How do I navigate back through the tag stack after jumping to definitions?

Explanation

When you jump to a tag definition with <C-]>, Vim pushes your location onto a tag stack. You can navigate this stack to return to previous positions, view the stack contents, and even jump to specific entries — essential for code exploration.

How it works

• <C-]> — jump to the tag under the cursor (pushes to stack)
• <C-t> or :pop — go back one level in the tag stack
• :tags — show the full tag stack with positions
• :tag — go forward one level (after going back)
• :{n}pop — go back n levels at once

Example

:tags

  # TO tag     FROM line  in file
  1  1 main          15  src/app.py
  2  1 process        8  src/main.py
> 3  1 validate      42  src/process.py

Currently at 'validate' — press <C-t> to return to 'process'

Tips

• :tselect {tag} lists all matching tags when there are multiple definitions
• g<C-]> shows a selection menu when multiple tags match
• :tnext and :tprev cycle through multiple definitions of the same tag
• The tag stack is separate from the jump list (<C-o>/<C-i>)