:%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
/pattern\_s\+next
Vim's regular expressions support multi-line matching through underscore-prefixed atoms.
/[[:digit:][:upper:]]
Vim supports POSIX character classes inside bracket expressions, providing a portable and readable way to match categories of characters.
/\(function\s\+\)\zs\w\+
Vim's \zs and \ze atoms let you control which part of a matched pattern gets highlighted and operated on.
/\(foo\)\@<=bar
Use \@<= for positive lookbehind.
/\%>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 \%
/\(pattern\)\@<=target or /target\(pattern\)\@=
Vim supports zero-width assertions (lookahead and lookbehind) in its regex engine.
:'<,'>s/\%Vold/new/g
The \%V atom restricts a search pattern to match only within the visual selection area, including visual block selections.
:%s/\<word\>/\u&/g
Vim's substitute command supports case conversion modifiers in the replacement string.
:%s/\<old\>/new/g
Wrapping your search pattern in \ word boundary anchors ensures that Vim only matches the exact whole word, preventing accidental replacements inside longer wor
:%s/pattern/\=expression/g
Vim's substitute command supports expression replacements using \= in the replacement string.
/\v
Vim's default regex syntax requires backslashes before most special characters like +, (, ), {, and , which is the opposite of what most developers expect from
/foo\_.*bar
Vim's default .
/pattern/+3
Vim's search command accepts an offset after the pattern that shifts where the cursor lands relative to the match.
/\%Vpattern
The \%V atom restricts a search pattern to only match inside the most recent visual selection.
:%s//new/g
Leaving the search field empty in a :s command tells Vim to reuse the last search pattern from / or .
search #search #substitution #ex-commands #regex #productivity
:%s/\(pattern1\)\(pattern2\)/\2\1/g
Vim's substitute command supports capture groups that let you match parts of text, remember them, and rearrange or reuse them in the replacement.
