Yank file name / path of current buffer in Vim

TL;DR

:let @" = expand("%")>

this will copy the file name to the unamed register, then you can use good old p to paste it. and of course you can map this to a key for quicker use.

:nmap cp :let @" = expand("%")<cr>

you can also use this for full path

:let @" = expand("%:p")

Explanation

Vim uses the unnamed register to store text that has been deleted or copied (yanked), likewise when you paste it reads the text from this register.

Using let we can manually store text in the register using :let @" = "text" but we can also store the result of an expression.

In the above example we use the function expand which expands wildcards and keywords. in our example we use expand('%') to expand the current file name. We can modify it as expand('%:p') for the full file name.

See :help let :help expand :help registers for details

If you want to put the current buffer filename in your system-level clipboard, try changing the register to @+:

" relative path
:let @+ = expand("%")

" full path
:let @+ = expand("%:p")

" just filename
:let @+ = expand("%:t")

---

Edit 20140421: I commonly use these, so I created some shortcuts. Linux Vims apparently operate slightly differently than Mac Vims, so there is a special case for that as well. If you put the following in your ~/.vimrc:

" copy current file name (relative/absolute) to system clipboard
if has("mac") || has("gui_macvim") || has("gui_mac")
  " relative path  (src/foo.txt)
  nnoremap <leader>cf :let @*=expand("%")<CR>

  " absolute path  (/something/src/foo.txt)
  nnoremap <leader>cF :let @*=expand("%:p")<CR>

  " filename       (foo.txt)
  nnoremap <leader>ct :let @*=expand("%:t")<CR>

  " directory name (/something/src)
  nnoremap <leader>ch :let @*=expand("%:p:h")<CR>
endif

" copy current file name (relative/absolute) to system clipboard (Linux version)
if has("gui_gtk") || has("gui_gtk2") || has("gui_gnome") || has("unix")
  " relative path (src/foo.txt)
  nnoremap <leader>cf :let @+=expand("%")<CR>

  " absolute path (/something/src/foo.txt)
  nnoremap <leader>cF :let @+=expand("%:p")<CR>

  " filename (foo.txt)
  nnoremap <leader>ct :let @+=expand("%:t")<CR>

  " directory name (/something/src)
  nnoremap <leader>ch :let @+=expand("%:p:h")<CR>
endif

Then for example <leader>cf will copy the relative path of the current buffer (the default leader is backslash (\)). I often use these for running commands on a file or doing other things on the command line. I don't really use the last filename / directory name often.

You might consider more intuitive mappings like <leader>cfr for relative, <leader>cfa for absolute, <leader>cff for just filename, <leader>cfd for directory.

Almost what you're asking for, and it might do: Ctrl+R % pulls the current filename into where you are (command prompt, edit buffer, ...). See this Vim Tip for more.