Reading Command Output Into the Buffer

:r !command#

:r reads something into the buffer. Give it a ! and it reads the output of a command instead of a file, inserting it below the cursor:

:r !date            " drop a timestamp in
:r !ls              " a directory listing, as text
:r !git log --oneline -10

The result is ordinary text in your buffer. You can edit it, reformat it, delete half of it — it is not a special output pane.

Why this matters#

Anything your shell can produce becomes editable content: a file listing for a README, a dependency list, the output of a generator. No copy, no paste, no second window.