavy. Microsoft's requirements page backs him up. It calls VS Code a small download of under 200 MB, with a disk footprint under 500 MB. It recommends a 1.6 GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM. His real argument is convenience on a low-resource Ubuntu VM, not a performance failure.
His AI argument is about direction. Microsoft's May 2025 post said it would open-source the GitHub Copilot Chat extension and refactor parts of it into VS Code core. The post called this the next step toward an open source AI editor. An update on that post says the extension was open sourced on June 30, 2025. Another related post, dated November 6, 2025, says ghost text suggestions became open source as part of the extension. That supports Ali's November 2025 inline-suggestions point.
I could not verify his claim that 8 of 9 headline features in VS Code 1.102 were Copilot-related, so I am not repeating it. The 1.102 notes do confirm that the Copilot Chat extension was open sourced in that release.
A version-number wrinkle
Ali says VS Code 1.143 is the latest stable release and that it makes the Copilot harness the default for new agent sessions. The release notes do say that. They also say you can keep those sessions running in the background.
The version label is less clear:
- Microsoft's 1.142 page says Released October 14, 2026 Stable.
- The VS Code blog listed Visual Studio Code 1.143 (Insiders) on October 21, 2026.
- GitHub's releases page shows 1.143.0 released on 22 Oct, and the 1.143 notes mention a 1.143.1 update.
My reading is that 1.142 was stable on October 14 and that 1.143 was moving toward stable by around October 22. I could not confirm 1.143's exact status on the day Ali published, so treat the version number as a snapshot. Check Help > About or run code --version on your own machine.
Coverage of 1.142 also suggests the Copilot harness shift had started a release earlier. NTCompatible's report says the Copilot harness is progressively becoming the default for new agent sessions. That is consistent with the direction Ali describes.
One caution on background sessions. Microsoft's agent documentation says Copilot-harness sessions can continue after you close the editor window, but only while the Agent Host keeps running. Closing the whole application is different. It also says changing the model does not change the harness.
Counterpoints
- Learning Vim and replacing VS Code are separate decisions. You can practice modal editing inside VS Code and keep its debugging, extensions and project tooling.
- VS Code's AI features are optional. Ali's complaint is about nudges while he is learning, not a flaw that stops you from working.
- Vim does not make you immune to AI tools. The article only says Vim lacks the Copilot chat shortcut out of the box. You can add AI tooling to a Vim setup if you want it.
- The learning curve is real. Ali admits the early going was slow. If you are on a deadline, that cost may outweigh the gain.
Who should try this
Vim is a good fit if you:
- work in terminals or over SSH a lot,
- write many small scripts,
- or want a deliberate break from AI assistance while you learn.
If you build large projects with heavy debugging and team tooling, a staged approach is safer. Learn the motions first, then decide how much of your workflow should move.
Bottom line
Ali's article is an honest beginner's account, not a verdict on which editor is better. Vim's survey numbers are solid, and the :!python3 % loop is easy to copy and try. VS Code's AI direction is real, and Microsoft's own release notes show it. The best way to test Vim is to learn the motions and use it for scratch files, with VS Code still open for the heavy work.