What are Vim's built-in character class shortcuts for search patterns?
\d \w \s \a \l \u
How it works Vim provides shorthand character classes that save you from writing out full bracket expressions.
All Vim Tricks
How do I convert all tabs to spaces in a file in Vim?
:retab
How it works The :retab command replaces all tab characters in the current buffer with the appropriate number of spaces, based on your current tabstop and expan
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 copy the word under the cursor regardless of cursor position within it?
yiw
How it works The command yiw yanks (copies) the inner word under the cursor.
How do I perform a non-greedy (minimal) match in Vim search?
.\{-}
How it works In most regex engines, ? or +? make quantifiers non-greedy (matching as little as possible).
How do I search for multiple alternative patterns at once in Vim?
/foo\|bar
How it works The \ operator in Vim's search pattern works like a logical OR, letting you match any one of several alternatives.
How do I jump between misspelled words in Vim?
]s and [s
How it works When spell checking is enabled in Vim with :set spell, misspelled words are highlighted.
How do I browse and reuse my previous search patterns in Vim?
q/
How it works Vim keeps a history of all your search patterns.
How do I jump to the global definition of a variable or function in Vim?
gD
How it works Vim provides two built-in commands for jumping to where an identifier is defined, without needing tags or an LSP: gd (lowercase) searches backward
How do I view the list of positions where I made edits in Vim?
:changes
How it works Vim maintains a change list that records the position of every change you make to a buffer.
How do I search case-insensitively in Vim without changing global settings?
/\cpattern
How it works By default, Vim searches are case-sensitive: /Hello will not match hello or HELLO.
How do I filter a visual selection through an external shell command?
:'<,'>!command
How it works Vim can pipe selected text through any external shell command, replacing the selection with the command's output.
How do I execute buffer text as a macro dynamically?
:let @a=getline('.')<CR>@a
How it works Instead of recording keystrokes interactively, you can write a sequence of Vim commands as plain text in your buffer and then execute that text as
How do I view the list of positions I have jumped to in Vim?
:jumps
How it works Vim keeps a jump list that records your cursor position every time you make a jump.
How do I make a macro conditionally execute commands based on line content?
:if condition | execute 'normal cmd' | endif
How it works Vim macros can include Ex commands with conditional logic.
How do I chain multiple ex commands together on one line in Vim?
:%s/foo/bar/g | %s/baz/qux/g | w
The (bar) character in Vim's command line acts as a command separator, allowing you to chain multiple ex commands together on a single line.
How do I run a global command only on lines within a visual selection?
:'<,'>g/pattern/command
How it works The :g (global) command is one of Vim's most powerful features.
How do I use a macro to align text on a specific character like the equals sign?
qa0f=20i <Esc>20|C= <Esc>lDjq
How it works Aligning text on a delimiter such as = without plugins requires a clever macro technique.
How do I set up automatic typo correction in Vim using abbreviations?
:iabbrev teh the
Vim's abbreviation feature lets you define automatic text replacements that trigger as you type.
How do I jump between sentences in Vim?
( and )
How it works Vim defines a sentence as text ending with .