How do I search only the message part of TODO comments using match boundaries?

Explanation

When TODO comments include prefixes, owners, or trailing metadata, a plain search often lands on the wrong part of the line. This pattern uses match boundaries so Vim highlights only the message text, not the TODO: label or trailing marker. It is especially useful when you want to operate on the actionable part of comments with commands like cgn, n, N, or gn.

How it works

/\vTODO:\s*\zs.{-}\ze\s*($|#)

• \v enables very-magic mode so the pattern is easier to read.
• TODO:\s* matches the label and optional spaces after it.
• \zs sets the start of the actual match right after that prefix.
• .{-} is a non-greedy match for the message body.
• \ze sets the end of the match before trailing whitespace and metadata.
• \s*($|#) consumes optional trailing spaces followed by end-of-line or a # marker.

Example

Given:

TODO: tighten retry logic #backend
TODO: clean dead flags

Searching with this pattern selects only:

tighten retry logic
clean dead flags

Tips

• Use cgn right after this search to edit only the extracted message text.
• Replace TODO: with FIXME: or NOTE: to reuse the same boundary pattern.
• Keep .{-} non-greedy; greedy .* tends to swallow too much text.