How do I save all modified buffers at once without switching to each one?

Explanation

When working across multiple files, you often have unsaved changes in several buffers. Instead of switching to each buffer and running :w individually, :wall (write all) saves every modified buffer in a single command. This is especially useful before running tests, switching branches, or leaving Vim.

How it works

• :wall — writes all modified buffers that have a filename
• Skips buffers that have no filename (unnamed buffers) and read-only buffers
• If any buffer fails to write (e.g., permissions), Vim reports the error but continues saving the others
• Short form: :wa is equivalent to :wall

Example

You have 5 files open and edited 3 of them:

:ls
  1  h  "main.go"       line 42   [+]
  2  h  "handler.go"    line 15   [+]
  3  h  "config.go"     line 1
  4  h  "test_main.go"  line 8    [+]
  5  a  "README.md"     line 1

Running :wall saves main.go, handler.go, and test_main.go in one shot.

Tips

• Use :wall before :!make or :!go test to ensure all files are saved
• Map it for convenience: nnoremap <leader>s :wall<CR>
• :xall (or :xa) writes all modified buffers and closes Vim
• :qall! discards all changes and closes — the opposite of :wall