How do I encode and decode JSON data in Vimscript for configuration and plugin development?
json_encode()
Vim 8.
Tag: ex-commands
How do I use glob() in Vimscript to get a list of files matching a wildcard pattern?
glob()
The glob() built-in function expands a wildcard pattern into a list of matching filesystem paths, entirely within Vimscript.
How do I prevent a count prefix or visual range from corrupting an Ex command in a Vim mapping?
:<C-u>MyCommand<CR>
When writing nnoremap or vnoremap mappings that call Ex commands, Vim may silently prepend a count or a visual range (') to your command before it runs.
How do I insert all command-line completion matches at once without pressing Tab repeatedly?
<C-a> (command-line)
Pressing on the command line expands all current completion matches into the command at once, rather than cycling through them one at a time with .
How do I safely pass a Vim variable or the word under the cursor as an argument to a shell command?
shellescape({expr})
The shellescape() function wraps a string in shell-safe quoting, escaping any special characters so it can be embedded in a shell command constructed with :exec
command-line #ex-commands #command-line #editing #normal-mode
How do I prompt the user for input in the middle of a mapping or Vimscript function?
input({prompt})
The built-in input() function pauses execution, displays a prompt at the bottom of the screen, and returns whatever the user types before pressing Enter.
How do I save the current search pattern into a named register before it gets overwritten by a new search?
:let @a = @/
Vim stores the last search pattern in the special / register (@/).
How do I delete consecutive duplicate lines from a file using a single Ex command?
:g/\(.\+\)\n\1/d
The :g command with a backreference pattern can detect and delete consecutive duplicate lines in one pass.
How do I display the contents of only certain registers instead of all of them at once?
:reg a b c
The :reg (alias :registers) command accepts a string of register names as its argument.
How do I delete each line matching a pattern along with a fixed number of lines that follow it?
:g/pattern/.,+2d
Inside a :global command, .
command-line #ex-commands #global #delete #editing #command-line
How do I view all the files Vim would search when resolving include-based completions and lookups?
:checkpath!
:checkpath! recursively walks through every file reachable via Vim's include path and displays the full include tree.
How do I sort lines by a secondary field while ignoring a common leading prefix?
:[range]sort /regex/
The :[range]sort /regex/ command sorts lines while skipping the portion of each line that matches the regex.
How do I write a Vim search pattern that matches text at or between mark positions?
\%'m
Vim's \%'m regex atom matches the exact position of mark m in a search pattern.
How do I use the filename under the cursor as a value in a Vim mapping or command?
expand('<cfile>')
The expand('') function returns the filename that Vim sees under the cursor — the same file that gf would open.
command-line #command-line #ex-commands #navigation #editing #motions
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 use Neovim's built-in lazy iterator API to chain filter and map operations over a list?
vim.iter()
vim.
How do I run an external command asynchronously from Neovim Lua and capture its output?
vim.system({cmd}, {opts}, callback)
vim.
How do I restrict the :global command to operate on only a portion of the file?
:[range]g/pattern/command
The :global command accepts an optional line range prefix that restricts which lines it even considers matching.
How do I write an Ex range where the second address is evaluated relative to the first match instead of the cursor?
/pattern/;+3
In Vim's range notation, a semicolon (;) between two addresses makes the second address relative to the line the first address matched, not to the current curso
How do I populate the argument list with a glob pattern to work across multiple files?
:args {pattern}
The :args command sets Vim's argument list to all files matching a glob pattern.