!{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.
:%s/pattern//gn
The n flag on the substitute command reports the number of matches without performing any substitution.
: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
:norm
:normal (abbreviated :norm) executes a sequence of normal-mode keystrokes on each line of an address range.
:t
The :t command (short for :copy) copies addressed lines to a destination line number, leaving the unnamed register untouched.
:argdo norm @a | update
Combining :argdo with :norm @a lets you apply a recorded macro to every file in Vim's argument list — a powerful pattern for bulk refactoring across a project
:%!
The ! operator pipes text through a shell command, replacing the selected lines with the command's output.
:%s/pattern//gn
The n flag on the substitute command makes it report the match count without actually performing any replacement.
:sort u
The :sort u command sorts all lines in the buffer (or a selected range) alphabetically and removes duplicate lines in a single pass.
:let @q = 'commands'
Macros in Vim are just text stored in named registers.
"=
The expression register ("=) lets you evaluate any Vim expression and insert its result as text.
:keeppatterns {command}
The :keeppatterns modifier runs an Ex command — typically :s, :g, or :v — without modifying @/ (the last search pattern) or the command history.
command-line #ex-commands #search #substitution #command-line #scripting
:wall
When working across multiple files, you often have unsaved changes in several buffers.
:let @q = "dwelp"
Recording macros with q works well for simple sequences, but complex macros with special keys can be hard to get right in one take.
:g/start/,/end/d
The :g (global) command can operate on ranges, not just single lines.
:'<,'>!sort -t',' -k2 -n
Vim does not have a built-in multi-column sort, but you can leverage the external sort command to sort selected lines by any field.
editing #editing #sorting #ex-commands #external-commands #command-line
:vimgrep /pattern/ **/*
While external tools like grep or ripgrep are fast, Vim's built-in :vimgrep has a key advantage: it populates the quickfix list directly, so you can jump betwee
:profile
When Vim feels sluggish to start, the built-in :profile command lets you measure exactly how much time each script, function, or plugin takes to load.
:bufdo
When you need to apply the same change to every file you have open in Vim, switching to each buffer manually is tedious and error-prone.
:topleft split {file}
By default, Vim places horizontal splits below and vertical splits to the right (controlled by splitbelow and splitright).
