How do I move through search matches while still typing the pattern?

Explanation

While the search prompt is open (with incsearch enabled), pressing <C-g> advances the cursor to the next match and <C-t> moves it to the previous match — all without leaving the search prompt. This lets you visually explore matches and refine your pattern before committing.

How it works

• <C-g> — jump to the next occurrence of the current pattern (mnemonic: Go forward)
• <C-t> — jump to the previous occurrence (mnemonic: go back, like Tab order)
• Both work only while :set incsearch is active (the default in Neovim and Vim 8+)
• Press <CR> to confirm the search and land on the current match, or <Esc> to cancel

Example

Suppose you have a file with many references to config and you want to land on the third one:

/config

Instead of pressing <CR> and then nn, you stay in the search prompt and press <C-g> twice to move to the third match, then confirm with <CR>. The cursor ends up exactly where you want.

Tips

• Combine with <C-l> to extend the search pattern one character at a time from the current match, narrowing down results interactively
• The match count displayed in the status line updates in real time (in Neovim with showcmd enabled)
• Useful when you want to distinguish between getUser and getUserById — type enough of the pattern, navigate to the right instance, then commit