There are many [1] plugins attacking the buffer switching "problem" from every possible angle. TabBar [2], for example, seems to do exactly what you are after.

There are many [1] plugins attacking the buffer switching "problem" from every possible angle. TabBar [2], for example, seems to do exactly what you are after. My opinion is that such an "always on" list is a useless waste of place. My prefered way to switch buffers is to use CtrlP [3]. When it's not available, :sb <Tab> is very nice. I've also recently added this line to my ~/.vimrc which is remarkably effective: nnoremap ,ls :ls<CR>:sb<Space> [1] http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Easier_buffer_switching#Scripts http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Easier_buffer_switching#Scripts [2] http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=1338 http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=1338 [3] http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=3736 http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=3736