How do I access and manipulate the last search pattern as a register?
"/
Vim stores the last search pattern in the special / register.
Tag: search
How do I run a substitute command without overwriting my last search pattern?
:keeppatterns %s/old/new/g
The :keeppatterns modifier runs any Ex command without modifying Vim's last search pattern (stored in @/).
command-line #search #ex-commands #command-line #substitute #registers
How do I fix a misspelled word using Vim's spell checker while staying in insert mode?
<C-x>s
When spell checking is enabled (:set spell), s in insert mode opens a popup menu of suggested corrections for the most recently flagged misspelled word — with
How do I navigate between spelling errors and fix them in Vim?
]s / [s / z=
Vim has a built-in spell checker that highlights misspelled words and provides correction suggestions — all without plugins.
How do I search for an exact multi-word phrase or special text I've selected?
* (in visual mode)
In normal mode, searches for the word under the cursor with word-boundary anchors.
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 run a substitution without overwriting my current search pattern?
:keeppatterns {command}
The :keeppatterns modifier runs an Ex command — typically :s, :g, or :v — without modifying @/ (the last search pattern) or the command history.
command-line #ex-commands #search #substitution #command-line #scripting
How do I delete all blocks of text between two patterns throughout a file?
:g/start/,/end/d
The :g (global) command can operate on ranges, not just single lines.
How do I search for a pattern across all files in a project using Vim's built-in grep?
:vimgrep /pattern/ **/*
While external tools like grep or ripgrep are fast, Vim's built-in :vimgrep has a key advantage: it populates the quickfix list directly, so you can jump betwee
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 run a command on lines near each match, not just the matching line itself?
:g/pattern/.-1,.+1d
The :g (global) command normally operates on lines that match a pattern.
How do I populate the quickfix list from the output of an external shell command?
:cexpr system('grep -rn TODO .')
The :cexpr command evaluates an expression and parses the result as quickfix entries using the current errorformat.
How do I add line numbers to the beginning of every line using a substitute expression?
:%s/^/\=line('.').' '/
Vim's substitute command supports expressions in the replacement string using \=.
How do I run a substitute command without changing my current search pattern?
:keeppattern s/old/new/g
When you run a :s or :g command, Vim updates the search register (@/) with the pattern you used.
How do I search for tag definitions using a regex pattern instead of an exact name?
:tag /pattern
When working with ctags, you typically jump to exact tag names with .
How do I show context lines around each match when using the :global command?
:g/pattern/z#.5
The :global command is great for finding lines matching a pattern, but by default it only shows the matching lines themselves.
How do I find accidentally repeated words like 'the the' in a document?
/\(\<\w\+\>\)\_s\+\1\>
When writing or editing text, repeated words like "the the" or "is is" are a common typo that spell checkers often miss.
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 use search patterns as line ranges in Ex commands to operate on a block of text?
:/start/,/end/d
Instead of specifying line numbers for Ex command ranges, you can use search patterns.
command-line #ex-commands #editing #search #ranges #command-line
How do I search across files and populate the quickfix list without jumping to the first match?
:vimgrep /pattern/j **/*
By default, :vimgrep jumps your cursor to the first match it finds, which can be disorienting when you just want to collect results and browse them on your own