Question

After running the list buffers command (:ls) in Vim, what do the symbols displayed before some buffers mean? I know the percent sign (%) indicates the currently visible buffer. However, I also see the hash sign (#), and I can’t figure out what that means. Googling this has proved fruitless.

Answer 1

See :help :ls.

The hash sign marks the alternate buffer. This is useful for switching between two buffers: it’s the buffer that you’ll switch to when using e.g. :b#. This is the only thing resembling most recently used that you’ll get with vim buffers, without plugins.

You also know from :ls which buffers have unsaved modifications: +.