quit as last buffer

[YanzhaoW]

Description

Without any configuration, neovim simply doesn't quit as nvim-tree is the last buffer. Many people suggest, as is also mentioned in the README.md (#1115 ), that I should add following command:

vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd("BufEnter", {
  nested = true,
  callback = function()
    if #vim.api.nvim_list_wins() == 1 and vim.api.nvim_buf_get_name(0):match("NvimTree_") ~= nil then
      vim.cmd "quit"
    end
  end
})

This is very bad solution because it can cause neovim to crash if you accidentally quit without saving. Following errors will be repeated if you press any key in neovim:

Press ENTER or type command to continue
Error executing vim.schedule lua callback: ...e/pack/packer/start/nvim-tree.lua/lua/nvim-tree/view.lua:378: Vim(append):Error executing lua callback: /home/ywang/.config/nvim/lua/plugs/n
vimtree_config.lua:34: Vim(quit):E37: No write since last change
stack traceback:
        [C]: in function 'cmd'
        /home/ywang/.config/nvim/lua/plugs/nvimtree_config.lua:34: in function </home/ywang/.config/nvim/lua/plugs/nvimtree_config.lua:32>
        [C]: in function 'nvim_win_close'
        ...e/pack/packer/start/nvim-tree.lua/lua/nvim-tree/view.lua:378: in function <...e/pack/packer/start/nvim-tree.lua/lua/nvim-tree/view.lua:356>
stack traceback:
        [C]: in function 'nvim_win_close'
        ...e/pack/packer/start/nvim-tree.lua/lua/nvim-tree/view.lua:378: in function <...e/pack/packer/start/nvim-tree.lua/lua/nvim-tree/view.lua:356>
Press ENTER or type command to continue

I would suggest remove this tip in the README.md.

Is there any other doable solution to quit neovim when the nvim-tree is the last buffer?

Neovim version

NVIM v0.7.0
Build type: Release
LuaJIT 2.1.0-beta3

Minimal config

require'nvim-tree'.setup{
    view = {
        side = 'right'
    },
    update_focused_file = {
        enable = true,
        update_cwd = true,
        ignore_list = {}
    }
}
-- vim.cmd([[autocmd BufEnter * ++nested if winnr('$') == 1 && bufname() == 'NvimTree_' . tabpagenr() | quit | endif]])
vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd("BufEnter", {
  nested = true,
  callback = function()
    if #vim.api.nvim_list_wins() == 1 and vim.api.nvim_buf_get_name(0):match("NvimTree_") ~= nil then
      vim.cmd "quit"
    end
  end
})

Steps to reproduce

1. open a file using nvim with nvim-tree
2. edit a file
3. quit without saving
4. error occurs and is repeated when you press any key

Expected behavior

No response

Actual behavior

No response

[alex-courtis]

This is a difficult vim problem with no good solution. It's not specific to nvim-tree.

• BufEnter is the last event that can be acted upon and that event can have side effects
• vim events are unpredictably ordered, especially when other plugins and automation is involved

Any and all ideas are welcome!

There is a warning in the readme, adding this issue to the warning.

[kyazdani42]

This is unsupported feature so we won't try to hack too much around this.

[alex-courtis]

See #1005 (comment)

[Hxyspace]

You can add the following command to close nvim-tree before exiting neovim, this will print the error message only once on error.

vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd("BufEnter", {
    nested = true,
    callback = function()
        if #vim.api.nvim_list_wins() == 1 and vim.api.nvim_buf_get_name(0):match("NvimTree_") ~= nil then
            vim.cmd "NvimTreeClose"
            vim.cmd "quit"
        end
  end
})

[kyazdani42]

closing this, since we don't plan to help more with this undesirable feature :)

[beauwilliams]

I might have the final piece for a decent working implementation, using set confirm we get a nice exit and prevents kicking you back into vim. It will prompt you to [Y]es, (N)o, Save (A)ll, (D)iscard All, (C)ancel

I've also opted to parse the window layout instead of getting number of windows as this sometimes can be incorrect. I think the most reliable way to deal with these matters is parsing the window layout which is easy for this little problem :)

This solution even works for tabs (closest tab if nvimtree is last, leaving remaining tabs open)

Full snippet

  vim.o.confirm = true
  vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd("BufEnter", {
	group = vim.api.nvim_create_augroup("NvimTreeClose", {clear = true}),
	callback = function()
		local layout = vim.api.nvim_call_function("winlayout", {})
		if layout[1] == "leaf" and vim.api.nvim_buf_get_option(vim.api.nvim_win_get_buf(layout[2]), "filetype") == "NvimTree" and layout[3] == nil then vim.cmd("quit") end
	end
})

I also made a branch here was considering doing a PR but depends on what other people think.
https://github.com/beauwilliams/nvim-tree.lua/tree/auto-exit-last-window

[austinwilcox]

@beauwilliams That works fantastic! Just implemented it and played around with it for a little bit. I didn't run into any errors or issues.