[vim/vim] Feat: Allow 'exrc' to search recursively upward for local configuration files (Issue #21218)

[rbalaji-cell]

rbalaji-cell created an issue (vim/vim#21218)

Unable to load local root .vimrc when opening files from nested project subdirectories via 'exrc',
which limits having project specific settings.

Problem

The current exrc feature only searches for a local configuration file in the immediate current working directory (pwd). If a user opens a file nested deep inside a project's subdirectories (e.g., project/src/components/file.v), a local .vimrc located at the project root (project/.vimrc) is entirely missed.

With modern project structures, users often launch Vim or open files from subdirectories, rendering exrc ineffective without external plugins or complex autocommands.

Solution / Proposal

Introduce a built-in mechanism or a new option (for example, set exrcupward or modifying exrc behavior) that allows Vim to search recursively upwards for a local configuration file until it hits the root directory or the user's home directory.

Alternative or Current Workaround

Currently, users have to write custom Vimscript in their global ~/.vimrc to mimic this behavior:

function! LoadLocalVimrc()
  let l:local_vimrc = findfile('.vimrc', expand('%:p:h') . ';')
  if !empty(l:local_vimrc) && fnamemodify(l:local_vimrc, ':p') != expand('~/.vimrc')
    execute 'source ' . fnameescape(l:local_vimrc)
  endif
endfunction
autocmd BufNewFile,BufRead * call LoadLocalVimrc()

Having this natively optimized in C or as a core option like set exrc=upward would immensely benefit anyone working in multi-layered language projects (like Verilog, C++, or Web development).

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