How do I run a normal mode command on every line in a visual selection?

Explanation

After making a visual selection, :norm {commands} executes normal-mode keystrokes on every line in the range. This is one of the most powerful bulk-editing patterns in Vim — any sequence of normal-mode commands you can type interactively can be applied to hundreds of lines at once.

How it works

• Select lines with V (linewise visual)
• Type : — Vim automatically fills in :'<,'>
• Add norm {commands} where {commands} is any normal-mode sequence
• Vim visits each line in the selection and replays the command sequence from the start of that line

Example

To prepend // to each selected line (quick-and-dirty comment block):

foo()
bar()
baz()

Select all three lines with V, then type :norm I// and press <CR>:

// foo()
// bar()
// baz()

Or to append a semicolon to each line: :'<,'>norm A;

Tips

• Works with any motion, operator, or keystroke: :'<,'>norm dd to delete lines, :'<,'>norm ~ to toggle case of the first character
• Use :'<,'>norm @q to replay a macro on each line — though :norm with inline commands is faster for simple operations
• Unlike macros, :norm resets to the beginning of each line on every iteration, making it more predictable
• Combine with a range like :%norm A, to append a comma to every line in the file