How do I run an Ex command without changing the current search pattern?
:keeppattern {cmd}
Many Ex commands silently overwrite the search register (@/), which changes your hlsearch highlighting and n/N behavior.
Tag: search
How do I search for a pattern in the current file and navigate results with the quickfix list?
:vimgrep /pattern/ %
When you need to find all occurrences of a pattern in the current file and jump between them systematically, :vimgrep with % is more powerful than basic / searc
How do I list all lines matching a pattern across the current file and its includes?
:ilist /pattern/
The :ilist command searches for a pattern not only in the current buffer but also in files referenced by #include directives (or whatever 'include' is set to).
How do I use Vim expressions and functions in substitute replacements?
:%s/\<\w\+\>/\=toupper(submatch(0))/g
The \= flag in the replacement part of :substitute tells Vim to evaluate what follows as a Vimscript expression instead of treating it as a literal string.
How do I repeat the last substitute command preserving its flags?
:&&
After running a :s/pattern/replacement/g command, you often need to repeat it on another line or range.
How do I run a substitute command on every file in the quickfix list at once?
:cfdo %s/old/new/ge | update
When you grep across your project and want to perform a search-and-replace on every file that matched, :cfdo is the most efficient approach.
command-line #quickfix #substitute #search #ex-commands #editing
How do I populate the quickfix list from the output of a shell command?
:cexpr system('command')
The :cexpr command parses any expression into the quickfix list using the current errorformat.
How do I run an Ex command on all lines between two pattern matches?
:/start/,/end/ {command}
Vim's range addressing lets you specify a line range using search patterns instead of explicit line numbers.
How do I paste the contents of a register into the command line or search prompt?
:<C-r>"
When typing an Ex command or search pattern, you often need to insert text you've already yanked or deleted.
How do I move all lines matching a pattern to the end of the file in Vim?
:g/pattern/m $
The :g (global) command combined with :m (move) lets you collect all lines matching a pattern and relocate them to a specific position in the file.
command-line #ex-commands #editing #global #search #formatting
How do I do a case-preserving search and replace across different naming conventions?
:%Subvert/old{,s}/new{,s}/g
Tim Pope's vim-abolish plugin provides the :Subvert command (aliased as :S), which performs substitutions that automatically preserve case variants and handle p
plugins #plugins #substitution #editing #ex-commands #search
How do I filter the output of an Ex command to show only matching lines?
:filter /pattern/ command
The :filter command restricts the output of another Ex command to only lines matching a given pattern.
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 increment or add to all numbers in a file using Vim substitution?
:%s/\d\+/\=submatch(0)+1/g
Vim's expression replacement (\=) in substitutions lets you perform arithmetic on matched text.
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 non-printable or control characters in Vim?
/[\x00-\x1f]
Files sometimes contain hidden control characters that cause subtle bugs.
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 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.