How do I clear a macro register to start fresh without using Vimscript?

Explanation

Pressing qqq in normal mode is the quickest way to empty a macro register. The first q starts a recording session into register q, and the second q immediately stops it — recording nothing. The result is an empty register, effectively deleting whatever macro was stored there.

How it works

• qq — start recording a macro into register q
• q — stop recording immediately (nothing was typed)
• The register q now contains an empty string

This pattern works for any register letter. To clear register a, type qaq. To clear register w, type qwq.

Example

Suppose you accidentally record a broken macro into q:

Press @q → runs a mangled sequence, bad output

Clear it with qqq, then re-record cleanly:

qq           " start new recording
cW fix<Esc>  " record the intended edit
q            " stop recording

Now @q runs only the intended edit.

Tips

• Alternative: :let @q = '' achieves the same result from the command line
• Use :reg q to inspect the current contents of a register before clearing
• Clearing a macro is useful before using it as a recursive macro, to ensure there is no residual content interfering with the recursion