How do I use search patterns to define the start and end of an Ex command range?

Explanation

Ex command ranges in Vim are not limited to line numbers and marks — you can use /pattern/ as a range boundary to select lines between any two matching patterns. This makes bulk operations precise and script-friendly without needing to know exact line numbers.

How it works

A range takes the form {start},{end} where each boundary can be:

• A line number: 1,5
• A mark: 'a,'b
• A search pattern: /pattern/
• The current line . or last line $
• Offsets from any of the above: /pattern/+1 means the line after the match

Combine them freely:

:/function foo/,/^end/d

Deletes from the line containing function foo through the next line matching ^end.

Example

Given a file with sections:

## Setup
install deps
run tests
## Deploy
upload artifacts
push to server
## Cleanup

To substitute only within the Deploy section:

:/## Deploy/,/## Cleanup/s/push/deploy/g

To delete everything between Setup and Deploy (exclusive of headers):

:/## Setup/+1,/## Deploy/-1d

The +1 and -1 offsets let you skip the bounding lines themselves.

Tips

• 0 as the start address searches from the top of the file (useful when the pattern may appear before the cursor)
• Use . for the current line as a start: :.+1,/end/d
• Patterns can be empty to reuse the last search: :,//d
• Works with any Ex command: y (yank), m (move), co (copy), normal, s (substitute)