How can I recover the original file from a .swp file?

This goes into recovery mode and gives you more info. I think this is what you want. -files are left behind if a session with an unsaved file is killed/crashes/something else bad happens. They are also present during the time an unsaved buffer is open in a Vim session. reads these temporary files and recreates the content. After you've recovered it, just save it as usual, e.g. .