How do I keep an argument list change local to the current window?
:arglocal
By default, Vim's argument list is global, so changing it in one window can unexpectedly affect another workflow in a different tab or split.
Tag: arglist
How do I run a substitution across the arglist and write only modified files?
:argdo %s/foo/bar/ge | update
Bulk replacements across many files are risky when every buffer gets written unconditionally.
How can I print only arglist files that still contain trailing whitespace before bulk cleanup?
:argdo if search('\s\+$', 'nw') | echo expand('%') | endif
Before running destructive cleanup across many files, it helps to know which files will actually change.
command-line #command-line #search #whitespace #arglist #refactoring
How do I remove duplicate entries from the Vim arglist after adding files multiple times?
:argdedupe
If you build an arglist incrementally (:args, :argadd, glob expansions), duplicates can sneak in and make :argdo workflows slower or confusing.
command-line #command-line #arglist #batch-editing #workflow
How do I search and replace text across multiple files in Vim?
:args **/*.py | argdo %s/old/new/gc | update
Vim can perform search-and-replace across multiple files without any plugins by combining the arglist with :argdo.
search #search #substitution #ex-commands #productivity #quickfix #arglist
How do I perform the same operation across multiple files using the argument list?
:args **/*.js | argdo %s/old/new/ge | update
The argument list (arglist) is Vim's mechanism for loading a set of files and running commands across all of them.
command-line #command-line #ex-commands #arglist #productivity #batch #editing