diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/vim/configurable.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/vim/configurable.nix
index 8e799df7a8b2..710ceb7d31f1 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/vim/configurable.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/vim/configurable.nix
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ args@{pkgs, source ? "default", ...}: with args;
 
 let inherit (args.composableDerivation) composableDerivation edf;
   nixosRuntimepath = pkgs.writeText "nixos-vimrc" ''
+    set nocompatible
+    syntax on
+
     function! NixosPluginPath()
       let seen = {}
       for p in reverse(split($NIX_PROFILES))