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Searching...:g/pattern/join
The :g/pattern/join command combines the :global command with :join to merge every line matching a pattern with the line immediately following it.
command-line #ex-commands #editing #command-line #search #normal-mode
/\%d{decimal}
Vim's regex engine supports special atoms that match characters by their numeric value rather than their glyph.
:update
The :update command (abbreviated :up) writes the buffer to disk only if it has been modified since the last save.
:norm! {cmd}
Both :norm and :norm! execute a sequence of Normal mode keystrokes from the command line or a script, but they differ in how they handle user-defined mappings.
:g/pattern1/s/pattern2/replacement/g
Combining :g with :s lets you apply a substitution using two independent patterns: :g selects which lines to act on, and :s controls what gets replaced within t
:call setreg("a", substitute(getreg("a"), "old", "new", "g"))
The getreg() and setreg() functions let you read and write register contents as plain strings, making it possible to surgically edit a macro without re-recordin
:right
Vim has three built-in Ex commands for text alignment that most users never discover: :right [width] right-justifies lines, :left [width] left-justifies (strips
:set wildignore
:set wildignore defines a comma-separated list of glob patterns that Vim excludes from wildcard expansion and file completion.
feedkeys()
The feedkeys({keys}, {flags}) function inserts a string of keystrokes into Vim's input queue as if the user had typed them.
:tabmove {n}
:tabmove {n} repositions the current tab page to index n in the tab bar (0-indexed from the left).
<C-r>=input('Enter: ')<CR>
By embedding =input('prompt: ') inside a recorded macro, you can pause the macro at any point to ask for user input and insert the result.
[<Space> and ]<Space>
vim-unimpaired (by Tim Pope) provides paired bracket mappings for dozens of common operations.
map() and filter() with lambdas
Vim 8 introduced lambda expressions with the syntax {args -> expr}, enabling concise inline list transformations.
setqflist()
setqflist() lets you build the quickfix list from a Vimscript list of dictionaries rather than relying on compiler output or :vimgrep.
winsaveview() and winrestview()
When writing Vimscript functions or complex mappings that move the cursor, it is essential to restore the original view afterward so the user does not notice an
:diffget 2
When Vim's diff mode has three or more buffers open, :diffget (or do) without an argument is ambiguous — Vim cannot determine which buffer to pull from.
:set path^=./src
Vim's :set command supports three operators for modifying list-style options: += appends, -= removes, and ^= prepends.
:let i=0 | g/pattern/s/pattern/\=printf('%d', i+=1)/
By combining :let, the :g global command, and an expression substitution with \=, you can replace every match of a pattern with a unique incrementing number.
:earlier 1h
Vim's undo history is annotated with timestamps, allowing you to travel back to any point in time using :earlier and forward using :later.
:Inspect
When customizing a colorscheme or debugging unexpected syntax colors, it's difficult to know which highlight group to override.
