How do I debug a macro by executing it step by step?

Explanation

To debug a macro, paste its contents into the buffer, read each keystroke, and execute them one at a time to find where the macro goes wrong.

How it works

1. "ap — paste the macro register content
2. Read each character/key sequence
3. Manually execute each step on the target text
4. Identify where the behavior diverges from expectations
5. Fix and "add to store back

Example

Macro a contains I// ^[j (shown when pasted). You can see:

• I enters insert mode at line start
• // types the comment prefix
• ^[ is Escape
• j moves down

Tips

• ^[ in the pasted output represents <Esc>
• ^M represents <CR> (Enter)
• :reg a shows the register contents without pasting
• Consider rebuilding the macro from scratch if debugging is too complex
• Test on a copy of your data before running macros on important files