How do I uppercase only the current search match using gn as a motion?
*NgUgn
gn is often treated as a visual selection command, but it is more powerful when used as a motion target for operators.
Tag: search
How do I run one substitution in nomagic mode so most regex characters are literal?
:snomagic /foo.\+/bar/<CR>
When a pattern is mostly literal text with just a little regex, default magic mode can force extra escaping and make substitutions harder to read.
How do I trim trailing whitespace in a file without polluting jumplist or search history?
:keepjumps keeppatterns %s/\s\+$//e<CR>
Bulk whitespace cleanup is common, but a plain substitution can leave side effects: your last search pattern changes and jump navigation gets noisy.
How do I delete through the end of the next search match from the cursor?
d/END/e<CR>
When you need to remove text up to a known marker, a plain search motion is often almost right but stops at the start of the match.
How do I search forward but place the cursor at the end of the match?
/TODO/e
Most users know /pattern, but fewer use search offsets to control where the cursor lands after the match.
How do I collapse consecutive duplicate words across a file?
:%s/\v<(\w+)\s+\1>/\1/g\<CR>
OCR cleanup, copy-paste artifacts, and rushed note-taking often produce repeated words like the the or is is.
How do I populate a window-local location list for only the current file using ripgrep output?
:call setloclist(0, [], 'r', {'title': 'TODO current file', 'lines': systemlist('rg --vimgrep TODO ' . shellescape(expand('%:p'))), 'efm': '%f:%l:%c:%m'})
For focused review work, a window-local location list is often better than global quickfix.
buffers-windows #buffers #windows #location-list #search #quickfix
How do I rerun a previous search pattern from history directly on the / prompt?
/\V<C-r>=histget('/', -2)<CR>
If you often alternate between two complex search patterns, opening q/ each time is slow.
How can I print only arglist files that still contain trailing whitespace before bulk cleanup?
:argdo if search('\s\+$', 'nw') | echo expand('%') | endif
Before running destructive cleanup across many files, it helps to know which files will actually change.
command-line #command-line #search #whitespace #arglist #refactoring
How do I search for yanked text literally in Vim without escaping regex characters?
/\V<C-r><C-r>"
When your yanked text includes regex symbols like .
How do I jump to a literal search target without adding jump-list noise?
:keepjumps normal! /\Vtarget\<CR>
Repeated navigational searches can pollute the jump list, especially when you are doing targeted inspections before returning to your main edit location.
navigation #navigation #search #jumplist #normal-mode #workflow
How do I run a quickfix-wide replace without changing jumps or search history?
:cdo keepjumps keeppatterns %s/\<OldSymbol\>/NewSymbol/ge | update
When you run :cdo over a large quickfix list, Vim can leave your jump list noisy and your last search pattern overwritten.
command-line #quickfix #ex-commands #search #editing #refactoring
How do I replace matches one-by-one using cgn and dot-repeat?
*cgn
Global substitution is fast, but sometimes you need selective control over each occurrence.
How do I run a literal project-wide vimgrep for the word under my cursor?
:vimgrep /\V<C-r><C-w>/gj **/*
When you need a project-wide search for the exact word under your cursor, this pattern avoids regex surprises and immediately populates quickfix.
How do I mix very-nomagic and magic sections in a single Vim search?
/\Vsrc/main.c\m:\d\+<CR>
Sometimes you need one search pattern that treats a literal path strictly while still using regex power for the suffix.
How do I list only search-pattern history entries in Vim?
:history /
Power users tend to run long, composable searches during refactors, but the default / and ? history navigation can be noisy when command history and search hist
How do I limit a search pattern to a specific line range without using :global?
/\%>10l\%<20lTODO
Vim regex supports position atoms that can constrain where a match is allowed to occur.
How do I convert all hexadecimal numbers to decimal in Vim?
:%s/0x\x\+/\=str2nr(submatch(0), 16)/g
When cleaning logs, protocol dumps, or generated code, you may need to normalize 0x.
How do I quickly filter a quickfix list using Vim's built-in cfilter plugin?
:packadd cfilter | Cfilter /pattern/
Large quickfix lists are hard to work with when you only care about one subset of matches.
How do I force magic regex mode for one substitute command in Vim?
:smagic/\vfoo.+/bar/
If you prefer very-magic regex syntax but don't want to change global settings, :smagic is a targeted solution.