How do I paste the contents of a register into the command line or search prompt?

Explanation

Pressing <C-r> followed by a register name while on the : command line or / search prompt pastes that register's contents directly into the command line. This lets you reuse yanked text, filenames, or search patterns without retyping them.

How it works

• <C-r> triggers register-paste mode on the command line
• The next key you press is the register name
• Common registers to use:
  • " — unnamed register (last yanked or deleted text)
  • 0 — yank register (text from the last y command)
  • + — system clipboard
  • / — last search pattern
  • % — current file name
  • a–z — any named register

Example

You yanked a word with yiw. Now you want to substitute it:

Cursor on word: foobar

On the command line, type :%s/ then press <C-r>" to insert foobar, then continue:

:%s/foobar/newword/g

Or in search mode — press /, then <C-r>0 to paste the last yanked text as your search term.

Tips

• <C-r><C-w> inserts the word under the cursor directly into the command line — useful for :grep or :substitute without yanking first
• <C-r><C-a> inserts the WORD (space-delimited) under the cursor
• Works in both command-line mode (:) and search mode (/ and ?)
• In insert mode, <C-r> works the same way to paste registers without leaving insert mode