How do I append a range of lines from the current buffer to another file in Vim?

Explanation

The >> modifier on :write appends lines to a file instead of overwriting it. This is ideal for collecting excerpts, building a scratch file incrementally, or logging selected lines without touching what's already in the destination file.

How it works

• :[range]w {file} writes lines to a file and overwrites any existing content
• :[range]w >> {file} appends lines to the end of the file instead
• If the destination file doesn't exist, it is created
• The range defaults to the whole buffer if omitted (same as %)

Example

Given this buffer:

1: function setup()
2:   install()
3: end
4: function teardown()
5:   cleanup()
6: end

Append just the teardown function to a separate file:

:4,6w >> extracted.txt

Append only the current line:

:.w >> notes.txt

Append a visual selection:

:'<,'>w >> snippets.txt

Tips

• Use %w >> {file} to append the entire buffer to a file
• The >> syntax mirrors shell redirection (>> appends, > overwrites), making it intuitive to remember
• Running :w >> {file} without a range appends the whole buffer