Provide a way to move several buffers back or forth

[jerabaul29]

If I have several buffers open and I want to move "2 forward" I need to type :bn twice. Would it be possible to parse these commands to allow a number of "next" moves, for example :2bn, :3bn etc? Same with :bp.

[gyreas]

That's right. Did you know you can achieve the same with gn goto-next-buffer | gp goto-previous-buffer which can take a number prefix?
Edit: I checked again, don't.

[pascalkuthe]

That's right. Did you know you can achieve the same with gn goto-next-buffer | gp goto-previous-buffer which can take a number prefix? Edit: I checked again, don't.

I think adding support for count to those two commands would be a reasonable way to adress this

[gyreas]

That would make there be at least two classes of commands, profitable and non-prefixable. This is a useful feature. I will look into the implementation of move_line_*. Where should I tackle?

[woojiq]

What's the advantage of this method instead of opening buffer picker or creating key bindings for the next|previous buffer?
UPD: I wrote this before reading Pascal's answer and didn't notice that you want to fix gn command instead of modifying :bn.

Where should I tackle?

goto_next_buffer impl: https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/blob/master/helix-term/src/commands.rs#L776C1-L806C2
How to use "count": https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/blob/master/helix-term/src/commands.rs#L597

[jerabaul29]

Actually, I just am used to / have some muscle memory around :bn, so I think that if there is consensus on it, it would be nice to consider implementing repeats of it? :) A bit busy now, but I may have time to look into this in the future too.

[woojiq]

If you want to modify :bn, "count" must be an argument, not a prefix, imo. This is how all typed commands work.

[jerabaul29]

So you would mean :bn4 rather than :4bn? :) both are fine to me.

[woojiq]

:bn <x> (with space), like :w <filename>. But that's from a personal point of view, I'm not core maintainer.
It would be easier for you to just change your muscle memory and use <x>gn when this is fixed.

[blinxen]

Another useful feature would be the ability to switch to a buffer at a specific position. Instead of typing <space> + b + 3 + <enter>, you could create a key mapping to switch directly to the specified buffer. I like to use <Alt> + buffer_position, where the position starts at 1.

[pascalkuthe]

closing in favor of #10400 (comment)