ColorColumn in Vim - a follow-up on formatting text for gopher
📆 2026-02-28 15:50
After writing about using fmt to format text for Gopher:
Formatting Text for Gopher The Easy Way With FMT
I kept thinking about how much nicer it feels to edit plain text when the editor helps you see "rhythm" in your text. One Vim feature that really helps with that is: colorcolumn.
On its own, Vim already highlights your text as you type. But as soon as you want to format prose or long paragraphs, it's really nice to have a visual guide for line length.
What it does
colorcolumn lets you draw vertical markers in your Vim window - guides that don't affect the text, but help you decide when your lines are getting long.
If you've ever tried to stick to 80 or 67 characters per line, this is your friend.
Enable colorcolumn in VIM
Enabling a single column
To show a column at 67 characters:
Now, Vim draws a light background at column 67. As you type toward it, you can see you're approaching the "edge".
Enabling multiple columns
Maybe you want markers at both 67 and 80:
Or even a whole range:
Ranges are great for prose in GemText, Markdown, or email replies - you see a band where you should aim to keep lines.
Add colorcolumm to your .vimrc
Why it helps writers
Consistency
GemText looks best when lines are tidy. A guide gives instant feedback.
Visual rhythm
Without a ruler, your eye wanders. With one, your text looks and feels more intentional.
Flexible
You can toggle it on/off quickly with some keybinds:
Wrap-ups
Vim is a powerful editor, but for Gopher blogs and plain-text writing, small tweaks like colorcolumn make a big difference in comfort and quality.
Happy typing - and if you keep your text within the lines, both you and your readers will thank you!