[editor] section of config.toml controls how Vorto renders and edits text globally. Every field has a built-in default, so you only need to include the settings you want to change. Per-language overrides use the same field names, but placed directly in [languages.<name>] rather than under a nested [editor] key — see Per-language settings for details.
Editor settings
indent_width
Type: integerDefault:
2
The number of columns Vorto uses when it auto-indents a line — for example, when you press Enter inside a block. This controls how many spaces are inserted (or how many tab stops are advanced when use_tabs = true).
tab_width
Type: integerDefault:
4
The visual width of a literal \t character in the buffer. This does not affect auto-indent behavior (which is controlled by indent_width). Go-style codebases typically set this to 8 to match gofmt conventions.
use_tabs
Type: booleanDefault:
false
When true, auto-inserted indentation (newlines, bracket level bumps) uses \t characters instead of spaces. The most common use is a per-language override for Go.
show_whitespace
Type: booleanDefault:
false
When true, spaces and tabs in the buffer are rendered with visible marker glyphs — a middle dot for spaces and an arrow for tabs — drawn in a dim foreground color.
format_on_save
Type: booleanDefault:
true
When true, Vorto runs the formatter before writing the file to disk. It uses the external formatter command configured for the language (formatter.command), or falls back to textDocument/formatting against the first attached LSP if no external formatter is configured. Set to false to disable all automatic formatting on save.
autoreload
Type: string (or boolean)Default:
"replace"Values:
"replace", "merge", "none"
Controls how Vorto reacts when the active buffer’s backing file changes on disk:
"replace"— prompt to reload the buffer; if it has unsaved edits the prompt warns that reloading replaces them (undo withu)."merge"— follow the external edit via a three-way merge, writing<<<<<<</=======/>>>>>>>conflict markers only where both sides touched the same lines."none"— disable the watcher; reload manually with:reload.
true maps to "replace" and false maps to "none". See Conflicts & reload for the full behavior.
theme
Type: stringDefault: unset (Vorto’s built-in default colors) The name of the active color theme — a built-in name such as
"catppuccin-mocha" or the basename of a file in ~/.config/vorto/themes/. The :theme picker writes this key for you when you apply a theme. See Themes.
indent_guides
Type: booleanDefault:
true
When true, Vorto draws vertical guide lines at each indentation level. The guide containing the cursor is painted in a distinct color. Set to false to hide all guides.
indent_guides_skip_levels
Type: integerDefault:
0
Suppresses the shallowest N indent guides. 0 shows every level. 1 hides the leftmost guide. 2 hides the two shallowest, and so on. When the deepest visible nesting is shallower than this value, no guides appear at all — prefer 0 for files that stay shallow most of the time.
indent_guide_style
Type: stringDefault:
"line"Values:
"line", "p10k"
Controls the visual style of indent guides:
"line"— draws a plain│bar on every guide cell; the active scope’s bar is bold."p10k"— decorates the active scope with powerlevel10k-style glyphs: a top corner (╭─) at the first body row and a turn arrow (╰─>) at the cursor row, connected by│.
indent_animation
Type: booleanDefault:
false
When true, the active indent guide expands from the cursor row outward to the scope boundaries each time the cursor enters a new scope.
indent_animation_ms
Type: integerDefault:
100
Duration of the active-guide expand animation in milliseconds. This setting has no effect unless indent_animation = true.
compact_folders
Type: booleanDefault:
true
Controls how the Space e file explorer renders directory chains. When true, a chain of directories where each link is the only child of its parent is folded into a single row — src/finder/explorer instead of three nested rows, the VS Code “compact folders” behavior. Folding stops at any directory that holds a file or a second sibling, so files always keep their own row. When false, every directory gets its own row.
Complete [editor] example
Cursor settings
The[cursor] section controls the cursor shape in each editor mode and whether it blinks. Vorto sends DECSCUSR escape sequences to your terminal, so the effect depends on terminal support.
blinking
Type: booleanDefault:
false
When true, the cursor blinks in all modes (unless terminal shape is used, which defers blinking behavior to the terminal itself).
normal, insert, visual, visual_line, visual_block
Type: stringValues:
"block", "bar", "underbar", "terminal"
Shape of the cursor in each mode. The defaults are:
"block"— solid filled rectangle"bar"— thin vertical line (also accepted as"line")"underbar"— thin horizontal underline (also accepted as"underscore"or"underline")"terminal"— defer to the terminal’s own default cursor shape;blinkingis ignored for this shape (also accepted as"default")