How do I open netrw in a left sidebar rooted at the current file's directory?
:Lexplore %:p:h
When you are editing deep in a project, opening netrw from the working directory often puts you in the wrong place.
Search: i" a"
2125 results for "i" a""
How do I incrementally grow or shrink a split window by a specific number of lines or columns?
:resize +N / :resize -N
:resize adjusts the height of the current window by a relative or absolute amount.
How do I open a vertical diff between index and working tree for the current file in vim-fugitive?
:Gvdiffsplit!
When reviewing staged versus unstaged changes, jumping between terminal git commands and editor windows is slow.
How do I define w!! to save a root-owned file without reopening Vim?
cnoreabbrev w!! w !sudo tee > /dev/null %
When you forget to open a file with elevated privileges, quitting and reopening can break your flow.
command-line #command-line #abbreviations #sudo #write #workflow
How do I clear undo history for the current buffer in Vim?
:let s:u=&l:undolevels | setlocal undolevels=-1 | execute "normal! a\<BS>\<Esc>" | let &l:undolevels=s:u
Sometimes you finish a risky refactor and want a clean undo boundary before handing the buffer off or continuing with unrelated edits.
How do I make a macro prompt for user input at a specific point during its execution?
<C-r>=input('Enter: ')<CR>
By embedding =input('prompt: ') inside a recorded macro, you can pause the macro at any point to ask for user input and insert the result.
How do I join multiple lines together with a custom separator like a comma?
:'<,'>s/\n/, /g
Vim's J command joins lines with a single space, but sometimes you need a custom separator like a comma, pipe, or semicolon.
editing #editing #ex-commands #visual-mode #substitution #lines
How do I filter text through an external program using a motion in normal mode?
!{motion}{program}
The ! operator in normal mode lets you pipe a range of text through any external program and replace it with the output.
How do I prevent Vim from inserting two spaces after a period when joining lines with J?
:set nojoinspaces
By default, Vim follows an old typesetting convention and inserts two spaces after a period, exclamation mark, or question mark when joining lines with J.
How do I collapse consecutive duplicate words across a file?
:%s/\v<(\w+)\s+\1>/\1/g\<CR>
OCR cleanup, copy-paste artifacts, and rushed note-taking often produce repeated words like the the or is is.
How do I visually select the text of a sentence without selecting surrounding whitespace?
vis
The is (inner sentence) text object selects the sentence the cursor is in — excluding any leading or trailing whitespace that separates sentences.
How do I run a normal mode command on every visually selected line?
:'<,'>normal {command}
After making a visual selection, :'normal {command} runs any normal-mode command on each selected line individually.
How do I resolve a 3-way merge conflict in vim-fugitive by picking a specific version?
:diffget //2
When resolving Git merge conflicts with vim-fugitive, running :Gvdiffsplit! opens a 3-way split: your current branch (left), the working file with conflict mark
How do I search for a pattern across all files in a project using Vim's built-in grep?
:vimgrep /pattern/ **/*
While external tools like grep or ripgrep are fast, Vim's built-in :vimgrep has a key advantage: it populates the quickfix list directly, so you can jump betwee
How do I use cgn to repeat a change on every search match?
/pattern<CR>cgnreplacement<Esc>.
The gn text object selects the next search match, and cgn changes it.
How do I create a floating window in Neovim?
:lua vim.api.nvim_open_win(0, true, {relative='editor', width=80, height=20, row=5, col=10})
Neovim's floating windows hover above the main layout, creating popup-like UI elements.
How do I apply ROT13 encoding to the current line in Vim without using a motion or visual selection?
g??
Vim has a built-in ROT13 operator g? that encodes text by rotating each letter 13 positions in the alphabet.
How do I select a word under the cursor in visual mode?
viw
How it works The command viw selects the word under the cursor in visual mode.
How do I trim trailing whitespace in a file without polluting jumplist or search history?
:keepjumps keeppatterns %s/\s\+$//e<CR>
Bulk whitespace cleanup is common, but a plain substitution can leave side effects: your last search pattern changes and jump navigation gets noisy.
How do I record a macro that processes one line and moves to the next?
qa0f:dwj0q
How it works When recording a macro that you plan to repeat across multiple lines, the key technique is to end the macro positioned on the next line, ready for