VSCodeVim / VSCodeVim/Vim

[bug?] Sometimes vim key strokes are unresponsive for like 30 seconds

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#9,693 6 comments 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Dominant language
TypeScript
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Description

Describe the bug

Sometimes vim key strokes are unresponsive for 30 seconds (f.e. pressing keys in normal mode does nothing, hjkl doesn't move the cursor, i does not enter insert mode, etc) but the rest of VS Code us buttery smooth and responsive (on a beefy MacBook Pro M4, so performance limits doesn't seem to be the issue).

To Reproduce

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

I don't know how to reproduce it. Every once in a while (like on average every few days?) it just becomes unresponsive for some reason.

Expected behavior

Expected behavior is for all key strokes to be responsive (especially when the rest of the system including VS Code is perfectly responsive, for example I can use the mouse in VS Code to do anything, and I can also run any non-vim key shortcuts just fine).

Screenshots

N/A

Environment (please complete the following information):

  • Extension (VsCodeVim) version: 1.30.1
VSCode Version: 1.101.2
Commit: 2901c5ac6db8a986a5666c3af51ff804d05af0d4
Date: 2025-06-24T20:27:15.391Z
Electron: 35.5.1
ElectronBuildId: 11727614
Chromium: 134.0.6998.205
Node.js: 22.15.1
V8: 13.4.114.21-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.5.0

Additional context

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

The issue names no source file or test. Start by using Developer: Show Running Extensions and checking the reported VSCodeVim, VS Code, Electron, Node.js, and macOS versions while investigating whether the intermittent 30-second key unresponsiveness can be reproduced. Done means identifying the cause and confirming that Vim keystrokes remain responsive during normal VS Code use.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript, vscode
Domain
developer-experience, tooling
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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