Replace Vim's default status bar with a colored, mode-aware one that changes color when switching between insert, visual, and normal modes.
Apply a custom color theme, solarized, PaperColor, wombat, to your Vim statusline with a single config change.
Add custom components like current git branch or linter status to the statusline using the lightline component API.
Style both the statusline and the tabline with a single consistent configuration block in your .vimrc.
lightline.vim is a plugin for the Vim text editor that replaces the default status bar at the bottom of the screen with a cleaner, more informative one. The status bar, called a statusline, normally shows basic information like the current filename and cursor position. With lightline.vim it also changes color based on the editing mode (for example, turning a different color when you switch to insert mode or visual selection mode), which gives a quick visual indicator of what Vim is doing at any moment. The plugin ships with multiple color themes, including powerline, wombat, solarized, PaperColor, and one, each with dark and light variants. It can be installed through any of the common Vim plugin managers such as vim-plug, Vundle, Pathogen, and dein.vim, or through Vim's built-in package system. The project positions itself as a lighter alternative to similar plugins like vim-airline. Its stated principles are minimalism (the core code is kept small), configurability (users can define custom components and arrange them freely), and independence (the plugin deliberately does not integrate with other plugins by default). Instead of bundling integrations, it provides a simple API so that users can write their own connections to other tools, such as showing the current git branch or linter results, without the plugin itself depending on any particular external tool. Configuration is done through a single Vim variable in your .vimrc file. You define which components appear on the left and right sides of the statusline, create custom components that run functions or display static text, and set the color theme. The tabline at the top of the screen can also be styled through the same configuration system. The README includes a detailed tutorial covering everything from basic setup to advanced component customization.
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