How do I jump to non-whitespace text beyond column 80?
/\%>80v\S
When you enforce line-length limits, visual guides show where the boundary is, but they do not help you jump directly to violations.
Search: i[ a[
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How do I scroll the current line to the center or top of the screen and simultaneously move my cursor to the first non-blank character?
z. and z<CR> and z-
Vim has two parallel sets of scroll commands: the well-known zz, zt, zb which reposition the view without moving the cursor, and the lesser-known z.
How do I pretty-print or format JSON directly in Vim?
:%!python3 -m json.tool
The :%! command pipes the entire buffer through an external command and replaces it with the output.
command-line #command-line #shell #formatting #json #workflow
How do I use keyword completion that searches included files and headers in Vim?
<C-x><C-i>
Vim's completion mode searches for keyword matches not just in the current buffer, but also in all files reachable via include directives (e.
How do I paste text below the current line?
p
The p command pastes (puts) the contents of the default register after the cursor.
How do I make Vim equalize split windows only horizontally?
:set eadirection=hor
If you use many splits, automatic equalization can feel disruptive when Vim resizes both height and width after layout changes.
How do I paste the unnamed register after transforming it to uppercase?
:put =toupper(@")
Registers in Vim are not only for raw replay; you can treat them as string data and transform them at paste time.
registers #registers #expression-register #editing #vimscript
How do I scroll the screen to position the cursor line at the center, top, or bottom?
zz / zt / zb
Vim's z scroll commands reposition the screen relative to the cursor without moving the cursor itself.
navigation #navigation #scrolling #viewport #cursor-position
How do I save only modified files across the argument list in Vim?
:argdo update
When working through an argument list, many files may remain unchanged.
command-line #command-line #buffers #ex-commands #refactoring
How do I continuously record and restore sessions with vim-obsession?
:Obsession
If you routinely work across many files, tabs, and split layouts, rebuilding your workspace after a restart is costly.
plugins #plugins #sessions #workflow #buffers-windows #productivity
How do I run one substitution in nomagic mode so most regex characters are literal?
:snomagic /foo.\+/bar/<CR>
When a pattern is mostly literal text with just a little regex, default magic mode can force extra escaping and make substitutions harder to read.
How do I make keyword completion preserve the capitalization style I started typing?
:set infercase
The infercase option makes Vim's keyword completion smart about capitalization: it adapts each match to reflect the casing of the characters you've already type
How do I turn off diff mode in all windows at once after comparing files?
:diffoff!
The :diffoff! command exits diff mode in every window simultaneously.
How do I hide noisy completion messages in Vim's command line?
:set shortmess+=c
Insert-mode completion can spam the command line with status text like "match 1 of N" and related prompts.
config #config #completion #command-line #options #insert-mode
How do I create custom text objects for my own operator-pending motions?
onoremap ih :<C-u>execute "normal! ?^==\+$\r:noh\rkvg_"<CR>
Vim lets you define custom text objects using operator-pending mode mappings (onoremap) and visual mode mappings (vnoremap).
How do I change the cursor shape for different Vim modes in the terminal?
:let &t_SI = "\e[6 q"
Modern terminals support cursor shape changes via escape sequences.
How do I trim trailing whitespace across all files in the arglist?
:argdo %s/\s\+$//e | update
When you need to clean up many files at once, :argdo lets you run the same command on every buffer in your argument list.
How do I make wrapped lines preserve their indentation level?
:set breakindent
When wrap is enabled, long lines wrap to the next screen row starting at column 1 by default, which makes indented code look messy.
How do I center, right-align, or left-align lines of text using Ex commands?
:center / :right / :left
Vim has built-in Ex commands to align text: :center, :right, and :left.
How do I enable matchit so % jumps between if/else/end style pairs?
:packadd matchit<CR>
The default % motion is great for simple delimiters, but many code structures use semantic pairs like if/else/endif, try/catch, or HTML tags.