Linux - HowTo - Vi - Displaying Line Numbers

To display the line numbers in the left margin of a vi document, type :set nu. To turn them off again, type :set nonu.

If you want vi to display line numbers by default, you need to set the EXINIT to set nu.

You can set this in your .login or your shell start-up files.

1. Open your editor to edit your .login or your shell start-up file. Add the following lines:

For C-Shell:

setenv EXINIT "set nu"

For Bourne or Korn Shell:

EXINIT="set nu"; export EXINIT

For Korn Shell Only (alternate method):

typeset -x EXINIT="set nu"

2. Either log-out and log back in or "source" your shell start-up file.