How do I paste the last Ex command I ran into my buffer?

Explanation

The : register holds the most recently executed Ex command. Pressing " followed by : and then p pastes that command directly into your buffer. This is invaluable when you want to save a useful command to your vimrc, document it, or tweak it before running it again.

How it works

• " tells Vim you are about to specify a register
• : is the register name — it stores the last Ex command you ran
• p pastes the register contents after the cursor

For example, if your last command was :%s/foo/bar/g, then ":p inserts that exact string into your buffer.

Example

You just ran a complex substitute command:

:%s/\v(\w+)\.(\w+)@(\w+)/\1 [\2] <\3>/g

Now you want to save it. Press ":p and the command text appears in your buffer:

:%s/\v(\w+)\.(\w+)@(\w+)/\1 [\2] <\3>/g

You can then wrap it in a mapping or function and add it to your vimrc.

Tips

• Use ":P (uppercase P) to paste before the cursor instead of after
• In insert mode, press <C-r>: to insert the last command at the cursor without leaving insert mode
• The / register works the same way for search patterns: "/p pastes your last search
• The . register holds the last inserted text: ".p pastes whatever you last typed in insert mode
• The % register holds the current filename: "%p pastes the path of the file you are editing
• Use :registers : to inspect the contents of the command register without pasting it
• Combine with @: to execute the last Ex command again — while ":p pastes it and @: reruns it