unicode_preview.vim

A small Vim plugin that previews Unicode literals inline by appending decoded characters as virtual text at the end of each line.

Features

• Preview Unicode literals inline using virtual text
• Support the following formats:
  • \uXXXX
  • \UXXXXXXXX
  • U+XXXX to U+XXXXXX
• Group multiple decoded characters on the same line into one preview
• Automatically refresh on buffer enter, scrolling, and text changes
• Scan only the visible window by default for better performance
• Echo the Unicode literal near the cursor
• Echo all Unicode literals on the current line
• Ignore invalid Unicode code points safely

Commands

:UnicodePreviewShow

Enable Unicode preview for the current buffer.

:UnicodePreviewHide

Disable Unicode preview for the current buffer and clear existing virtual text.

:UnicodePreviewRefresh

Force a refresh of the Unicode preview.

:UnicodePreviewToggle

Toggle Unicode preview on or off for the current buffer.

:UnicodePreviewEcho

Echo the Unicode literal under, after, or nearest before the cursor on the current line.

:UnicodePreviewEchoLine

Echo all Unicode literals found on the current line.

Default Behavior

When the plugin loads, it defines commands and autocommands.

By default, it automatically enables preview on BufEnter for buffers that have not been initialized yet.

It also refreshes automatically when:

• the window is scrolled
• the buffer text changes in Normal mode
• the buffer text changes in Insert mode

Manual enable or disable state is stored per buffer and is preserved when you switch away from and back to the buffer.

Options

g:unicode_preview_auto_enable

Whether preview should automatically start on BufEnter for a newly entered buffer.

• Type: Number / Boolean
• Default: 1

Example:

let g:unicode_preview_auto_enable = 0

---

g:unicode_preview_visible_only

Whether to scan only the visible window plus extra context.

• Type: Number / Boolean
• Default: 1

When enabled, the plugin scans only the visible area and nearby lines.
When disabled, it scans the entire buffer.

Example:

let g:unicode_preview_visible_only = 0

---

g:unicode_preview_context

Number of extra lines to scan above and below the visible window when g:unicode_preview_visible_only is enabled.

• Type: Number
• Default: 20

Example:

let g:unicode_preview_context = 10

---

g:unicode_preview_prefix

Prefix text inserted before the decoded preview text.

• Type: String
• Default: ' => '

Example:

let g:unicode_preview_prefix = '  => '

---

g:unicode_preview_separator

Separator used between multiple decoded characters on the same line.

• Type: String
• Default: ' '

Example:

let g:unicode_preview_separator = ' | '

Buffer-local State

b:unicode_preview_enabled

Whether preview is enabled for the current buffer.

• Type: Number / Boolean
• Managed by:
  • :UnicodePreviewShow
  • :UnicodePreviewHide
  • :UnicodePreviewToggle
  • automatic initialization on BufEnter

This is the actual runtime state used by refresh logic.

Default Values

let g:unicode_preview_auto_enable = 1
let g:unicode_preview_visible_only = 1
let g:unicode_preview_context = 20
let g:unicode_preview_prefix = '  => '
let g:unicode_preview_separator = ' '

Highlight Group

The plugin uses the highlight group:

• UnicodePreviewVirtual

By default, it is linked to Comment.

You can override it in your Vim config, for example:

highlight link UnicodePreviewVirtual SpecialComment