Other plugins

Vim statusline

If installed using pip just add

python from powerline.vim import setup as powerline_setup
python powerline_setup()
python del powerline_setup

(replace python with python3 if appropriate) to the vimrc.


Status line will not appear by default when there is only a single window displayed. Run :h 'laststatus' in Vim for more information.

If the repository was just cloned the following line needs to be added to the vimrc:

set rtp+={repository_root}/powerline/bindings/vim

where {repository_root} is the absolute path to the Powerline installation directory (see repository root).

If pathogen is used and Powerline functionality is not needed outside of Vim then it is possible to simply add Powerline as a bundle and point the path above to the Powerline bundle directory, e.g. ~/.vim/bundle/powerline/powerline/bindings/vim.

Vundle and NeoBundle users may instead use

Bundle 'powerline/powerline', {'rtp': 'powerline/bindings/vim/'}

(NeoBundle users need NeoBundle in place of Bundle, otherwise setup is the same).

Vim-addon-manager setup is even easier because it is not needed to write this big path or install anything by hand: powerline can be installed and activated just like any other plugin using

call vam#ActivateAddons(['powerline'])


Never install powerline with pathogen/VAM/Vundle/NeoBundle and with pip. If powerline functionality is needed in applications other then Vim then system-wide installation (in case used OS distribution has powerline package), pip-only or pip install --editable kind of installation performed on the repository installed by Vim plugin manager should be used.

No issues are accepted in powerline issue tracker for double pip/non-pip installations, especially if these issues occur after update.


If supplied powerline.vim file is used to load powerline there are additional configuration variables available: g:powerline_pycmd and g:powerline_pyeval. First sets command used to load powerline: expected values are "py" and "py3". Second sets function used in statusline, expected values are "pyeval" and "py3eval".

If g:powerline_pycmd is set to the one of the expected values then g:powerline_pyeval will be set accordingly. If it is set to some other value then g:powerline_pyeval must also be set. Powerline will not check that Vim is compiled with Python support if g:powerline_pycmd is set to an unexpected value.

These values are to be used to specify the only Python that is to be loaded if both versions are present: Vim may disable loading one python version if other was already loaded. They should also be used if two python versions are able to load simultaneously, but powerline was installed only for python-3 version.

Tmux statusline

Add the following lines to .tmux.conf, where {repository_root} is the absolute path to the Powerline installation directory (see repository root):

source "{repository_root}/powerline/bindings/tmux/powerline.conf"


The availability of the powerline-config command is required for powerline support. The location of this script may be specified via the $POWERLINE_CONFIG_COMMAND environment variable.


It is advised to run powerline-daemon before adding the above line to tmux.conf. To do so add:

run-shell "powerline-daemon -q"

to .tmux.conf.


Segments which depend on current working directory (e.g. powerline.segments.common.vcs.branch()) require also setting up shell bindings. It is not required to use powerline shell prompt, components setting allows to set up only powerline bindings for tmux without altering your prompt. Without setting up shell bindings powerline will use current working directory of tmux server which is probably not what you need.

Segments which depend on environment like powerline.segments.common.env.virtualenv() will not work at all (i.e. they will use environment of the tmux server), tracking environment changes is going to slow down shell a lot.

In any case it is suggested to avoid both kinds of segments in tmux themes because even support for tracking current directory is very limited:

  1. It works only in shell. Should you e.g. run Vim and run :cd there you will get current working directory from shell.
  2. It works only in local shell and requires configuring it.
  3. Some shells are not supported at all.

IPython prompt

For IPython<0.11 add the following lines to .ipython/ipy_user_conf.py:

# top
from powerline.bindings.ipython.pre_0_11 import setup as powerline_setup

# main() function (assuming ipython was launched without configuration to
# create skeleton ipy_user_conf.py file):

For IPython>=0.11 add the following line to ~/.ipython/profile_default/ipython_config.py file in the used profile:

c = get_config()
c.InteractiveShellApp.extensions = [

For IPython>=5.0 you may use the above set up, but it is deprecated. It is suggested to use

from powerline.bindings.ipython.since_5 import PowerlinePrompts
c = get_config()
c.TerminalInteractiveShell.simple_prompt = False
c.TerminalInteractiveShell.prompts_class = PowerlinePrompts


Setting simple_prompt to False after IPython-5.0 is required regardless of whether you use c.InteractiveShellApp.extensions setting or c.TerminalInteractiveShell.prompts_class. But you probably already have this line because IPython is not very useful without it.

IPython=0.11* is not supported and does not work. IPython<0.10 was not tested (not installable by pip).

PDB prompt

To use Powerline with PDB prompt you need to use custom class. Inherit your class from pdb.Pdb and decorate it with powerline.bindings.pdb.use_powerline_prompt():

import pdb

from powerline.bindings.pdb import use_powerline_prompt

class MyPdb(pdb.Pdb):


. Alternatively you may use

python -mpowerline.bindings.pdb path/to/script.py

just like you used python -m pdb.