How do I search for a second pattern relative to where the first one matched?

Explanation

Vim's search offsets allow chaining two patterns together with a semicolon. /pattern1/;/pattern2/ first jumps to pattern1, then — from that position — immediately searches forward for pattern2. This lets you navigate to something that only makes sense relative to another match, without writing a single complex regex.

How it works

• /pattern1/ — normal forward search; jumps to the first match
• ; — after jumping to pattern1, search forward from there
• /pattern2/ — the second search, executed from the position of pattern1's match
• The cursor lands on pattern2
• You can chain more than two: /a/;/b/;/c/ finds c after b after a
• Works with ? for backward searches too

Example

In a large config file, jump to the [database] section header and then find the first host = line within it:

/\[database\]/;/host =/

This is more precise than /host =/ alone, which might land on a host = in the wrong section.

Tips

• Use n and N after a chained search to repeat the compound jump
• The semicolon offset is especially powerful with %s ranges — combine it with :g for complex multi-pattern edits
• In very magic mode (\v), the syntax is the same: /\v\[database\]/;/host =/
• The first pattern can have its own offset too: /pattern1/e;/pattern2/ lands after the end of pattern1 before searching for pattern2