What are Vim's built-in character class shortcuts for search patterns?
\d \w \s \a \l \u
How it works Vim provides shorthand character classes that save you from writing out full bracket expressions.
Tag: normal-mode
How do I copy the word under the cursor regardless of cursor position within it?
yiw
How it works The command yiw yanks (copies) the inner word under the cursor.
How do I perform a non-greedy (minimal) match in Vim search?
.\{-}
How it works In most regex engines, ? or +? make quantifiers non-greedy (matching as little as possible).
How do I search for multiple alternative patterns at once in Vim?
/foo\|bar
How it works The \ operator in Vim's search pattern works like a logical OR, letting you match any one of several alternatives.
How do I jump between misspelled words in Vim?
]s and [s
How it works When spell checking is enabled in Vim with :set spell, misspelled words are highlighted.
How do I browse and reuse my previous search patterns in Vim?
q/
How it works Vim keeps a history of all your search patterns.
How do I jump to the global definition of a variable or function in Vim?
gD
How it works Vim provides two built-in commands for jumping to where an identifier is defined, without needing tags or an LSP: gd (lowercase) searches backward
How do I view the list of positions where I made edits in Vim?
:changes
How it works Vim maintains a change list that records the position of every change you make to a buffer.
How do I search case-insensitively in Vim without changing global settings?
/\cpattern
How it works By default, Vim searches are case-sensitive: /Hello will not match hello or HELLO.
How do I view the list of positions I have jumped to in Vim?
:jumps
How it works Vim keeps a jump list that records your cursor position every time you make a jump.
How do I use a macro to align text on a specific character like the equals sign?
qa0f=20i <Esc>20|C= <Esc>lDjq
How it works Aligning text on a delimiter such as = without plugins requires a clever macro technique.
How do I jump between sentences in Vim?
( and )
How it works Vim defines a sentence as text ending with .
How do I create nested macros where one macro calls another?
qa{edits}@bq
How it works Vim macros can call other macros, creating a modular system of reusable building blocks.
How do I jump between folds in Vim without opening them?
zj and zk
How it works When working with folded code in Vim, you often want to skip from one fold to another without unfolding anything.
How do I scroll a full page up or down in Vim?
<C-f> to scroll forward, <C-b> to scroll backward
How it works Vim provides two commands for scrolling by an entire screen (page) at a time: Ctrl-F (Forward) scrolls the view one full page down through the file
How do I use marks inside a macro to return to a specific position?
qama{edits}'aq
How it works When a macro needs to jump to different parts of the file and then return to a starting position, marks are the perfect tool.
How do I navigate by WORD boundaries that include punctuation in Vim?
W, B, and E
How it works Vim distinguishes between two types of word objects: A word (lowercase w, b, e) is a sequence of letters, digits, and underscores, or a sequence of
How do I create key mappings that only apply to the current buffer?
:nnoremap <buffer> <leader>r :!python %<CR>
How it works By adding to a mapping command, the mapping only applies to the current buffer.
How do I move the cursor to the middle or bottom of the visible screen?
M to move to the middle, L to move to the bottom
How it works Vim offers three commands to jump the cursor to specific vertical positions on the visible screen without scrolling: H moves to the top of the scre
How do I use a macro to wrap each word in quotes?
qabi"<Esc>ea"<Esc>wq
How it works This macro wraps the current word in double quotes and moves to the next word, making it easy to repeat across a line or file.