:%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/old/new/gc
Adding the c flag to a substitute command makes Vim pause at every match and ask you whether to replace it.
:%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
:vimgrep /pattern/ **/*.ext | copen
The :vimgrep command searches for a regex pattern across multiple files and populates the quickfix list with every match.
search #search #quickfix #ex-commands #navigation #productivity #grep
/foo\_.*bar
Vim's default .
:args **/*.py | argdo %s/old/new/gc | update
Vim can perform search-and-replace across multiple files without any plugins by combining the arglist with :argdo.
search #search #substitution #ex-commands #productivity #quickfix #arglist
/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.
g*
The g command searches forward for the text under the cursor without adding word boundary anchors.
search #search #navigation #normal-mode #motions #productivity
&
The & command in normal mode repeats the last :s substitution on the current line.
search #search #substitution #ex-commands #repeat #normal-mode
:%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
gn
The gn motion searches forward for the next match of the last search pattern and visually selects it.
search #navigation #search #motions #normal-mode #repeat #editing
:v/pattern/d
The :v command (short for :vglobal) is the inverse of :g — it executes a command on every line that does not match the given pattern.
command-line #editing #ex-commands #search #filtering #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.
/pattern
The /pattern command searches forward through the file for the given pattern.
#
The # command searches backward for the exact word under the cursor, jumping to the previous occurrence.
*
The command searches forward for the exact word under the cursor, jumping to the next occurrence.
:s/old/new/g
The :s/old/new/g command replaces all occurrences of old with new on the current line only.
?pattern
The ?pattern command searches backward through the file for the given pattern, starting from the cursor position and wrapping around to the end of the file if n
