How do I get just the filename without its path or extension to use in a command?

Explanation

Vim's % special character expands to the current filename and accepts a chain of colon-delimited modifiers. Each modifier transforms the path one step further, so you can compose them to extract exactly the component you need without reaching for external tools.

How it works

Common modifiers (applied left to right):

• %:p — absolute path (/home/user/project/src/main.go)
• %:h — head: strip the last path component (/home/user/project/src)
• %:t — tail: keep only the filename (main.go)
• %:r — root: strip the extension (main)
• %:e — extension only (go)

These can be chained in any order:

Example

Compile the current Go file and run the resulting binary:

:!go build % && ./%:t:r

Open a test file for the current source file:

:e %:p:h/%:t:r_test.go

Check the parent directory with ls:

:!ls %:p:h

Tips

• All modifiers work in :! shell commands, :e, :w, mappings, and Vim expressions via expand('%:t:r')
• In Vim expressions use expand(): let stem = expand('%:t:r')
• :h filename-modifiers lists all available modifiers including :s/pat/sub/ for on-the-fly substitution