pathogen.vim Manage your 'runtimepath' with ease. In practical terms, pathogen.vim makes it super easy to install plugins and runtime files in their own private directories.
Installation
Install to ~/.vim/autoload/pathogen.vim. Or copy and paste:
mkdir -p ~/.vim/autoload ~/.vim/bundle && \
curl -LSso ~/.vim/autoload/pathogen.vim https://tpo.pe/pathogen.vim
Runtime Path Manipulation
Add this to your vimrc:
execute pathogen#infect()
If you're brand new to Vim and lacking a vimrc, vim ~/.vimrc and paste in the following super-minimal example:
execute pathogen#infect()
syntax on
filetype plugin indent on
Now any plugins you wish to install can be extracted to a subdirectory under ~/.vim/bundle, and they will be added to the 'runtimepath'.
An Example to Install a Plugin
cd ~/.vim/bundle && \
git clone git://github.com/tpope/vim-sensible.git
Now sensible.vim is installed.