`vim -n` should avoid the initial swap file. Or was it `-b` that triggered in-place editing? You might want to tune `set syn_maxcol=256` to avoid highlighting

`vim -n` should avoid the initial swap file. Or was it `-b` that triggered in-place editing? You might want to tune `set syn_maxcol=256` to avoid highlighting or disable syntax completely. It might help to set the filetype to something else for CSV. If plugins slow you down use `-u NONE`.