:packadd termdebug | Termdebug ./a.out
If you only debug occasionally, loading termdebug on demand keeps startup lean while still giving you an in-editor GDB workflow.
:set diffopt+=algorithm:patience,indent-heuristic,linematch:60
Default diff settings can produce noisy hunks when code is moved, re-indented, or lightly refactored.
:'<,'>sort /\%20v/
When lines contain aligned columns, plain :sort often gives the wrong order because it compares from column 1.
visual-mode #visual-mode #sorting #text-processing #command-line
:cdo keeppatterns s/\<foo\>/bar/gec | update
When quickfix already contains precise targets, :cdo gives you a safer multi-file replace loop than broad project substitutions.
command-line #command-line #quickfix #substitute #refactoring
:vimgrep /\V<C-r><C-w>/gj **/*
When you need a project-wide search for the exact word under your cursor, this pattern avoids regex surprises and immediately populates quickfix.
/\Vsrc/main.c\m:\d\+<CR>
Sometimes you need one search pattern that treats a literal path strictly while still using regex power for the suffix.
g;zvzz
Jumping through the changelist with g; is useful, but in real files the destination can land inside a closed fold or off-center on screen, which slows review.
:windo diffthis | wincmd =<CR>
When you already have multiple related buffers open, you can enter diff mode across all visible windows in one shot and then normalize layout width/height immed
:execute "normal! gg=G"<CR>
:execute lets you build and run Ex commands dynamically, which is critical when a command depends on variables, conditionals, or string composition.
command-line #command-line #ex-commands #normal-mode #automation
:g/^/normal I// <CR>
When you need to comment a whole block quickly, :global combined with :normal is faster than recording a macro or entering Visual Block mode.
:history /
Power users tend to run long, composable searches during refactors, but the default / and ? history navigation can be noisy when command history and search hist
:@q
Most macro workflows focus on @q, which replays register q as normal-mode keystrokes.
:call setreg('b', getreg('a'), getregtype('a'))
Plain register copies like :let @b = @a move text, but they can lose important metadata about register type.
/\%>10l\%<20lTODO
Vim regex supports position atoms that can constrain where a match is allowed to occur.
:set sessionoptions-=curdir
When you restore a session with :source Session.
:%s/0x\x\+/\=str2nr(submatch(0), 16)/g
When cleaning logs, protocol dumps, or generated code, you may need to normalize 0x.
:packadd cfilter | Cfilter /pattern/
Large quickfix lists are hard to work with when you only care about one subset of matches.
:smagic/\vfoo.+/bar/
If you prefer very-magic regex syntax but don't want to change global settings, :smagic is a targeted solution.
:windo setlocal colorcolumn=+1
When a setting is window-local, changing it once does not affect your other splits.
/\vfoo\zsbar\zebaz
When you need to target only a slice of a larger pattern, \zs and \ze are usually cleaner than building lookarounds.
