diff --git a/runtime/doc/if_lua.txt b/runtime/doc/if_lua.txt
index a9b8c5fae8..1837e14623 100644
--- a/runtime/doc/if_lua.txt
+++ b/runtime/doc/if_lua.txt
@@ -533,6 +533,25 @@ inspect({object}, {options})                                   *vim.inspect()*
                 See also: ~
                     https://github.com/kikito/inspect.lua
 
+paste({lines}, {phase})                                          *vim.paste()*
+                Paste handler, invoked by |nvim_paste()| when a conforming UI
+                (such as the |TUI|) pastes text into the editor.
+
+                Parameters: ~
+                    {lines}  |readfile()|-style list of lines to paste.
+                             |channel-lines|
+                    {phase}  -1: "non-streaming" paste: the call contains all
+                             lines. If paste is "streamed", `phase` indicates the stream state:
+                             • 1: starts the paste (exactly once)
+                             • 2: continues the paste (zero or more times)
+                             • 3: ends the paste (exactly once)
+
+                Return: ~
+                    false if client should cancel the paste.
+
+                See also: ~
+                    |paste|
+
 
 
 
diff --git a/runtime/doc/provider.txt b/runtime/doc/provider.txt
index eb6d562e18..833be8a103 100644
--- a/runtime/doc/provider.txt
+++ b/runtime/doc/provider.txt
@@ -222,11 +222,11 @@ a list of lines and `regtype` is a register type conforming to |setreg()|.
 Paste 							*provider-paste* *paste*
 
 "Paste" is a separate concept from |clipboard|: paste means "dump a bunch of
-text to the editor", whereas clipboard adds features like |quote-+| to get and
-set the OS clipboard buffer directly.  When you middle-click or CTRL-SHIFT-v
-(macOS: CMD-v) to paste text into your terminal, this is "paste", not
-"clipboard": the terminal application (Nvim) just gets a stream of text, it
-does not interact with the clipboard directly.
+text to the editor", whereas clipboard provides features like |quote-+| to get
+and set the OS clipboard directly.  For example, middle-click or CTRL-SHIFT-v
+(macOS: CMD-v) in your terminal is "paste", not "clipboard": the terminal
+application (Nvim) just gets a stream of text, it does not interact with the
+clipboard directly.
 
 							*bracketed-paste-mode*
 Pasting in the |TUI| depends on the "bracketed paste" terminal capability,
@@ -235,19 +235,21 @@ pasted text.  https://cirw.in/blog/bracketed-paste
 This works automatically if your terminal supports it.
 
 							*ui-paste*
-GUIs can opt-into Nvim's amazing paste-handling by calling |nvim_paste()|.
+GUIs can paste by calling |nvim_paste()|.
 
 PASTE BEHAVIOR ~
 
 Paste always inserts text after the cursor.  In cmdline-mode only the first
-line is pasted, to avoid accidentally executing many commands.
+line is pasted, to avoid accidentally executing many commands.  Use the
+|cmdline-window| if you really want to paste multiple lines to the cmdline.
 
 When pasting a huge amount of text, screen updates are throttled and the
 message area shows a "..." pulse.
 
-You can implement a custom paste handler.  Example: >
+You can implement a custom paste handler by redefining |vim.paste()|.
+Example: >
 
-  vim._paste = (function(lines, phase)
+  vim.paste = (function(lines, phase)
     vim.api.nvim_put(lines, 'c', true, true)
   end)
 
diff --git a/src/nvim/api/vim.c b/src/nvim/api/vim.c
index 910b76d02d..4f132ddbae 100644
--- a/src/nvim/api/vim.c
+++ b/src/nvim/api/vim.c
@@ -1243,7 +1243,7 @@ Boolean nvim_paste(String data, Integer phase, Error *err)
   Array lines = string_to_array(data);
   ADD(args, ARRAY_OBJ(lines));
   ADD(args, INTEGER_OBJ(phase));
-  rv = nvim_execute_lua(STATIC_CSTR_AS_STRING("return vim._paste(...)"), args,
+  rv = nvim_execute_lua(STATIC_CSTR_AS_STRING("return vim.paste(...)"), args,
                         err);
   if (ERROR_SET(err)) {
     draining = true;
diff --git a/src/nvim/lua/vim.lua b/src/nvim/lua/vim.lua
index 05951fbd0f..fd34b8545d 100644
--- a/src/nvim/lua/vim.lua
+++ b/src/nvim/lua/vim.lua
@@ -93,47 +93,6 @@ local function _os_proc_children(ppid)
   return children
 end
 
--- Default nvim_paste() handler.
-local _paste = (function()
-  local tdots, tredraw, tick, got_line1 = 0, 0, 0, false
-  return function(lines, phase)
-    local call = vim.api.nvim_call_function
-    local now = vim.loop.now()
-    local mode = call('mode', {}):sub(1,1)
-    if phase < 2 then  -- Reset flags.
-      tdots, tredraw, tick, got_line1 = now, now, 0, false
-    end
-    if mode == 'c' and not got_line1 then  -- cmdline-mode: paste only 1 line.
-      got_line1 = (#lines > 1)
-      vim.api.nvim_set_option('paste', true)  -- For nvim_input().
-      local line1, _ = string.gsub(lines[1], '[\r\n\012\027]', ' ')
-      vim.api.nvim_input(line1)  -- Scrub "\r".
-    elseif mode == 'i' or mode == 'R' then
-      vim.api.nvim_put(lines, 'c', false, true)
-    else
-      vim.api.nvim_put(lines, 'c', true, true)
-    end
-    if (now - tredraw >= 1000) or phase == -1 or phase > 2 then
-      tredraw = now
-      vim.api.nvim_command('redraw')
-      vim.api.nvim_command('redrawstatus')
-    end
-    if phase ~= -1 and (now - tdots >= 100) then
-      local dots = ('.'):rep(tick % 4)
-      tdots = now
-      tick = tick + 1
-      -- Use :echo because Lua print('') is a no-op, and we want to clear the
-      -- message when there are zero dots.
-      vim.api.nvim_command(('echo "%s"'):format(dots))
-    end
-    if phase == -1 or phase == 3 then
-      vim.api.nvim_command('echo ""')
-      vim.api.nvim_set_option('paste', false)
-    end
-    return true  -- Paste will not continue if not returning `true`.
-  end
-end)()
-
 -- TODO(ZyX-I): Create compatibility layer.
 --{{{1 package.path updater function
 -- Last inserted paths. Used to clear out items from package.[c]path when they
@@ -202,6 +161,59 @@ local function inspect(object, options)  -- luacheck: no unused
   error(object, options)  -- Stub for gen_vimdoc.py
 end
 
+--- Paste handler, invoked by |nvim_paste()| when a conforming UI
+--- (such as the |TUI|) pastes text into the editor.
+---
+--@see |paste|
+---
+--@param lines  |readfile()|-style list of lines to paste. |channel-lines|
+--@param phase  -1: "non-streaming" paste: the call contains all lines.
+---              If paste is "streamed", `phase` indicates the stream state:
+---                - 1: starts the paste (exactly once)
+---                - 2: continues the paste (zero or more times)
+---                - 3: ends the paste (exactly once)
+--@returns false if client should cancel the paste.
+local function paste(lines, phase) end  -- luacheck: no unused
+paste = (function()
+  local tdots, tredraw, tick, got_line1 = 0, 0, 0, false
+  return function(lines, phase)
+    local call = vim.api.nvim_call_function
+    local now = vim.loop.now()
+    local mode = call('mode', {}):sub(1,1)
+    if phase < 2 then  -- Reset flags.
+      tdots, tredraw, tick, got_line1 = now, now, 0, false
+    end
+    if mode == 'c' and not got_line1 then  -- cmdline-mode: paste only 1 line.
+      got_line1 = (#lines > 1)
+      vim.api.nvim_set_option('paste', true)  -- For nvim_input().
+      local line1, _ = string.gsub(lines[1], '[\r\n\012\027]', ' ')
+      vim.api.nvim_input(line1)  -- Scrub "\r".
+    elseif mode == 'i' or mode == 'R' then
+      vim.api.nvim_put(lines, 'c', false, true)
+    else
+      vim.api.nvim_put(lines, 'c', true, true)
+    end
+    if (now - tredraw >= 1000) or phase == -1 or phase > 2 then
+      tredraw = now
+      vim.api.nvim_command('redraw')
+      vim.api.nvim_command('redrawstatus')
+    end
+    if phase ~= -1 and (now - tdots >= 100) then
+      local dots = ('.'):rep(tick % 4)
+      tdots = now
+      tick = tick + 1
+      -- Use :echo because Lua print('') is a no-op, and we want to clear the
+      -- message when there are zero dots.
+      vim.api.nvim_command(('echo "%s"'):format(dots))
+    end
+    if phase == -1 or phase == 3 then
+      vim.api.nvim_command('echo ""')
+      vim.api.nvim_set_option('paste', false)
+    end
+    return true  -- Paste will not continue if not returning `true`.
+  end
+end)()
+
 --- Defers the wrapped callback until the Nvim API is safe to call.
 ---
 --@see |vim-loop-callbacks|
@@ -227,8 +239,8 @@ local module = {
   _update_package_paths = _update_package_paths,
   _os_proc_children = _os_proc_children,
   _os_proc_info = _os_proc_info,
-  _paste = _paste,
   _system = _system,
+  paste = paste,
   schedule_wrap = schedule_wrap,
 }
 
diff --git a/test/functional/api/vim_spec.lua b/test/functional/api/vim_spec.lua
index 01e4a3a1a0..47a04795f8 100644
--- a/test/functional/api/vim_spec.lua
+++ b/test/functional/api/vim_spec.lua
@@ -396,7 +396,7 @@ describe('API', function()
       eq(false, nvim('get_option', 'paste'))
     end)
     it('vim.paste() failure', function()
-      nvim('execute_lua', 'vim._paste = (function(lines, phase) error("fake fail") end)', {})
+      nvim('execute_lua', 'vim.paste = (function(lines, phase) error("fake fail") end)', {})
       expect_err([[Error executing lua: %[string "%<nvim>"]:1: fake fail]],
         request, 'nvim_paste', 'line 1\nline 2\nline 3', 1)
     end)
diff --git a/test/functional/terminal/tui_spec.lua b/test/functional/terminal/tui_spec.lua
index e7db39b5d0..aafbbc04b1 100644
--- a/test/functional/terminal/tui_spec.lua
+++ b/test/functional/terminal/tui_spec.lua
@@ -326,8 +326,8 @@ describe('TUI', function()
 
   it('paste: recovers from vim.paste() failure', function()
     child_session:request('nvim_execute_lua', [[
-      _G.save_paste_fn = vim._paste
-      vim._paste = function(lines, phase) error("fake fail") end
+      _G.save_paste_fn = vim.paste
+      vim.paste = function(lines, phase) error("fake fail") end
     ]], {})
     -- Start pasting...
     feed_data('\027[200~line 1\nline 2\n')
@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@ describe('TUI', function()
     ]]}
     -- Paste works if vim.paste() succeeds.
     child_session:request('nvim_execute_lua', [[
-      vim._paste = _G.save_paste_fn
+      vim.paste = _G.save_paste_fn
     ]], {})
     feed_data('\027[200~line A\nline B\n\027[201~')
     feed_data('\n')  -- <Enter>