How do I make my macros robust regardless of cursor position?

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Accepted Answer

`0 or ^ at start of macro` A common macro pitfall is assuming the cursor starts at a specific column. Adding a **positioning command** at the beginning of your macro makes it work reliably regardless of where the cursor happens to be. ## The problem If you record a macro with the cursor at column 1, but replay it when the cursor is at column 15, the macro may operate on the wrong text. ## The solution Start every macro with a positioning command: ```vim " Jump to first column qq 0 ... q " Jump to first non-blank character qq ^ ... q " Jump to end of line qq $ ... q " Jump to specific search match qq /pattern ... q ``` ## Example: Wrap each line in quotes Bad macro (breaks if cursor isn't at column 1): ```vim qq i"A"j q ``` Robust macro: ```vim qq 0i"A"j q ``` ## Other robustness tips ```vim " End on the next line's first column for repeatable macros qq 0 ... j q " Use text objects instead of motions for resilience qq ciw"replacement"j q " Use f/t for character-based navigation within the line qq 0f:r=j q ``` ## Tips - Always end the macro with `j` (or movement to the next target) for easy repetition with `10@q` - Use `0` for column-aware operations, `^` for indentation-aware ones - Prefer text objects (`iw`, `i"`, `it`) over movement counts for reliability - Test with `@@` (repeat last macro) on several lines before running in bulk

Answer

Explanation

The problem

The solution

Example: Wrap each line in quotes

Other robustness tips

Tips

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