How do I match a pattern only when it is preceded or followed by another pattern using Vim regex?
\@<= and \@=
Vim's regex engine supports zero-width lookahead and lookbehind assertions using the \@ atom.
Tag: regex
How do I search for a pattern only on a specific line number or at a specific column position?
\%l and \%c
Vim's \%l and \%c pattern atoms anchor a search to a particular line number or column, enabling surgical searches and substitutions that standard regex cannot e
How do I match a pattern only when followed or preceded by another pattern in Vim?
\@= and \@! and \@<= and \@<!
Vim's regex engine supports zero-width lookahead and lookbehind assertions using the \@=, \@!, \@<=, and \@<! atoms.
How do I use PCRE-style regex in Vim without escaping every special character?
\v
Vim's default regex mode ("magic") requires backslashes before many special characters: \(, \ , \+, \{.
How do I swap two parts of a line using capture groups in a Vim substitution?
:s/\v(pattern1)(pattern2)/\2\1/
Vim's substitute command supports capture groups (also called backreferences), which let you rearrange matched portions of text.
How do I search for a pattern only within specific columns of a line?
/\%>10c\%<20cpattern
When working with columnar data like CSV files, log files, or fixed-width records, you often need to match a pattern only when it appears in a specific column r
How do I search for text that appears after or before a specific pattern without including the pattern in the match?
/\v(pattern)@<=match
Vim supports zero-width assertions (lookahead and lookbehind) in its regex engine.
search #search #regex #advanced-search #lookahead #lookbehind
How do I match only part of a search pattern in Vim using \zs and \ze?
/\vfoo\zsbar\ze/
Vim's \zs (start of match) and \ze (end of match) atoms let you control which portion of a pattern is treated as the actual match.
How do I match only part of a search pattern in Vim using \zs and \ze?
/pattern\zs.*\ze/
Vim's \zs (start of match) and \ze (end of match) atoms let you define a search pattern but only highlight or operate on a portion of it.
How do I search for patterns only at specific line or column positions in Vim?
/\%5l\%10cpattern
Vim provides position-matching atoms that constrain where a pattern can match based on line numbers, column positions, or virtual columns.
How do I search for a pattern repeated an exact number of times in Vim?
/pattern\{3}
Vim supports counted quantifiers that let you specify exactly how many times a pattern should repeat.
How do I search using lookahead and lookbehind patterns in Vim?
/pattern\@<=match
Vim supports zero-width assertions (lookahead and lookbehind) in its regex engine, allowing you to match text based on what precedes or follows it without inclu
How do I swap or rearrange text using captured groups in Vim substitution?
:%s/\(\w\+\) \(\w\+\)/\2 \1/g
Vim's substitute command supports captured groups (back-references) using \( and \), allowing you to capture parts of a match and rearrange them in the replacem
How do I search for a pattern that spans multiple lines in Vim?
/pattern\_s\+next
Vim's regular expressions support multi-line matching through underscore-prefixed atoms.
How do I search for multiple alternative patterns at once in Vim?
/foo\|bar\|baz
Vim's search supports alternation with the \ operator, allowing you to find any one of several patterns in a single search.
How do I use POSIX character classes in Vim search patterns?
/[[:digit:][:upper:]]
Vim supports POSIX character classes inside bracket expressions, providing a portable and readable way to match categories of characters.
How do I match only part of a search pattern in Vim using \zs and \ze?
/\(function\s\+\)\zs\w\+
Vim's \zs and \ze atoms let you control which part of a matched pattern gets highlighted and operated on.
How do you use lookbehind in Vim search patterns?
/\(foo\)\@<=bar
Use \@<= for positive lookbehind.
How do I restrict a search to only match within a specific line range?
/\%>10l\%<20lpattern
Vim's \%>Nl and \%10l matches only after line 10 \%10l\%10l\%<20lold/new/g Combine with column restrictions for precise region targeting Tips Line numbers in \%
How do I search for a pattern only when it's preceded or followed by another pattern?
/\(pattern\)\@<=target or /target\(pattern\)\@=
Vim supports zero-width assertions (lookahead and lookbehind) in its regex engine.