MacVim server not started even with `--clientserver` input, causing backward sync not to work

[Feliconut]

Description

I tried to set up MacVim+Vimtex+Zathura. The forward search worked but backward search did not.

Steps to reproduce

1. put the following to ~/.vimrc

   set nocompatible
   let &runtimepath  = '~/.vim/plugged/vimtex,' . &runtimepath
   let &runtimepath .= ',~/.vim/plugged/vimtex/after'
   filetype plugin indent on
   syntax enable
   " Add relevant options and VimTeX configuration below.
   call plug#begin()
   Plug 'lervag/vimtex'
   let g:vimtex_view_method='zathura'
   call plug#end()

2. run vim test.tex, where test.tex has the following content:

   \documentclass[12pt,letterpaper]{article}
   \author{test}
   \title{Test}
   \date{}
   \begin{document}
   \maketitle
   Hello
   \end{document}

3. type \ll. Now Zathura opens correctly with forward search highlight.

4. C+click some text in Zathura.

Expected behavior

Backward search should work normally.

Actual behavior

Nothing happens.

Do you use a latexmkrc file?

No

VimtexInfo

System info:
  OS: macOS 12.5 (21G72)
  Vim version: VIM 9.0 (1-65)
  Has clientserver: true
  Servername: undefined (vim started without --servername)

VimTeX project: test
  base: test.tex
  root: /Users/xiaoyu
  tex: /Users/xiaoyu/test.tex
  main parser: current file verified
  document class: article
  compiler: latexmk
    engine: -pdf
    options:
      -verbose
      -file-line-error
      -synctex=1
      -interaction=nonstopmode
    callback: 1
    continuous: 1
    executable: latexmk
    job:
      jobid: process 41119 run
      output: /var/folders/6m/hhdhqqf52hd50wpbypwvsbjc0000gn/T/vp0DRJs/0
      cmd: max_print_line=2000 latexmk -verbose -file-line-error -synctex=1 -interaction=nonstopmode -pdf -pvc -view=none -e '$compiling_cmd = ($compiling_cmd ? $compiling_cmdw . " ; " : "") . "echo vimtex_compiler_callback_compiling"' -e '$success_cmd = ($success_cmd ? $success_cmd . " ; " : "") . "bbecho vimtex_compiler_callback_success"' -e '$failure_cmd = ($failure_cmd ? $failure_cmd . " ; " : "") . "echo vimtex_compiler_callback_failure"' 'test.tex'
      pid: 41119
  viewer: Zathura
    xwin id: 0
    cmd_start: zathura  -x "/opt/homebrew/Cellar/macvim/9.0.0065/MacVim.app/Contents/MacOS/Vim -T dumb --not-a-term -n -c \"VimtexInverseSearch %{line} '%{input}'\"" --synctex-forward 1:1:'/Users/xiaoyu/test.tex' 'test.pdf'&
  qf method: LaTeX logfile

[Feliconut]

Tried skim and the same situation. The situation may be regardless of specific viewer.

[lervag]

set nocompatible
let &runtimepath  = '~/.vim/plugged/vimtex,' . &runtimepath
let &runtimepath .= ',~/.vim/plugged/vimtex/after'
filetype plugin indent on
syntax enable
" Add relevant options and VimTeX configuration below.
call plug#begin()
Plug 'lervag/vimtex'
let g:vimtex_view_method='zathura'
call plug#end()

No, that is wrong. When you change runtimepath directly, then you don't need vim-plug. So, either use

set nocompatible
let &runtimepath  = '~/.vim/plugged/vimtex,' . &runtimepath
let &runtimepath .= ',~/.vim/plugged/vimtex/after'
filetype plugin indent on
syntax enable
let g:vimtex_view_method='zathura'

or

call plug#begin()
Plug 'lervag/vimtex'
call plug#end()

let g:vimtex_view_method='zathura'

For the present issue, I don't believe it should matter much.

Now, for your issue, this is more revealing:

System info:
  OS: macOS 12.5 (21G72)
  Vim version: VIM 9.0 (1-65)
  Has clientserver: true
  Servername: undefined (vim started without --servername)

Please read :help vimtex-clientserver.

[ejmastnak]

@Feliconut, do you remember exactly how you installed the vim binary (e.g. building from source, using Homebrew's brew install vim, first installing MacVim and then using the vim binary provided by MacVim...)?

Edit: also, is your machine an Intel or Apple Silicon (M1) Mac?

[Feliconut]

Thank you for pointing out my mistake, @lervag. I double checked, and the problem is not caused by me forgetting the --clientserver option. It simply ignored my --clientserver entry.

1. The machine is an Apple Silicon (M1) Mac.
2. The executable I'm using is installed by MacVim, confirmed by running where vim. Also, typing vim --version shows that clientserver is enabled.
3. The strange thing is, when I run vim --servername VIM test.tex, and then :VimtexInfo, it still says "started without --servername'.

[Feliconut]

I solved the problem. I looked up :help macvim-clientserver, and found the following note:

Note: Client mode always works, but server mode only works when the GUI is
started.

So I run gvim --clientserver VIM test.tex, and the backward sync worked perfectly.
Running mvim instead also works. As long as MacVim is opened from its own GUI instead of a command line, the clientserver works.

Hope this will help someone else. I am changing the title of this issue to better match the situation.

[ejmastnak]

So I run gvim --clientserver VIM test.tex, and the backward sync worked perfectly.
Running mvim instead also works. As long as MacVim is opened from its own GUI instead of a command line, the clientserver works.

Great, glad to hear! I see you figured out for yourself that MacVim's version of vim doesn't seem to have client-server functionality when run in command-line mode, i.e. without the GUI.

If you don't mind my asking, did :help vimtex-faq-zathura-macos work for you without any problems?
I'm curious because, as you might have seen, a few users have reported issues with a macOS/Zathura/VimTeX set-up specifically on M1 Macs even when following :help vimtex-faq-zathura-macos supposedly verbatim (see e.g. #2428 and #2424). This might be due to Homebrew's new installation folder for dbus on M1 Macs, but I honestly have no idea and your input might be valuable here.

[lervag]

Thank you for pointing out my mistake, @lervag. I double checked, and the problem is not caused by me forgetting the --clientserver option. It simply ignored my --clientserver entry.

...

Thanks for the update; I'm glad my pointers helped!

I solved the problem. I looked up :help macvim-clientserver, and found the following note: ...

Great! I've made a minor update to :help vimtex-clientserver to help guide readers into macvim-clientserver if relevant. Feel free to suggest (here or PR) further updates!

[Feliconut]

If you don't mind my asking, did :help vimtex-faq-zathura-macos work for you without any problems?

It did work for me. One thing that did confuse me was the path to session.conf file in :help vimtex-faq-zathura-macos. The session.conf file may not be the same as listed in :help vimtex-faq-zathura-macos, if dbus is installed via homebrew.

Currently I have switched to Skim. But there should be no problem with Zathura. The inverse search issue is only caused by MacVim and not related to the viewer.