Drew DeVault releases Vim Classic 8.3, an AI-free LTS fork of Vim that omits Vim9 script

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Drew DeVault released Vim Classic 8.3.0 on June 2, the first version of a stable, long-term support fork of Vim that he describes as “maintained without the assistance of generative AI tools.” The release is based on Vim 8.2.0148, with bug fixes and patches conservatively backported from newer Vim upstream versions. The project deliberately omits Vim9 script — imagining, as DeVault put it, “an alternate history where Vim 8.3 was released without Vim9 script” — in order to reduce the long-term maintenance burden on a fork that lacks the resources of Vim upstream. A consequence is that some Vim plugins are not compatible with Vim Classic. DeVault noted the team has made a “special effort” to backport security patches addressing CVEs discovered between version 8.2 and modern Vim, but cautions that the release is recommended for early adopters “comfortable adopting a security posture which accounts for the fact that we may have overlooked some bugs.” The tarball is available on SourceHut and signed with DeVault’s PGP key. Like Vim, Vim Classic ships as charityware, directing users to donate to Bram Moolenaar’s cause of supporting children in Uganda via kuwasha.net.

Vim Classic