How do I match a pattern only if it is NOT followed by something?

Explanation

The \@! atom is a negative lookahead in Vim regex. It matches a position where the preceding pattern does NOT match going forward.

How it works

• pattern\@! succeeds if pattern does not match at this position
• It does not consume characters — it only asserts
• Must be used carefully with surrounding context

Example

Match foo not followed by bar:

/foo\(bar\)\@!

In the text foobar foobaz foo, this matches foo in foobaz and standalone foo, but not in foobar.

Tips

• \@= is positive lookahead (matches if followed by)
• \@<! is negative lookbehind
• \@<= is positive lookbehind
• In very magic mode: /\vfoo(bar)@!
• These are zero-width — they do not consume input