Netrw Protocols, External Applications, Reading and Writing

sure that the directory name is followed by a "/"): > vim scp://hostname/ vim ftp://hostname/path/to/dir/ < See |netrw-browse| for more! There are more protocols supported by netrw than just scp and ftp, too: see the next section, |netrw-externapp|, on how to use these external applications with netrw and vim. PREVENTING LOADING *netrw-noload* If you want to use plugins, but for some reason don't wish to use netrw, then you need to avoid loading both the plugin and the autoload portions of netrw. You may do so by placing the following two lines in your <.vimrc>: > :let g:loaded_netrw = 1 :let g:loaded_netrwPlugin = 1 < ============================================================================== 3. Netrw Reference *netrw-ref* {{{1 Netrw supports several protocols in addition to scp and ftp as mentioned in |netrw-start|. These include dav, fetch, http,... well, just look at the list in |netrw-externapp|. Each protocol is associated with a variable which holds the default command supporting that protocol. EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS AND PROTOCOLS *netrw-externapp* {{{2 Protocol Variable Default Value -------- ---------------- ------------- dav: *g:netrw_dav_cmd* = "cadaver" if cadaver is executable dav: g:netrw_dav_cmd = "curl -o" elseif curl is available fetch: *g:netrw_fetch_cmd* = "fetch -o" if fetch is available ftp: *g:netrw_ftp_cmd* = "ftp" http: *g:netrw_http_cmd* = "elinks" if elinks is available http: g:netrw_http_cmd = "links" elseif links is available http: g:netrw_http_cmd = "curl" elseif curl is available http: g:netrw_http_cmd = "wget" elseif wget is available http: g:netrw_http_cmd = "fetch" elseif fetch is available http: *g:netrw_http_put_cmd* = "curl -T" rcp: *g:netrw_rcp_cmd* = "rcp" rsync: *g:netrw_rsync_cmd* = "rsync" (see |g:netrw_rsync_sep|) scp: *g:netrw_scp_cmd* = "scp -q" sftp: *g:netrw_sftp_cmd* = "sftp" file: *g:netrw_file_cmd* = "elinks" or "links" *g:netrw_http_xcmd* : the option string for http://... protocols are specified via this variable and may be independently overridden. By default, the option arguments for the http-handling commands are: > elinks : "-source >" links : "-dump >" curl : "-L -o" wget : "-q -O" fetch : "-o" < For example, if your system has elinks, and you'd rather see the page using an attempt at rendering the text, you may wish to have > let g:netrw_http_xcmd= "-dump >" < in your .vimrc. g:netrw_http_put_cmd: this option specifies both the executable and any needed options. This command does a PUT operation to the url. READING *netrw-read* *netrw-nread* {{{2 Generally, one may just use the URL notation with a normal editing command, such as > :e ftp://[user@]machine/path < Netrw also provides the Nread command: :Nread ? give help :Nread "machine:path" uses rcp :Nread "machine path" uses ftp w/ <.netrc> :Nread "machine id password path" uses ftp :Nread "dav://machine[:port]/path" uses cadaver :Nread "fetch://[user@]machine/path" uses fetch :Nread "ftp://[user@]machine[[:#]port]/path" uses ftp w/ <.netrc> :Nread "http://[user@]machine/path" uses http uses wget :Nread "rcp://[user@]machine/path" uses rcp :Nread "rsync://[user@]machine[:port]/path" uses rsync :Nread "scp://[user@]machine[[:#]port]/path" uses scp :Nread "sftp://[user@]machine/path" uses sftp WRITING *netrw-write* *netrw-nwrite* {{{2 One may just use the URL notation with a normal file writing command, such as > :w ftp://[user@]machine/path < Netrw also provides the Nwrite command: :Nwrite ? give help :Nwrite "machine:path" uses rcp :Nwrite "machine path" uses ftp w/ <.netrc> :Nwrite "machine id password path" uses ftp :Nwrite "dav://machine[:port]/path" uses cadaver

This section of the Netrw documentation covers browsing directories, preventing Netrw from loading, and providing a reference for supported protocols like dav, fetch, http, rcp, rsync, scp, sftp, and file, detailing the associated variables and default commands. It discusses external applications, protocols, and how to configure options for http protocols. The document also explains how to read and write files using URLs with standard editing commands and the specific Nread/Nwrite commands, providing examples for various protocols.