How do I join a specific range of lines into one line using an Ex command?

Explanation

The :[range]join Ex command lets you join lines by specifying an explicit line range — without having to navigate there or use visual selection. This makes it ideal for use inside macros, scripts, or when you already know the line numbers.

How it works

• :[range]join — join lines in the range, separated by a single space
• :[range]join! — join lines with no separator at all (like gJ in normal mode)
• Range examples:
  • 1,5join — join lines 1–5 into one line
  • .,+3join — join the current line with the next 3
  • '<,'>join — join the visually selected lines (same as J in visual mode, but scriptable)

Example

Given:

apple
banana
cherry

Running :1,3join produces:

apple banana cherry

Running :1,3join! (no spaces) produces:

applebananacherry

Tips

• Inside a macro, use :.,.+1join to join the current line with the one below, then continue processing
• Combine with :g: :g/^$/,+1join joins each blank line with the following line
• Use :join with no range to join the current line with the next (equivalent to J in normal mode)
• The ! variant matches gJ: no space is inserted between the joined lines