How do I rerun a previous search pattern from history directly on the / prompt?

Explanation

If you often alternate between two complex search patterns, opening q/ each time is slow. This trick pulls an older search entry directly into the / prompt using histget(), so you can replay history inline and keep your flow.

How it works

• Start a normal forward search with /
• \V switches to very nomagic mode so pasted patterns are treated literally unless you intentionally include regex atoms
• <C-r>=...<CR> evaluates an expression on the command line
• histget('/', -2) fetches the second most recent search entry from search history (-1 is most recent)

This is particularly useful when you are toggling between two review targets, such as a symbol rename and a TODO sweep, and do not want to retype either pattern.

Example

Recent search history:
1) \<OldType\>
2) TODO\s*:

Typing:

/\V<C-r>=histget('/', -2)<CR>

injects the older pattern directly into the prompt and executes it.

Tips

• Use histget('/', -3) or lower to jump further back
• Combine with n and N to keep traversing after replay
• Use :history / when you need to inspect indices explicitly