How do I select, change, or delete function arguments as text objects?

Explanation

While Vim doesn't have a built-in argument text object, the targets.vim plugin adds ia (inner argument) and aa (around argument) text objects that understand comma-separated values in function calls, making argument manipulation effortless.

How it works

• cia — change inner argument (content between commas/parens)
• daa — delete around argument (including trailing/leading comma)
• via — visually select inner argument
• Works with any comma-separated list inside parentheses, brackets, etc.

Example

Code: function(first, second, third)
Cursor on 'second':

cia → function(first, |, third)  (ready to type new argument)
daa → function(first, third)      (argument and comma removed)

Tips

• Without plugins, use di, to approximate argument deletion in some cases
• targets.vim also provides in( (next inner parens) and il( (last inner parens)
• Neovim's Treesitter textobjects provide @parameter.inner as an alternative
• For vanilla Vim, f,dt, or T,ct, can delete between commas manually