A minimalist and efficient yet powerful buffer manager for Neovim. Designed to be extensible and customizable, both in terms of UI & functionality.
Default UI. Built-in actions: selection, deletion, splitting, and locking.
Screen.Recording.2026-01-06.at.20.32.39.mov
Dashed UI when collapsed. Built-in pagination. Non-saved highlights.
Screen.Recording.2026-01-06.at.21.00.58.mov
Tabline UI with built-in pagination. Built-in actions. Auto-deletion & notifications.
Screen.Recording.2026-01-06.at.21.19.26.mov
Custom menu placement. Non-hidden collapsed UI. Built-in actions.
Screen.Recording.2026-01-06.at.21.35.26.mov
- Two UI modes: Floating window (default) or tabline integration
- Extensible action system with visual feedback (built-in actions: open, delete, split, lock)
- Customizable UI with multiple collapsed states (dashes, filenames, full, or hidden) and placement options
- Smart one-char label assignment based on filenames for quick buffer switching
- Last accessed/edited buffer quick switch (press
;twice) - Buffer limit enforcement with configurable deletion metrics (optional)
- Buffer locking to protect important buffers from automatic deletion (persisted across sessions)
- Pagination for large buffer lists (automatic when exceeding screen space, or configurable via
max_rendered_buffers) - Configurable buffer ordering by access time, edit time, filename, or directory
Neovim 0.9.0+ required. Works with any plugin manager:
-- lazy.nvim
{ "serhez/bento.nvim", opts = {} }
-- packer.nvim
use({ "serhez/bento.nvim", config = function() require("bento").setup() end })Works out of the box with defaults. The main keymap is ;:
;once → Open menu (collapsed, shows dashes);twice → Expand menu (shows labels and names) / Switch to last accessed buffer- Label key → Open that buffer
<CR>→ Enter open mode, then select buffer<BS>→ Enter delete mode, then select buffer|→ Enter vertical split mode, then select buffer_→ Enter horizontal split mode, then select buffer*→ Toggle lock on selected buffer (protected from auto-deletion)[/]→ Previous / next page (floating: whenmax_rendered_buffersis set; tabline: when buffers exceed screen width)ESC→ Collapse back to dashes
Bento supports two UI modes: floating window (default) and tabline. Set via ui.mode = "floating" or ui.mode = "tabline".
Collapsed/Minimal: Configurable via ui.floating.minimal_menu option:
nil(default): No collapsed menu shown"dashed": Shows dashes only──= Active buffer (visible)─= Inactive buffer (hidden)
"filename": Shows filenames only (no labels)"full": Shows full menu (filenames + labels) with distinct highlighting
Expanded: Shows buffer names + labels (right-aligned)
- Bold = Current buffer
- Normal = Active in other windows
- Dimmed = Inactive
;label = Last accessed buffer
When ui.mode = "tabline", bento renders buffers horizontally in the tabline instead of a floating window.
Minimal state: Labels are shown with label_minimal highlight, keymaps are not active
Expanded state: Labels use action-specific highlights, keymaps are active
Each buffer displays: [label] [lock] filename with consistent background using window_bg.
Pagination: When there are more buffers than can fit on screen, pagination indicators appear:
❮on the left edge indicates previous buffers exist❯on the right edge indicates more buffers ahead- Use
[and]keys to navigate between pages (only when expanded) - Each page shows a completely different set of buffers
The ui.floating.minimal_menu option is ignored when using tabline UI.
Actions change label colors for visual feedback. Built-in actions:
- Open (
<CR>): Opens selected buffer in current window - Delete (
<BS>): Deletes selected buffer - Vertical Split (
|): Opens selected buffer in a vertical split - Horizontal Split (
_): Opens selected buffer in a horizontal split - Lock (
*): Toggles lock on selected buffer (locked buffers are protected from automatic deletion)
require("bento").setup({
actions = {
git_stage = {
key = "g",
hl = "DiffAdd", -- Optional: custom label color
action = function(buf_id, buf_name)
vim.cmd("!git add " .. vim.fn.shellescape(buf_name))
end,
},
},
})Action fields: key (required), action (required), hl (optional highlight group)
All options with defaults:
require("bento").setup({
main_keymap = ";", -- Main toggle/expand key
lock_char = "🔒", -- Character shown before locked buffer names
max_open_buffers = nil, -- Max buffers (nil = unlimited)
buffer_deletion_metric = "frecency_access", -- Metric for buffer deletion (see below)
buffer_notify_on_delete = true, -- Notify when deleting a buffer (false for silent deletion)
ordering_metric = "access", -- Buffer ordering: nil (insertion order), "access", "edit", "filename", or "directory"
locked_first = false, -- Sort locked buffers to the top
default_action = "open", -- Action when pressing label directly
map_last_accessed = false, -- Whether to map a key to the last accessed buffer (besides main_keymap)
ui = {
mode = "floating", -- "floating" | "tabline"
floating = {
position = "middle-right", -- See position options below
offset_x = 0, -- Horizontal offset from position
offset_y = 0, -- Vertical offset from position
dash_char = "─", -- Character for collapsed dashes
border = "none", -- "rounded" | "single" | "double" | etc. (see :h winborder)
label_padding = 1, -- Padding around labels
minimal_menu = nil, -- nil | "dashed" | "filename" | "full"
max_rendered_buffers = nil, -- nil (no limit) or number for pagination
},
tabline = {
left_page_symbol = "❮", -- Symbol shown when previous buffers exist
right_page_symbol = "❯", -- Symbol shown when more buffers exist
separator_symbol = "│", -- Separator between buffer components
},
},
-- Highlight groups
highlights = {
current = "Bold", -- Current buffer filename (in last editor window)
active = "Normal", -- Active buffers visible in other windows
inactive = "Comment", -- Inactive/hidden buffer filenames
modified = "DiagnosticWarn", -- Modified/unsaved buffer filenames and dashes
inactive_dash = "Comment", -- Inactive buffer dashes in collapsed state
previous = "Search", -- Label for previous buffer (main_keymap label)
label_open = "DiagnosticVirtualTextHint", -- Labels in open action mode
label_delete = "DiagnosticVirtualTextError", -- Labels in delete action mode
label_vsplit = "DiagnosticVirtualTextInfo", -- Labels in vertical split mode
label_split = "DiagnosticVirtualTextInfo", -- Labels in horizontal split mode
label_lock = "DiagnosticVirtualTextWarn", -- Labels in lock action mode
label_minimal = "Visual", -- Labels in collapsed "full" mode
window_bg = "BentoNormal", -- Menu window background
page_indicator = "Comment", -- Pagination indicators (● ○ ○ for floating, ❮/❯ for tabline)
separator = "Normal", -- Separator between buffer components in tabline
},
-- Custom actions
actions = {},
})| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
main_keymap |
string | ";" |
Primary key for menu toggle and expand |
lock_char |
string | "🔒" |
Character displayed before locked buffer names |
max_open_buffers |
number/nil | nil |
Maximum number of buffers to keep open (nil = unlimited) |
buffer_deletion_metric |
string | "frecency_access" |
Metric used to decide which buffer to delete when limit is reached (see below) |
buffer_notify_on_delete |
boolean | true |
Whether to create a notification via vim.notify when a buffer is deleted by the plugin |
ordering_metric |
string/nil | "access" |
Buffer ordering: nil (insertion order), "access" (by last access time, most recent first), "edit" (by last edit time, most recent first), "filename" (alphabetical by filename), or "directory" (alphabetical by full path). |
locked_first |
boolean | false |
If true, locked buffers are always sorted to the top of the list. |
default_action |
string | "open" |
Default action mode when menu expands |
map_last_accessed |
boolean | false |
If true, maps a key based on filename to the last accessed buffer (like all other buffers). If false it is only mapped to main_keymap. |
highlights |
table | See below | Highlight groups for all UI elements |
actions |
table | Built-in actions | Action definitions (see Actions section) |
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
ui.mode |
string | "floating" |
UI mode: "floating" (sidebar window) or "tabline" (horizontal tabline) |
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
position |
string | "middle-right" |
Menu position: "top-left", "top-right", "middle-left", "middle-right", "bottom-left", "bottom-right" |
offset_x |
number | 0 |
Horizontal offset from position |
offset_y |
number | 0 |
Vertical offset from position |
dash_char |
string | "─" |
Character for collapsed state lines |
border |
string | "none" |
Border style for the floating window: "rounded", "single", "double", etc. (see :h winborder) |
label_padding |
number | 1 |
Padding on left/right of labels |
minimal_menu |
string/nil | nil |
Collapsed menu style: nil (hidden), "dashed" (dash lines), "filename" (names only), "full" (names + labels) |
max_rendered_buffers |
number/nil | nil |
Maximum buffers to display per page. Pagination is also automatically enabled when buffers exceed available screen height. Uses min(max_rendered_buffers, available_height) when set. Navigate pages with [ and ] keys. A centered indicator (● ○ ○) shows current page. |
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
left_page_symbol |
string | "❮" |
Symbol shown at left edge when previous buffers exist (pagination) |
right_page_symbol |
string | "❯" |
Symbol shown at right edge when more buffers exist (pagination) |
separator_symbol |
string | `" | "` |
When max_open_buffers is set to a positive value, bento will automatically delete buffers to stay within the limit. The buffer_deletion_metric option controls how buffers are prioritized for deletion:
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
"recency_access" |
Delete the buffer that was accessed (entered/viewed) least recently. Uses Neovim's built-in lastused tracking. |
"recency_edit" |
Delete the buffer that was edited least recently. Buffers you haven't modified in a while are deleted first. |
"frecency_access" |
Delete the buffer with the lowest access frecency. This is the default. Frecency combines frequency and recency - buffers you access often and recently score higher and are kept. |
"frecency_edit" |
Delete the buffer with the lowest edit frecency. Buffers you edit frequently and recently score higher and are kept. |
Recency metrics simply look at when the last event occurred. Frecency metrics use a decay-based algorithm that considers the entire history of events, giving higher scores to buffers that are both frequently and recently used.
All highlights are configurable under the highlights table:
| Key | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
current |
"Bold" |
Current buffer filename (in last editor window) |
active |
"Normal" |
Active buffers visible in other windows |
inactive |
"Comment" |
Inactive/hidden buffer filenames |
modified |
"DiagnosticWarn" |
Modified/unsaved buffer filenames and dashes |
inactive_dash |
"Comment" |
Inactive buffer dashes in collapsed state |
previous |
"Search" |
Label for previous buffer (the main_keymap label) |
label_open |
"DiagnosticVirtualTextHint" |
Labels in open action mode |
label_delete |
"DiagnosticVirtualTextError" |
Labels in delete action mode |
label_vsplit |
"DiagnosticVirtualTextInfo" |
Labels in vertical split mode |
label_split |
"DiagnosticVirtualTextInfo" |
Labels in horizontal split mode |
label_lock |
"DiagnosticVirtualTextWarn" |
Labels in lock action mode |
label_minimal |
"Visual" |
Labels in collapsed "full" mode |
window_bg |
"BentoNormal" |
Menu window background (transparent by default) |
page_indicator |
"Comment" |
Pagination indicator: ● ○ ○ in floating UI, ❮/❯ symbols in tabline UI |
separator |
"Normal" |
Separator character between buffer components in tabline UI |
-- Menu control
require("bento.ui").toggle_menu()
require("bento.ui").expand_menu()
require("bento.ui").collapse_menu()
require("bento.ui").close_menu()
require("bento.ui").refresh_menu()
require("bento.ui").cycle_minimal_menu() -- Cycle through minimal menu modes (nil -> "dashed" -> "filename" -> "full")
-- Pagination
-- Floating UI: requires max_rendered_buffers to be set
-- Tabline UI: automatic when buffers exceed screen width
require("bento.ui").next_page()
require("bento.ui").prev_page()
-- Actions
require("bento.ui").set_action_mode("delete")
require("bento.ui").select_buffer(index)
-- Buffer locking (protects buffers from automatic deletion)
-- Lock state is persisted across sessions via :mksession
require("bento").toggle_lock() -- Toggle lock on current buffer
require("bento").toggle_lock(bufnr) -- Toggle lock on specific buffer
require("bento").is_locked() -- Check if current buffer is locked
require("bento").is_locked(bufnr) -- Check if specific buffer is locked
-- Close all buffers (with optional exclusions)
-- By default, closes ALL buffers. Pass false to exclude certain buffers.
require("bento").close_all_buffers() -- Close ALL buffers
require("bento").close_all_buffers({ visible = false }) -- Keep visible buffers open
require("bento").close_all_buffers({ locked = false }) -- Keep locked buffers open
require("bento").close_all_buffers({ current = false }) -- Keep current buffer open
require("bento").close_all_buffers({ visible = false, locked = false, current = false }) -- Keep all protected
-- Command
:BentoToggle
:BentoCycleMinimalMenu -- Cycle through minimal menu modes (floating UI only)Buffer metrics (access/edit times) and lock state are automatically persisted across sessions when using Neovim's :mksession and restored on SessionLoadPost. This ensures buffer ordering remains consistent after restarting Neovim with a saved session. Make sure you include "globals" in sessionoptions.
require("bento").setup({
ui = {
mode = "tabline", -- Use tabline instead of floating window
},
-- Tabline is always visible, showing buffers horizontally
-- Press main_keymap to expand and activate keymaps
})require("bento").setup({
highlights = {
current = "Title",
active = "Normal",
inactive = "NonText",
modified = "WarningMsg",
inactive_dash = "NonText",
previous = "WarningMsg",
label_open = "IncSearch",
label_delete = "DiagnosticError",
},
})require("bento").setup({
actions = {
open = {
key = "<C-o>", -- Change from default <CR>
hl = "String",
action = function(buf_id, buf_name)
vim.cmd("buffer " .. buf_id)
require("bento.ui").collapse_menu()
end,
},
},
})actions = {
-- Git
git_stage = {
key = "g",
action = function(_, buf_name)
vim.cmd("!git add " .. vim.fn.shellescape(buf_name))
end,
},
-- Copy path
copy_path = {
key = "y",
action = function(_, buf_name)
vim.fn.setreg("+", buf_name)
end,
},
}-
buffer-sticks.nvim by
ahkohd: this plugin inspired some of the ideas implemented inbento(e.g., the dashed menu). You should also check out this plugin, it's very good and it pursues solutions to many of the same problems. -
buffer_manager.nvim by
j-morano: I took architectural ideas from this plugin initially, although at this point the differences may be too large to notice.