There is a possibility to run terminal commands inside Vim. Just type: :! command [Hit Enter] Also you can invoke a shell inside Vim: :! bash [Hit Enter] Also Vim has third party addons (vim-shell) that allow to use shell in more natural manner. But I would not recommend you to use Vim this way. There is much better way to achieve the same things - just use screen . It allows you to split your terminal vertically by pressing Ctrl-A S. Then you can use Ctrl-A Tab or Ctrl-A Ctrl-I to switch between them.