How do I paste or reuse my last search pattern?

Explanation

Vim stores your last search pattern in the / register. You can access it anywhere registers are accepted — in insert mode, command-line mode, or with p in normal mode.

How it works

• "/ is the search register — it always contains the last search pattern
• <C-r>/ in insert mode pastes the last search pattern as text
• :put / pastes the search register on a new line
• In command-line mode, <C-r>/ inserts the pattern at the cursor

Practical uses

" Use last search in a substitute (empty pattern reuses it)
:%s//replacement/g

" Insert last search pattern as text in your buffer
" (in insert mode)
<C-r>/

" Use in a mapping or command
:let @a = @/    " Copy search pattern to register a

" Print what you last searched for
:echo @/

Example

You search for a regex pattern /\v(\w+)@(\w+\.\w+)/ to find email addresses. Later, you want to document what pattern you used:

1. Enter insert mode
2. Press <C-r>/
3. The pattern \v(\w+)@(\w+\.\w+) is inserted as text

Tips

• The substitute command :%s//new/g with an empty pattern automatically reuses the last search — this is one of the most efficient Vim workflows
• Use @/ in Vimscript to access the search register programmatically
• The search register persists across sessions via viminfo/shada