Add an option to write files with escalated privileges (sudo)

[adamperkowski]

Add a command that will try to write files that current user doesn't have write permissions to with sudo or maybe add that functionality to the existing :write.

Similar to vim-suda.

neovim-suda.mp4

[pascalkuthe]

you can use sudo-edit for this. This doesn't need to be builtin into the editor.

[adamperkowski]

yes i can but i think it's better and more comfortable to do it the editor way

[HernandoR]

Imagine you opened a /etc/app/config done a bunch of things, only to find out cannot bo saved.

There's a useful command in vim that I wish helix could do the same function: w !sudo tee %

[CodingMadness]

this really should find its way in, it is an insane miserable experience when you did alot of changes to a file and then have to do text-yoga to somehow be able to save it...

[opensourcecheemsburgers]

This feels illegal, but adding this to your Helix config file should work...

[keys.normal]
A-w = '@:fmt<ret>%:| sudo tee %{buffer_name}<ret>:q!'

This macro is activated by pressing the Alt and w keys together. It does the following:

• @ tells Helix the string is a macro.
• :fmt formats the document. This is necessary because Helix does not autoformat with this workaround.
• <ret> executes the previous fmt command for you by emulating an enter press.
• % selects the whole document.
• : opens the command interface.
• | pipes the selection to the command tee via stdin, tee reads the stdin and writes it to %{buffer_name}, which is a Helix variable that gives the relative (to where Helix was opened from) path of the active buffer.
• <ret> executes the aforementioned tee command for you. IT WILL ASK YOU FOR SUDO PASSWORD.
• :q! quits the document "without saving", but the file has been written to.

The reasoning for the immediate exit is to salvage your modifications. This allows you to quickly reopen the file via sudoedit. Feel free to remove this part, but keep in mind that Helix does not realise you are writing to the file with this workaround.

[PitiBouchon]

That would be strange to have helix switcing user while editing a file.

Also, I do not have sudo so I'm not sure how would this be possible, and not have helix fail on some integrated (and no custom) commands