lambdalisue/vim-fern

Fern's window selector is active when Fern is the only open window

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#535 opened on Aug 20, 2025

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 (1 comment) (0 reactions) (0 assignees)Vim Script (50 forks)github user discovery
enhancementgood first issue

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Description

I am using Fern like so: Fern . -reveal=% -stay -drawer -toggle

When the buffer list is not empty but Fern is the only window, <Plug>(fern-action-open:select) still triggers the internal window selector. Strangely the indicator for the window is 28.

If I press a it replaces the Fern buffer as expected, but if i press b the Fern buffer remains while my cursor is now hidden somewhere else, not sure what's going on.

Expected behavior: <Plug>(fern-action-open:select) should replace the fern buffer if Fern is the only window rather than calling internal window selector

Thank you for the great plugin

Contributor guide

Research direction
Inspect the implementation of `<Plug>(fern action open:select)` and understand why it triggers the internal window selector when Fern is the only window. Trace the code path for handling the case where there is only one window, and identify where the logic fails to bypass the window selector.
Tech stack
None
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
Git
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
70