How do I convert text to title case (capitalize first letter, lowercase the rest of each word)?
:%s/\(\w\+\)/\u\L\1/g
Vim's substitute command supports case-conversion escape sequences in the replacement string.
Tag: search
How do I use capture groups in Vim substitutions to rearrange or swap matched text?
:s/\v(\w+) (\w+)/\2 \1/
Vim's substitute command supports capture groups using \( and \) (or ( and ) in \v very-magic mode).
How do I open a file and automatically jump to the first line matching a pattern?
:e +/pattern filename
The +{cmd} flag on :edit (and most file-opening commands) runs an Ex command immediately after the file loads.
command-line #command-line #ex-commands #navigation #search #buffers
How do I restrict a Vim search to match only within a specific range of line numbers?
/\%>5l\%<10l pattern
Vim's \%>{lnum}l and \%5l — matches only at positions after line 5 (i.
How do I search for and highlight text that exceeds a specific column width like 80 or 120?
/\%>80v.
The pattern /\%>80v.
How do I delete text from the cursor to the next occurrence of a pattern?
d/{pattern}<CR>
Vim lets you use a / search as a motion for any operator.
How do I collect all lines matching a pattern into a register without leaving them in place?
:g/pattern/d A
Using :g/pattern/d A you can sweep through the entire buffer and extract every line that matches a pattern into register a, removing them from the buffer in the
How do I anchor a search or substitution pattern to the current cursor position?
\%#
The \%# atom in Vim's regex engine matches the exact position of the cursor — zero-width, between characters.
How do I use a Vim expression to dynamically compute substitution replacement text?
:s/pattern/\=expression/
The \= prefix in the replacement field of :s/// tells Vim to evaluate the right-hand side as a Vim script expression and use the result as the replacement text.
How do I search or substitute only within specific columns of text in Vim?
\%>20c
The \%Nc, \%>Nc, and \%20c — match only after column 20 (i.
How do I run vimgrep across files using my last search pattern without retyping it?
:vimgrep // **/*.txt
Using // (an empty pattern) in :vimgrep tells Vim to reuse the last search pattern.
How do I use search patterns to define the start and end of an Ex command range?
:/pattern1/,/pattern2/
Ex command ranges in Vim are not limited to line numbers and marks — you can use /pattern/ as a range boundary to select lines between any two matching patter
How do I search for multiple spellings or word endings with a single Vim pattern?
/colour\%[s]
Vim's \%[.
How do I override case sensitivity for a single search pattern without changing my settings?
\c
Vim lets you embed \c or \C directly inside a search pattern to control case sensitivity for that search only, regardless of your 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' s
How do I use a Vim expression as the replacement string in a :s substitution?
:s/pattern/\=expr/g
Vim's :s command normally replaces matches with a literal string.
command-line #search #editing #ex-commands #command-line #registers
How do I selectively replace occurrences one at a time, choosing to apply or skip each match?
n.
The n.
How do I highlight a pattern without executing a search or moving the cursor?
:let @/ = "pattern"
Assigning a string directly to the search register @/ with :let causes Vim to highlight all matches (if hlsearch is enabled) without performing a search or movi
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.
How do I use a Vimscript expression to compute the replacement text in a substitution?
:s/pattern/\=expr/
Prefixing the replacement field of :s with \= makes Vim evaluate the rest as a Vimscript expression and use the result as the replacement string.
How do I match a pattern only when it is preceded or followed by another pattern, without including that context in the match?
\@=
Vim's regex engine supports zero-width lookahead and lookbehind assertions using the \@ family of atoms.