/\%>10c\%<20cpattern
When working with columnar data like CSV files, log files, or fixed-width records, you often need to match a pattern only when it appears in a specific column r
/\(\<\w\+\>\)\_s\+\1\>
When writing or editing text, repeated words like "the the" or "is is" are a common typo that spell checkers often miss.
/\v(pattern)@<=match
Vim supports zero-width assertions (lookahead and lookbehind) in its regex engine.
search #search #regex #advanced-search #lookahead #lookbehind
:vimgrep /pattern/j **/*
By default, :vimgrep jumps your cursor to the first match it finds, which can be disorienting when you just want to collect results and browse them on your own
:vimgrep /pattern/ %
When you need to find all occurrences of a pattern in the current file and jump between them systematically, :vimgrep with % is more powerful than basic / searc
:ilist /pattern/
The :ilist command searches for a pattern not only in the current buffer but also in files referenced by #include directives (or whatever 'include' is set to).
:%s/\<\w\+\>/\=toupper(submatch(0))/g
The \= flag in the replacement part of :substitute tells Vim to evaluate what follows as a Vimscript expression instead of treating it as a literal string.
:&&
After running a :s/pattern/replacement/g command, you often need to repeat it on another line or range.
:/start/,/end/ {command}
Vim's range addressing lets you specify a line range using search patterns instead of explicit line numbers.
/\vfoo\zsbar\ze/
Vim's \zs (start of match) and \ze (end of match) atoms let you control which portion of a pattern is treated as the actual match.
/pattern\zs.*\ze/
Vim's \zs (start of match) and \ze (end of match) atoms let you define a search pattern but only highlight or operate on a portion of it.
/\%5l\%10cpattern
Vim provides position-matching atoms that constrain where a pattern can match based on line numbers, column positions, or virtual columns.
/pattern\{3}
Vim supports counted quantifiers that let you specify exactly how many times a pattern should repeat.
/pattern\@<=match
Vim supports zero-width assertions (lookahead and lookbehind) in its regex engine, allowing you to match text based on what precedes or follows it without inclu
:%s/\d\+/\=submatch(0)+1/g
Vim's expression replacement (\=) in substitutions lets you perform arithmetic on matched text.
:%s/\(\w\+\) \(\w\+\)/\2 \1/g
Vim's substitute command supports captured groups (back-references) using \( and \), allowing you to capture parts of a match and rearrange them in the replacem
/[\x00-\x1f]
Files sometimes contain hidden control characters that cause subtle bugs.
/pattern\_s\+next
Vim's regular expressions support multi-line matching through underscore-prefixed atoms.
/foo\|bar\|baz
Vim's search supports alternation with the \ operator, allowing you to find any one of several patterns in a single search.
/[[:digit:][:upper:]]
Vim supports POSIX character classes inside bracket expressions, providing a portable and readable way to match categories of characters.
