Error detected while processing BufRead Auto commands for "*.py":

[Arup Rakshit]

I am just starting out Vim. I am now making my ~/.vimrc file. But I get error after adding the python specific configuration. The error is:

Error detected while processing BufRead Auto commands for "*.py":
E518: Unknown option: set

Here is my ~/.vimrc file:


set nocompatible " required
filetype off " required

" set the runtime path to include Vundle and initialize
set rtp+=~/.vim/bundle/Vundle.vim
call vundle#begin()

" alternatively, pass a path where Vundle should install plugins
"call vundle#begin('~/some/path/here')

" let Vundle manage Vundle, required
Plugin 'gmarik/Vundle.vim'

" add all your plugins here (note older versions of Vundle
" used Bundle instead of Plugin)

" ...

Plugin 'tmhedberg/SimpylFold'

" All of your Plugins must be added before the following line
call vundle#end() " required

let g:SimpylFold_docstring_preview=1

set splitbelow
set splitright

" Enable folding
set foldmethod=indent
set foldlevel=99

" split navigations
nnoremap <C-J> <C-W><C-J>
nnoremap <C-K> <C-W><C-K>
nnoremap <C-L> <C-W><C-L>
nnoremap <C-H> <C-W><C-H>

" Enable folding with the spacebar
nnoremap <space> za

au BufNewFile,BufRead *.py
\ set tabstop=4
\ set softtabstop=4
\ set shiftwidth=4
\ set textwidth=79
\ set expandtab
\ set autoindent
\ set fileformat=unix

filetype plugin indent on " required

[Gary Johnson]

On 2019-04-03, 'Arup Rakshit' via vim_use wrote:
> I am just starting out Vim. I am now making my ~/.vimrc file. But
> I get error after adding the python specific configuration. The
> error is:
>
> Error detected while processing BufRead Auto commands for "*.py":
> E518: Unknown option: set
>
> Here is my ~/.vimrc file:

...

> au BufNewFile,BufRead *.py
> \ set tabstop=4
> \ set softtabstop=4
> \ set shiftwidth=4
> \ set textwidth=79
> \ set expandtab
> \ set autoindent
> \ set fileformat=unix

That error is because Vim does not see all those set commands as
being on separate lines--it sees them as on one line. The
line-continuation operator \ joins its line with the one before it
as though it and the newline terminating the previous line were not
there.

Vim sees your autocommand as this one line:

au BufNewFile,BufRead *.py set tabstop=4 set softtabstop=4 set shiftwidth=4 set textwidth=79 set expandtab set autoindent set fileformat=unix

It interprets the second "set" as another argument to the first
"set", i.e., as an option, but there is no 'set' option, so Vim
issues the error message:

E518: Unknown option: set

One way to fix the problem is to remove all those extra sets, making
your autocommand look like this.

au BufNewFile,BufRead *.py
\ set tabstop=4

\ softtabstop=4
\ shiftwidth=4
\ textwidth=79
\ expandtab
\ autoindent
\ fileformat=unix

Another way is to make each of those set commands a separate command
by separating them with bars, like this.

au BufNewFile,BufRead *.py
\ set tabstop=4
\ | set softtabstop=4
\ | set shiftwidth=4
\ | set textwidth=79
\ | set expandtab
\ | set autoindent
\ | set fileformat=unix

See:

:help line-continuation
:help :bar

Regards,
Gary

[Arup Rakshit]

Thank you Gary. It worked now.

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[chrish...@gmail.com]

Instead of writing your own Python autocmd, have you already been aware of the Vim filetype plugin for Python already does?

See the ftplugin/python.vim script in the Vim runtime path.

[Gary Johnson]

Good point. If you want to add to or modify the settings in that
file, _don't_modify_that_file_. Any changes you make to that file
may be lost the next time you update Vim. Instead, put your
settings into an after plugin you create, in this case,
~/.vim/after/ftplugin/python.vim. Also, for filetype-specific
settings, you should use setlocal rather than set, e.g.,

setlocal tabstop=4
setlocal softtabstop=4
setlocal shiftwidth=4
setlocal textwidth=79
setlocal expandtab
setlocal autoindent
setlocal fileformat=unix

See:

:help ftplugin-overrule

The above will work fine, but to do it "right", the after/ftplugin
file should look like this:

let s:save_cpo = &cpo
set cpo-=C

setlocal tabstop=4
setlocal softtabstop=4
setlocal shiftwidth=4
setlocal textwidth=79
setlocal expandtab
setlocal autoindent
setlocal fileformat=unix

let b:undo_ftplugin = (exists("b:undo_ftplugin") ? b:undo_ftplugin . "|" : "")
\ . "setlocal tabstop< softtabstop< shiftwidth< textwidth< expandtab< autoindent< fileformat<"

let &cpo = s:save_cpo
unlet s:save_cpo

See:

:help undo_ftplugin
:help filetype-plugin
:help use-cpo-save

Regards,
Gary