Slow tab switching

[wmayner]

This plugin is awesome but causes Vim to switch tabs very slowly (~1 second).

I'm using the spf13 vim distribution. Let me know if there's any other info I can provide to determine the cause.

---

Vim version info:

IM - Vi IMproved 7.3 (2010 Aug 15, compiled Apr 9 2013 13:09:12) MacOS X (unix) version Included patches: 1-754 Compiled by will@terminus.home Huge version with MacVim GUI. Features included (+) or not (-): +arabic +autocmd +balloon_eval +browse ++builtin_terms +byte_offset +cindent +clientserver +clipboard +cmdline_compl +cmdline_hist +cmdline_info +comments +conceal +cryptv -cscope +cursorbind +cursorshape +dialog_con_gui +diff +digraphs +dnd -ebcdic +emacs_tags +eval +ex_extra +extra_search +farsi +file_in_path +find_in_path +float +folding -footer +fork() +fullscreen -gettext -hangul_input +iconv +insert_expand +jumplist +keymap +langmap +libcall +linebreak +lispindent +listcmds +localmap -lua +menu +mksession +modify_fname +mouse +mouseshape +mouse_dec -mouse_gpm -mouse_jsbterm +mouse_netterm +mouse_sgr -mouse_sysmouse +mouse_urxvt +mouse_xterm +multi_byte +multi_lang -mzscheme +netbeans_intg +odbeditor +path_extra +perl +persistent_undo +postscript +printer +profile +python -python3 +quickfix +reltime +rightleft +ruby +scrollbind +signs +smartindent -sniff +startuptime +statusline -sun_workshop +syntax +tag_binary +tag_old_static -tag_any_white +tcl +terminfo +termresponse +textobjects +title +toolbar +transparency +user_commands +vertsplit +virtualedit +visual +visualextra +viminfo +vreplace +wildignore +wildmenu +windows +writebackup -X11 -xfontset +xim -xsmp -xterm_clipboard -xterm_save system vimrc file: "$VIM/vimrc" user vimrc file: "$HOME/.vimrc" user exrc file: "$HOME/.exrc" system gvimrc file: "$VIM/gvimrc" user gvimrc file: "$HOME/.gvimrc" system menu file: "$VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim" fall-back for $VIM: "/Applications/MacVim.app/Contents/Resources/vim" Compilation: clang -c -I. -Iproto -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -DFEAT_GUI_MACVIM -Wall -Wno-unknown-pragmas -pipe -DMACOS_X_UNIX -no-cpp-precomp -g -O2 -U_FORTIFY_SOURCE -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=1 -I/System/Library/Frameworks/Tcl.framework/Headers -D_REENTRANT=1 -D_THREAD_SAFE=1 -D_DARWIN_C_SOURCE=1 Linking: clang -L. -L. -L/usr/local/lib -o Vim -framework Cocoa -framework Carbon -lncurses -liconv -framework Cocoa -fstack-protector -L/usr/local/lib -L/System/Library/Perl/5.12/darwin-thread-multi-2level/CORE -lperl -lm -lutil -lc -framework Python -F/System/Library/Frameworks -framework Tcl -framework CoreFoundation -framework Ruby

[airblade]

Sorry about that.

Have you set any vim-gitgutter configuration options at all?

Are you using the latest version of vim-gitgutter?

Is it always slow when switching tabs or only when you have many buffers? If the latter, please could you give me an idea of roughly how many buffers you have in the tab you're switching to, and how many buffers overall?

[airblade]

By the way I just simplified how to trade off accuracy for speed (1a13951).

[wmayner]

I tried setting g:gitgutter_eager=0 to no avail. Haven't touched any other vim-gitgutter configuration options. I am using the latest version via Vundle, and the slowdown occurs even with only two tabs and is no slower with many tabs.

[airblade]

It's puzzling that g:gitgutter_eager = 0 made no difference because it tells gitgutter only to run when you save a buffer (or read a file into a buffer). Switching tabs won't run gitgutter...unless you have set up Vim to write a buffer when you change tabs or something similar.

It might be useful to find out whether gitgutter is running when you switch tabs with g:gitgutter_eager = 0. You could add an echom "gitgutter: " . a:file at the top of the main function to verify whether or not gitgutter is running when you switch tabs.

Would it be possible to spin up your Vim with gitgutter as the only plugin? Then we could determine whether the problem is gitgutter alone or a dodgy interaction between gitgutter and another plugin.

[wmayner]

My mistake—setting g:gitgutter_eager=0 does fix the problem. Previously I'd tried setting it from command mode without effect, but this time I put it in my .vimrc and that did the trick. Adding the echo line shows that it is correctly not being called when switching buffers, though it's still slow when reading/writing from buffers.

I removed all other plugins except for GitGutter and Vundle, and the slow tab switching remains (when g:gitgutter_eager=1). Here's what happens when I open several buffers in tabs from the command line with mvim -p README.md Cakefile package.json test.sh wumpus_agents.py adjectives.txt clevertest.sh:

[airblade]

The error message is pointing to redraw!. I don't know why that would cause an error. Stranger and stranger.

Also I'm surprised to see gitgutter running over README.md more than once. It looks like one run or more for each tab opened. Maybe mvim -p generates a TabEnter event for each tab it opens. I just checked and the same thing happens for me (without the error):

mvim -p README Gemfile Capfile Procfile Rakefile config.ru

That's quite annoying.

However once all those tabs are open, switching tabs is fast. Does it remain slow for you?

[airblade]

There's definitely some weirdness going on here with the TabEnter events. I'll keeping looking into this...in the meantime please let me know if you find anything.

[wmayner]

Will do!

[nemtsov]

I'm having the same issue. It's reproduce it with :bn too, not just tabs. I ran a quick git bisect:

➜  vim-gitgutter git:(master) git bisect start
➜  vim-gitgutter git:(master) git bisect bad
➜  vim-gitgutter git:(master) git bisect good eec6b68

After a few repetitions of opening vim, loading the README.md in one buffer, and plugin/gitbuffer.vim in another and checking if it's slow, I ended up stopping on:

677dac451d19c71ac6e4e729565adff3b3002a4f is the first bad commit
commit 677dac451d19c71ac6e4e729565adff3b3002a4f
Author: Andy Stewart <boss@airbladesoftware.com>
Date:   Fri Mar 15 10:53:31 2013 +0100

    Add opt-out configuration for BufEnter and FocusGained.

My config:

git version 1.8.1.3
VIM - Vi IMproved 7.3 (2010 Aug 15, compiled Jun 20 2012 13:16:02)
Compiled by root@apple.com

Hope this helps.

[airblade]

@nemtsov Thanks for that. Which commit did you start from?

[nemtsov]

@airblade eec6b68 is the good commit I started with; being on the current master ff031d0.

[gcapizzi]

g:gitgutter_eager = 0 worked for me :+1:

[vrybas]

@airblade I'm autosaving buffers on all various events, so I set g:gitgutter_eager = 0 and just added execute 'GitGutterAll' to my autosave function. I've immediately experienced performance issues. For me the answer was to change GitGutterAll to GitGutter. Maybe that's a good idea to call GitGutter, instead of GitGutterAll when switching tabs? https://github.com/airblade/vim-gitgutter/commit/1a13951#L2R531

[airblade]

@vrybas GitGutterAll updates all the current tab's windows' buffers whereas GitGutter updates the current window's buffer only. On switching to a new tab we want all the visible windows to be up to date so we call GitGutterAll.

[airblade]

@wmayner @nemtsov Is this still a problem?

[vrybas]

@airblade,

On switching to a new tab we want all the visible windows to be up to date so we call GitGutterAll.

Yes, we surely want. But with a lot of opened windows (usually more than 4 for me) it is unacceptable slow. Speaking of my previous comment, I got rid of Autosave (partly because I switched from MacVim to vim inside Tmux), but I still call GitGutter on file save, rather then let it run eagerly.

The problem with this issue is that it blocks tabs switching right after you install GitGutter. Maybe just for a few folks, but still. Not cool.

I'd stay the section in FAQ about this behavior would help (here it is with all-out effort of my English skills)

[wmayner]

@airblade, g:gitgutter_eager = 0 worked, thanks!

[nhooey]

Running let g:gitgutter_eager=0 doesn't fix the slow tab switching problem.

In each one of my tabs I have a different lcd set, which is a different Git project. Would that affect the issue?

[nhooey]

I'm using MacVim installed from Homebrew on Mac OS.

[vrybas]

@nhooey I got this in my .vimrc

let g:gitgutter_eager = 0
let g:gitgutter_realtime = 0

Actually, I only update status manually

exe 'GitGutter'

Works best for me

[nhooey]

Adding let g:gitgutter_realtime = 0 makes no difference, it's still really slow on tab switching.

Ideally GitGutter should only be checking a file when it's actually reloaded or saved, not at any other time.

[airblade]

I started to investigate this and found Vim firing far more BufEnter and TabEnter events than I had expected. I think if I can figure out why the extra, unnecessary events are firing I'll be able to solve this problem.

Unfortunately I've been pretty busy recently so haven't found much time to make progress. Still, I want to fix it (not least because it affects me too).

[nhooey]

@airblade All I want for Christmas is for GitGutter tab-switching to be fast. ;)

[airblade]

@nhooey I've just pushed a change to speed things up. It doesn't specifically address tab-switching but it would be very helpful if you could let me know whether it solves the problem for you.

P.S. Ho ho ho :)

[airblade]

@nhooey As of d420a44 tab-switching should be fast. Please try it out and let me know what you think!

It turns out there are several different situations to consider:

• switching to an existing tab
• opening a file in a new tab
• opening a new tab with no specific file

The plugin does what it should in the first situation. In the second and third situations it updates the signs in the active buffer in the former tab before doing its thing in the new tab. This is due to a Vim weirdness which I haven't been able to workaround yet. However this single superfluous run doesn't slow things down much.

The one scenario which is still slow is opening tabs from the command line with vim -p file1 file2 .... I have sped this up somewhat, but due to the same Vim weirdness I can't get it as fast as it ought to be.

[airblade]

Closing this because it's fixed for me. Please let me know if it's still slow for you.

[nhooey]

Switching between tabs for me is still slow. The slowness is proportional to how many git-controlled files are in the destination tab.

However, it is slightly faster since updating with Vundle today.

I'm using MacVim 7.3 (66). What version of Vim are you using, @airblade?

[airblade]

@nhooey I think this may well be the problem: 7.3 is quite old now. I would expect upgrading to speed things up for you.

I'm on MacVim 7.4 (p1-22), i.e. snapshot 71. You've prompted me to upgrade to snapshot 72 ;)

Would you mind upgrading and letting me know how it works out?

[airblade]

@nhooey BTW if you only want vim-gitgutter to check a file when it's loaded or saved, add this to your vimrc:

let g:gitgutter_realtime = 0
let g:gitgutter_eager = 0

Having a different lcd in each tab shouldn't affect anything.

[airblade]

@nhooey At least one person found that Vundle wasn't correctly updating the plugin. You could try deleting the directory and then fresh-installing via Vundle to verify you really have got the latest version of vim-gitgutter.

[nhooey]

I just did rm -rf ~/.vim/bundle/vim-gitgutter, then reinstalled, sourced ~/.vim/bundle/vim-gitgutter/plugin/gitgutter.vim, disabled and enabled GitGutter, but the tab switching is still slow.

[airblade]

@nhooey Thanks for trying that; I'm trying to eliminate every possibility.

• Did you already upgrade to the latest MacVim (Vim 7.4)?
• How slow is slow? 0.5s, 1s, 2s, longer?
• Roughly how many git-controlled files do you have in a "slow-to-switch-to" tab?
• Instead of guessing the bottleneck I need to measure it, so please could you profile the tab-switch? :-

:profile start profile.log
:profile func *
:profile file *
" At this point do slow actions, i.e. switch tab
:profile pause
:noautocmd qall!

[nhooey]

• I have MacVim 7.4 (72)
• It tops out at about 1 second with 15 version-controlled files open in the destination tab
• Here is the profile

[airblade]

@nhooey Many thanks. The profile's shown me two separate hotspots I can eliminate. I'll keep you posted.

[airblade]

@nhooey I've removed those two hotspots and it's faster for me. Please would you update and try again?

[nhooey]

Perfect! It's fast now.

[nhooey]

Thanks so much, @airblade.

[airblade]

@nhooey :beers:

[nhooey]

Sorry, @airblade, I was mistaken. I actually had GitGutter disabled so it appeared to be fast. I see no change from before.

I made a new profile.

[airblade]

@nhooey No worries. Thanks for the new profile – it shows you're using a pre-the-latest-improvement version (for example utility#is_tracked_by_git() doesn't exist any more). If you update the plugin it will (hopefully ;) go faster.

[nhooey]

Okay I coincidentally restarted Vim. Looks like even if you :BundleUpdate, then source your .vimrc, then source ~/.vim/bundle/vim-gitgutter/plugin/gitgutter.vim and disable/re-enable GitGutter, it still doesn't seem to load the latest version.

[airblade]

@gmarik Any ideas why Vundler wouldn't want to update to the latest version of vim-gitgutter? One or two others have run into this as well. And of course please let me know if I can modify vim-gitgutter somehow to make it collaborate better with Vundler. Thanks!

[gmarik]

@airblade ask if people they could provide a log output after :BundleInstall (by pressing l after it completes). There may be some errors preventing git from checking out latest updates.

[airblade]

@gmarik Much obliged!

[zimski]

hello, i have the same issue, but it's slow just for the :bp , ;bn is fast !!! Very strange

[zimski]

I solve the problem by using Ctrl instead of Leader !

[tex]

FYI: Very slow for me in Windows. Not using git, but clearcase. It is fast when I disabled gitgutter.

[airblade]

@tex This plugin only activates with git.

[tex]

I just described what I saw. The speed up was very noticeable. Perhaps it tests the git repository on each buf enter and this operation is perhaps very slow in Windows.

[airblade]

@tex Ok, thanks. On each BufEnter it runs this function to decide whether or not it should process the buffer. That function doesn't make any system() calls so it should be fast.

If that function returns truthy, which it generally will, gitgutter tries to run a diff. What happens if you do :echo system('git diff') when you're in one of your clearcase repos?