How do I open or edit a file in the same directory as the file I am currently editing?
:e %:h/
Vim expands % to the current file's path in Ex commands, and the :h modifier strips the last filename component to give you just the directory.
Search: @a
2277 results for "@a"
How do I surround a visual selection with delimiters using vim-surround?
S"
The vim-surround plugin provides the S command in visual mode to wrap any selection with a delimiter pair.
How do I write a non-greedy (lazy) quantifier in Vim's search regex?
\{-}
In Vim's regex engine, \{-} is the non-greedy (lazy) quantifier — it matches as few characters as possible, unlike .
How do I change the case of a specific column of text using visual block mode?
<C-v>jjlU
Visual block mode lets you select rectangular regions of text, which means you can target a specific column and apply case changes only to that area.
How do I get just the filename without its path or extension to use in a command?
%:t:r
Vim's % special character expands to the current filename and accepts a chain of colon-delimited modifiers.
command-line #command-line #ex-commands #editing #navigation
How do I open a file path that appears in my code without manually typing it?
gf
The gf command ("go to file") opens the file whose path is under the cursor.
navigation #navigation #normal-mode #buffers #productivity #file-management
How do I center text on the current line using a built-in Vim command?
:ce
Vim has three built-in ex commands for text alignment that most users never discover: :ce (center), :ri (right-justify), and :le (left-justify).
How do I align text around a character like = or : using vim-easy-align?
gaip=
vim-easy-align is a plugin by Junegunn Choi that makes aligning text around delimiters effortless.
How do I apply my last normal-mode change to every line in a visual selection?
:'<,'>normal! .
When you already made one correct edit, replaying it is usually safer than retyping it by hand.
How do I remove trailing whitespace without clobbering @/ or showing no-match errors?
:silent keeppatterns %s/\s\+$//e
Trailing whitespace cleanup is a common housekeeping step, but a plain substitution can leave side effects: it can overwrite your last search pattern (@/) and t
command-line #command-line #ex-commands #editing #search #formatting
How do I log all Vim verbose output to a file to diagnose slow startup or plugin issues?
:set verbosefile=/tmp/vim.log verbose=9
Vim's verbosefile option redirects all verbose tracing output to a file on disk instead of printing it to the screen.
How do I do a case-preserving search and replace across different naming conventions?
:%Subvert/old{,s}/new{,s}/g
Tim Pope's vim-abolish plugin provides the :Subvert command (aliased as :S), which performs substitutions that automatically preserve case variants and handle p
plugins #plugins #substitution #editing #ex-commands #search
How do I ROT13 encode text using visual mode in Vim?
g?
Vim has a built-in ROT13 encoding operator accessible via g?.
visual-mode #visual-mode #encoding #rot13 #text-transformation
How do I quickly surround a word with quotes, brackets, or parentheses?
ciw""<Esc>P
Vim doesn't have a built-in "surround" operator, but you can wrap any word in quotes or brackets with a short sequence: ciw""P.
editing #editing #text-objects #normal-mode #productivity #surround
How do I change the case of matched text in a substitute replacement using \u, \U, \l, or \L modifiers?
:s/\(\w\+\)/\u\1/g
Vim's substitute command supports case-change modifiers in the replacement string that let you capitalize, uppercase, or lowercase matched text as part of the s
How do I run a full-buffer substitution without disturbing marks, jumplist, or search history?
:lockmarks keepjumps keeppatterns %s/foo/bar/ge
Large substitutions are efficient, but they often leave side effects: your last search changes, your jumplist gets noisy, and marks can shift in ways that break
command-line #command-line #editing #substitution #navigation
How do I match only part of a search pattern in Vim using \zs and \ze?
/\(function\s\+\)\zs\w\+
Vim's \zs and \ze atoms let you control which part of a matched pattern gets highlighted and operated on.
How do I toggle all folding on and off globally with a single keystroke?
zi
Pressing zi in normal mode toggles the foldenable option, which controls whether folds are active in the current window.
How do I load a plugin on demand using Vim's native package system?
:packadd {name}
Vim 8+ and Neovim have a built-in package manager.
How do I create a Neovim mapping that runs an Ex command without entering command-line mode or changing the current mode?
<Cmd>
The pseudo-key in Neovim allows a mapping to execute an Ex command directly, without going through command-line mode.