How do I use expressions in Vim's substitute replacement?
:%s/pattern/\=expression/g
Vim's substitute command supports expression replacements using \= in the replacement string.
Search: G
411 results for "G"
How do I reverse the order of lines in a file or selection?
:%!tac
Vim doesn't have a built-in reverse command, but you can pipe the buffer through tac (reverse of cat) to flip line order.
How do I insert a newline in the replacement string of a :s substitution?
:s/,/,\r/g
In Vim's :substitute command, \r in the replacement string inserts a literal newline — it splits the line at that point.
How do I run a substitute command without overwriting my last search pattern?
:keeppatterns %s/old/new/g
The :keeppatterns modifier runs any Ex command without modifying Vim's last search pattern (stored in @/).
command-line #search #ex-commands #command-line #substitute #registers
What are the useful flags for the substitute command?
:s/pattern/replace/flags
The substitute command supports several flags that modify its behavior.
How do I use capture groups to rearrange text in a Vim substitute command?
:%s/\(pattern1\)\(pattern2\)/\2\1/g
Vim's substitute command supports capture groups that let you match parts of text, remember them, and rearrange or reuse them in the replacement.
How do I run a command on every file in the quickfix list?
:cdo s/old/new/g | update
The :cdo command executes a given command on every entry in the quickfix list.
command-line #command-line #quickfix #batch-editing #search #multi-file
How do I run a command on every line that does NOT match a pattern?
:v/pattern/command
:v (short for :vglobal) is the inverse of :g.
How do I select or operate on the entire buffer as a text object?
ggVG
While Vim doesn't have a built-in "entire buffer" text object, the ggVG sequence achieves it: go to the first line, enter line-wise visual mode, then select to
How do I use marks to define a range for Ex commands?
:'a,'b s/old/new/g
Marks can be used as range specifiers in any Ex command.
command-line #marks #command-line #ex-commands #ranges #editing
How do I run a substitute command without overwriting my current search pattern?
:keeppattern %s/old/new/g
When you run a :s or :%s substitute command, Vim updates the search register (@/) with the substitution pattern.
command-line #ex-commands #search #editing #registers #substitute
How do I run a substitution only within the exact characters of my visual selection?
:%s/\%Vpattern/replacement/g
The \%V atom restricts a regex match to the last visual selection — more precisely than :'s/.
How do I paste or reuse my last search pattern from the search register?
"/p
Vim stores the last search pattern in the search register "/.
How do I use search patterns as line ranges in Ex commands to operate on a block of text?
:/start/,/end/d
Instead of specifying line numbers for Ex command ranges, you can use search patterns.
command-line #ex-commands #editing #search #ranges #command-line
How do I search and replace only whole words and not partial matches in Vim?
:%s/\<word\>/replacement/g
How it works In Vim's regular expressions, \ are word boundary anchors: \ matches the end of a word.
How do I use a register value as the replacement string in a substitution?
:%s/pattern/\=@a/g
How it works In Vim's substitute command, the replacement string can be a Vimscript expression when prefixed with \=.
How do I make Vim automatically jump to where I last edited when reopening a file?
autocmd BufReadPost * if line("'\"") > 0 && line("'\"") <= line("$") | exe "normal! g`\"" | endif
Vim remembers the last cursor position for every file you edit (stored in the viminfo or shada file), but by default it opens files at line 1.
How do I jump to a specific line number in Vim?
42G
The 42G command jumps the cursor directly to line 42 in the current file.
How do I record a macro that performs a search and replace on each line?
qa:s/old/new/g<CR>jq
How it works You can combine Ex commands like :s (substitute) with macro recording to create powerful repeatable find-and-replace operations that go beyond what
How do I display available keybindings in a popup when pressing leader?
:WhichKey
which-key.