How do I open and edit a file directly inside a tar archive in Vim?
:e archive.tar::path/to/file
Vim's built-in tar.
Search: @a
2277 results for "@a"
How do I create a new empty buffer?
:enew
The :enew command creates a new unnamed empty buffer in the current window.
How do I append the same suffix to every selected line in Visual mode?
:'<,'>normal! A;
Visual selections are not just for direct operators; they also define an Ex range.
visual-mode #visual-mode #normal-mode #editing #ex-commands #automation
How do I insert an actual newline in a substitution replacement, and why does backslash-n not work?
s/pattern/\r/
In Vim substitutions, \r in the replacement string inserts a line break, creating a new line.
How do I search for a pattern only within specific columns of a line?
/\%>5c\%<20cpattern
How it works Vim's search patterns support column position constraints using the \%c family of atoms.
How do I launch GDB inside Vim using the built-in termdebug plugin without preloading it?
: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.
How do I write a visual selection to a separate file in Vim?
:'<,'>w filename
How it works Vim's :w command can take a range, and when used with a visual selection, it writes only the selected lines to a file.
How do I append text to the end of multiple lines of different lengths?
<C-v>$A
When you need to append text to the end of several lines that have different lengths, visual block mode with $ is the key.
How do I safely use a filename containing special characters in a Vim Ex command?
fnameescape(filename)
When building Vim Ex commands dynamically, filenames with spaces, , %, #, [, or other special characters will be misinterpreted — the space looks like an argu
How do I quickly configure Vim to parse compiler errors for a specific language using a built-in compiler plugin?
:compiler
Vim ships with built-in compiler plugins for many languages and tools — including gcc, python, cargo, eslint, tsc, and more.
command-line #ex-commands #config #buffers-windows #command-line
How do I make the Neovim jump list behave like a browser history stack instead of a ring?
:set jumpoptions=stack
By default Vim's jump list is a ring: if you press to go back several positions and then make a new jump, the list wraps around and future entries are preserved
How do I search for a whole word only, excluding partial matches?
/\<word\>
The \ atoms create word boundaries in a search pattern, matching only complete words and not substrings within larger words.
How do I auto-indent a block of code in visual selection without specifying a line range?
vip=
Pressing = in visual mode re-indents all selected lines according to the current filetype's indent rules — the same engine used by == for a single line, but a
visual-mode #visual-mode #indentation #editing #text-objects
How do I define a custom user command in Neovim Lua config that accepts arguments and has a description?
vim.api.nvim_create_user_command()
Neovim's Lua API provides vim.
How do I manually save the undo history for a file to a separate undo file in Vim?
:wundo {file}
The :wundo {file} command writes the current buffer's entire undo history to a file on disk.
How do I open the current buffer in a new tab so I can view it independently?
:tab split
:tab split opens the current buffer in a brand new tab page, giving you a second independent view of the same file.
How do I restrict a Vim search to match only within a specific range of line numbers?
/\%>5l\%<10l pattern
Vim's \%>{lnum}l and \%5l — matches only at positions after line 5 (i.
How do I run a command on lines matching a pattern within blocks matching another pattern?
:g/outer/,/end/g/inner/
The :global command accepts a range, which lets you scope its search to sections of the file rather than the entire buffer.
How do I insert a shell-escaped current file path in a Vim command-line?
%:S
When you build shell commands from Vim, file paths with spaces or special characters can break the command unless properly escaped.
command-line #command-line #filename-modifiers #shell #expansion
How do I search only a sub-part of a larger pattern using \zs and \ze?
/foo\zsbar\zebaz<CR>
Sometimes you need Vim to match a long structural pattern but only treat one piece of it as the actual match.