Vim features a :mksession command to write a file containing the current state of Vim: window positions, open folds, stuff like that. For most of my existence, I found the interface way too awkward and manual to be useful, but I've recently discovered that the only thing standing between me and simple, no-hassle Vim sessions is a few tweaks:

• Instead of making me remember to capture the session immediately before exiting Vim, allow me to do it at any time, and automatically re-invoke :mksession immediately before exit.
• Also invoke :mksession whenever the layout changes (in particular, on BufEnter), so that even if Vim exits abnormally, I'm good to go.
• If I load an existing session, automatically keep it updated as above.
• If I try to create a new session on top of an existing session, don't refuse to overwrite it. Just do what I mean.
• If I pass in a directory rather than a file name, just create a Session.vim inside of it.
• Don't capture options and maps. Options are sometimes mutilated and maps just interfere with updating plugins.

Use :Obsess (with optional file/directory name) to start recording to a session file and :Obsess! to stop and throw it away. That's it. Load a session in the usual manner: vim -S, or :source it.

There's also an indicator you can put in 'statusline', 'tabline', or 'titlestring'. See :help obsession-status.

If you don't have a preferred installation method, I recommend installing pathogen.vim, and then simply copy and paste:

cd ~/.vim/bundle
git clone https://github.com/tpope/vim-obsession.git
vim -u NONE -c "helptags vim-obsession/doc" -c q

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Copyright © Tim Pope. Distributed under the same terms as Vim itself. See :help license.