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
Search: i{ a{
2125 results for "i{ a{"
How do I send a visual selection to an external command as input without replacing the selected text?
:'<,'>w !{cmd}
The :'w !{cmd} command writes the visually selected lines to the stdin of an external shell command — without modifying the buffer.
How do I highlight trailing whitespace with a custom color in Vim?
highlight TrailingWhitespace ctermbg=red and match TrailingWhitespace /\s\+$/
How it works Vim's highlight and match commands let you create custom visual indicators.
How do I open a diff between my current buffer and the last saved version of the file?
:DiffOrig
:DiffOrig opens a side-by-side split comparing your current (unsaved) buffer against the version on disk.
buffers-windows #diff #buffers #editing #workflow #buffers-windows
How do I find out which file or plugin last set a particular Vim option?
:verbose set {option}?
:verbose set {option}? shows the current value of an option and reports exactly which file set it last — the full path and line number.
How do I view only command-history entries matching a pattern in Vim?
:filter /{pattern}/ history cmd
When command history gets crowded, scanning :history cmd manually is slow.
How do I run a substitution over every quickfix hit and save only changed files?
:cdo s/foo/bar/ge | update
When quickfix already contains exactly the lines you want to touch, :cdo is the safest way to batch-edit with tight scope.
command-line #command-line #quickfix #substitution #refactoring
How do I reopen the current file and force Vim to interpret it with a specific line ending format?
:e ++ff=unix
The ++ff modifier forces Vim to re-read the current file from disk using a specific fileformat — unix (LF), dos (CRLF), or mac (CR).
How do I move the cursor to the other end of a visual selection?
o (in visual mode)
While in visual mode, pressing o swaps the cursor to the opposite end of the selection.
How do I enable a popup menu for command-line tab completion in Neovim?
:set wildoptions=pum
Setting wildoptions=pum tells Neovim to use its popup menu for command-line tab completion instead of the traditional horizontal wildmenu bar.
How do I insert today's date into a Vim buffer using the expression register?
<C-r>=strftime('%Y-%m-%d')<CR>
The expression register ("=) lets you evaluate any Vimscript expression and insert its result inline.
registers #registers #insert-mode #expression-register #dates
How do I load project-specific Vim settings automatically when opening files in a directory?
:set exrc
Vim's exrc option tells Vim to look for a .
How do I open a file in Vim without triggering any autocmds for faster loading?
:noautocmd e {file}
When you have heavy autocmds registered for BufRead, BufEnter, or FileType events — such as LSP clients, formatters, or syntax processors — opening a large
command-line #command-line #ex-commands #buffers-windows #config
How do I set a mark that works across different files?
mA / 'A
Uppercase marks (A-Z) are global marks — they remember not only the line and column position, but also the file where they were set.
navigation #navigation #marks #normal-mode #buffers #productivity
How do I visually select a code block enclosed in curly braces including the braces themselves?
vaB
The aB text object (around Block) selects everything from the matching { to the closing } — including the braces themselves.
How do I override Vim's case sensitivity for a single search without changing the global ignorecase setting?
/\c
Vim lets you override the ignorecase and smartcase settings on a per-search basis using the \c (case-insensitive) and \C (case-sensitive) atoms directly inside
How do I pipe a range of lines through an external command and replace them with the output?
!{motion}{command}
The ! operator filters the text covered by a motion through an external shell command, replacing the original lines with the command's stdout.
How do I jump to a tag and get an interactive list when multiple definitions exist in Vim?
:tjump
:tjump {identifier} is the smart tag-jumping command: it jumps directly when there is only one matching tag, but shows an interactive numbered list when multipl
How do I extract regex capture groups from a string in Vimscript?
matchlist()
matchlist({str}, {pattern}) runs a regex match and returns a list of all captured groups, making it the idiomatic way to extract structured data from strings in
How do I create a temporary scratch buffer for quick notes without saving a file?
:enew | setlocal buftype=nofile bufhidden=wipe noswapfile
A scratch buffer is a temporary, unnamed buffer that exists only in memory — it won't prompt you to save when you close it and leaves no trace on disk.
buffers-windows #buffers #editing #ex-commands #productivity #workflow