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Useful Ex Commands

Table of Contents

Quickref:

  • :t: Copy a line 

    " copy line 10 and paste it below the current line
:10t.
" copy the current line and paste it below line 10
:t10.

  • :tab <cmd>: Open the result of <cmd> in a new tab. 

    :tab Man tmux

  • xall: Write all changed buffers and exit Vim.

  • xit, x : Like :wq, but write only when changes have been made.

Line Numbers in the Command Line

Line numbers may be specified with special characters:

Character Description
{number} an absolute line number
. the current line
$ the last line in the file
% equal to 1,$ (the entire file)
't position of mark t (lowercase)
'T position of mark T (uppercase); when the mark is in another file it cannot be used in a range
/{pattern}[/] the next line where {pattern} matches
?{pattern}[?] the previous line where {pattern} matches
\/ the next line where the previously used search pattern matches
\? the previous line where the previously used search pattern matches
\& the next line where the previously used substitute pattern matches

Filter

Vim filters are used to filter a line or range of lines through an external program.

  • Vim Filters:

    • :.!cmd: use the current line as stdin for [cmd], stdout is put on the current line.
    • :%! cmd: use the entire file as stdin for [cmd], stdout is put on the current line.

    • Pressing !! in normal mode will automatically start a filter command for the current line (:.!)

    • Pressing !<motion> will start a filter command for the range given by the motion. 

:{range}![!]{filter} [!][arg]
Filter {range} lines through the external program {filter}.

:.!python3
  • This takes the current line and "filters" it using python3.
  • The line is replaced with the output of the filter program.

Filtering Example

You have these three lines in your buffer: 

print(12 * 33)
print(12 ** 4 )
print(220 / 12)

If you visually select those three lines and then use a filter: 

'<'>!python3
Those lines will then be replaced with the output: 
396
20736

18.333333333333332

How Bangs ! in the Command Line are Expanded

Vim replaces the optional bangs ! with the latest given command and appends the optional [arg]. 

:!echo "Hello, "
" Output: Hello
:!! "World!"
" Expands to: `echo "Hello, " "World!"`
" Output: Hello World

  • :!echo "Hello " just outputs Hello
  • :!! "World": The 2nd bang ! is expanded to echo "Hello "

Buffer List

Use :buffers (or :files, or :ls) to see the buffer list.

  • :bad {fname} / :badd {fname}: Add a file to the buffer list without loading it, if it wasn't listed yet. (Pneumonic: Buffer Add)

    • You can specify a line number to go to when it's first entered.
    • :bad 16 file.txt will go to line 16 of file.txt when you first enter it.
    • :balt {fname}: Same as :badd, but also set the alternate file for the current window to {fname}. (Pneumonic: Buffer Alternate)

  • :b: Edit buffer given by number, name, or partial name.

  • :sb: Like :b but edit in a split.
  • :br/:bf: Go to the first buffer in the buffer list.
    • :sbr/:sbf: Same as above but do it in a split.
  • :bl: Go to the last buffer in the buffer list.
    • :sbl: Same as above but do it in a split.
  • :bm: Go to the next buffer that has been modified.
    • You can specify a number and go to the nth modified buffer.
    • Also finds buffers not in the buffer list.
  • :unhide: Rearranges the screen to open one window for each loaded buffer in the buffer list.
  • :ba/:ball Rearrange the screen to open one window for each buffer in the buffer list.
    • When a count is given, this is the maximum number of windows to open.

Buffer Types

There are different buffer types, here are a few:

  • quickfix
  • help
  • terminal
  • directory
  • scratch
  • unlisted

Quickfix List

The following commands create or modify the quickfix list:

  • :vimgrep
  • :grep
  • :helpgrep
  • :make
  • ... There are more

Location List

You can prepend l to a lot of the commands that manipulate the quickfix list to use the location list instead.
The following commands create or modify the location list:

  • :lvimgrep
  • :lgrep
  • :lhelpgrep
  • :lmake
  • ... There are more

Searching with :vimgrep or :vim

To use :vimgrep (:vim) to search for patterns across files
in the current directory, use the syntax:

:vim /pattern/ *
To search recursively:

  • Note: You may need to enable the globstar in your shell for this to work.

    :vim /pattern/ **/*
    This uses the globstar feature in bash.
    The recursive searching goes up to 100 directories deep.

  • :vimgrep puts all matching files in the quickfix list/error list.

    • Using :lvimgrep (or :lvim) will use the location list instead.
  • Just like in substitutions, the / can be swapped for another char (i.e., ;)
  • :vimgrep follows the 'ignorecase' option.
    • To overrule it put \c in the pattern to ignore case or \C to match case.

To get the list of all files that were matched (the quickfix list):

:cope

To search for a fixed string instead of a pattern, use the f flag:

:vimgrep /myString/f **/*

++opt - Options/Flags for Ex Commands

  • See ++opt for the possible values of ++opt.

The [++opt] argument can be used to set some options for one command, and to
specify the behavior for bad characters.

The form is: ++{optname} or ++{optname}={value}
Where {optname} is one of: ++ff, ++enc, ++bin, ++nobin, ++edit

{optname} Long {optname} Purpose
++ff ++fileformat overrides the fileformat option
++enc ++encoding overrides the fileencoding option
++bin ++binary sets the binary option
++nobin ++nobinary resets the binary option
++bad specifies behavior for bad characters
++edit for :read: keeps options as if editing a file
++p for :write: creates the file's parent directory
The ++edit option is specific to the :read command.
The ++p option is specific to the :write command.

The ++p flag creates the parent directory of the file if it does not exist.

:edit foo/bar/file.txt  
:write ++p
That will do mkdir -p foo/bar; touch file.txt and then write the file.
This can be set as default behavior with an autocmd: 
" Auto-create parent directories (except for URIs "://").  
au BufWritePre,FileWritePre * if @% !~# '\(://\)' | call mkdir(expand('<afile>:p:h'), 'p') | endif

Browsing the List of Options

Browse the list of options with:

:browse set | :bro se  
:options    | :opt

ex-flags

These flags are supported by a selection of Ex commands. They print the line
that the cursor ends up after executing the command:

  • l: output like for :list
  • #: add line number
  • p: output like for :print

The flags can be combined, thus l# uses both a line number and :list style output.

Ex Commands for Inputting Text

  • :a :append
    • Insert several lines of text below the specified line.
  • :i :in :insert
    • Insert several lines of text above the specified line.

Redirecting the Output of Ex Commands

Using :redir, you can redirect the output of Ex commands.

Redirect Ex command output into a file

You can redirect into files:

" Overwrite file with output:  
:redir > {file}   
" Append file with output:  
:redir >> {file}
:YourExCommands  
:redir END

Redirect Ex command output into a register

You can also redirect into registers:

" Redirect Ex commands' outputs into register `a`:  
:redir @a  
" Optionally, you can use `@a>`:  
:redir @a> 
:YourExCommands  
" Append Ex commands' outputs to register `a`:  
:redir @a>>  
:redir END
Then you can paste them with "ap, or :put a.
Leaving out (omitting) the > in :redir @a> is recommended for backwards-compatibility.

Redirect Ex command output into system clipboard

Redirect to the selection or clipboard:

" Overwrite selection/clipboard: 
:redir @*  
:redir @+  
" Or, optionally:  
:redir @*>  
:redir @+>  
" Append to selection/clipboard: 
:redir @*>>  
:redir @+>>  
" Append messages to the unnamed register:  
:redir @">>       
:YourExCommands  
:redir END

Redirect Ex command output into variables

You can redirect Ex cmd output into variables; if the variable doesn't exist, then it is created.
Only string variables can be used.
To redirect into variables:

" Redefine the variable with Ex cmd output:  
:redir => {var}
" Append messages to an existing variable:    
:redi[r] =>> {var}
Note: The variable will remain empty until redirection ends.

Using the Filter Command

:filt[er][!] {pattern} {command}
:filt[er][!] /{pattern}/ {command}
Restrict the output of {command} to lines matching with {pattern}.
For example, to list only xml files from the oldfiles command:
:filter /\.xml$/ oldfiles
If the [!] is given, restricts the output of {command} to lines that do NOT match {pattern}.

Useful for Scripting

Insert Mode / Replace Mode

  • :star[tinsert][!]

    • :start / :startinsert
    • Start Insert mode (or Terminal-mode in a terminal buffer) just after executing this command.

  • :stopi[nsert]

    • :stopi :stopinsert
    • Stop Insert mode or Terminal-mode as soon as possible.

  • :startr[eplace][!]

    • replacing-ex/:startreplace
    • Start Replace mode just after executing this command.

  • :startg[replace][!]

    • :startgreplace
    • Just like :startreplace, but use Virtual Replace mode, like with gR.

Reading Files

  • :r[ead] [++opt] [name]
    • :r :re :read
    • Insert the file name (default: current file) below the cursor.
    • To insert text above the first line use the command :0r {name}.
    • If a file name is given with :r, it becomes the alternate file.
      • This can be used when you want to edit that file instead: :e! #

An example on how to use :r !: 

:r !uuencode binfile binfile
This command reads "binfile", uuencodes it and reads it into the current
buffer. Useful when you are editing e-mail and want to include a binary file.

  • :{range}r[ead] [++opt] [name]

    • Insert the file name (default: current file) below the specified line.

  • :[range]r[ead] [++opt] !{cmd}

    • :r! :read!
    • Execute {cmd} and insert its stdout below the cursor or the specified line.
    • A temporary file is used to store the output of the command which is then read into the buffer.

    • shellredir is used to save the output of the command, which can be set to include stderr or not.

    • {cmd} is executed like with :!{cmd},

      • any ! is replaced with the previous command :!.

Pasting text

  • :[range]p[rint] [flags]: Print [range] lines (default is the current line).
    • This outputs to the command line, but does not insert anything into the buffer.

Ex special characters

  • cmdline-special

Note: These are special characters in the executed command line. If you want
to insert special things while typing you can use the CTRL-R command. For
example, % stands for the current file name, while CTRL-R % inserts the
current file name right away. See c_CTRL-R.

Note: If you want to avoid the effects of special characters in a Vim script
you may want to use fnameescape(). Also see \=`.

In Ex mode, the following characters have a special meaning.
These can also be used in the expression function expand().

  • % Is replaced with the current file name.

  • # Is replaced with the alternate file name.

    • This is remembered for every window.

  • #n (where n is a number) is replaced with the file name of buffer n.

    • #0 is the same as #.

  • ##

    • Is replaced with all names in the argument list concatenated, separated by spaces.

    • Each space in a name is preceded with a backslash.

  • #<n (where n is a number > 0)

    • is replaced with old file name n.
    • See :oldfiles (:o) or v:oldfiles to get the number.

These (except #<n) give the file name as it was typed.
For an absolute path, you need to add :p. See filename-modifiers.

The #<n item returns an absolute path, but it will start with ~/ for files
below your home directory.

Spaces are escaped except for shell commands. Can use quotes for those:

:!ls "%"  
:r !spell "%"

Dynamically Generating Temporary Files

Generate a (non-existent) filename located in the Nvim root tempdir with tempname() (or vim.fn.tempname() in lua).
Scripts can use the filename as a temporary file.

let tmpfile = tempname()  
exe "redir > " .. tmpfile

Ex Command Substitution

`=

You can have the backticks expanded as a Vim expression, instead of as an
external command, by putting an equal sign right after the first backtick.
e.g.: 

:e `=tempname()`
The expression can contain just about anything, so this can also be used to
avoid the special meaning of ", |, % and #.

Using Expanded Variables

  • Environment variables in the expression are expanded when evaluating the expression:
    :e `=$HOME .. '/.vimrc'`
    This will expand $HOME to /home/yourUsername (or wherever your home is.)

Using Literal Variable Names

  • This one uses the literal string $HOME and it will be used literally:
    :e `='$HOME' .. '/.vimrc'`
    This will use the string '$HOME', resulting in '$HOME/.vimrc'.

If the expression returns a string then names are separated with line breaks.
When the result is a List then each item is used as a name.
Line breaks also separate names.

Ex Mode Special Words

  • <cword>: is replaced with the word under the cursor (like star)

  • <cWORD>: is replaced with the WORD under the cursor (see WORD)

  • <cexpr>: is replaced with the word under the cursor, including more
    to form a C expression.

    • when the cursor is on arg of ptr->arg then the result is ptr->arg;
    • when the cursor is on ] of list[idx] then the result is
      list[idx].

  • <cfile>: is replaced with the path name under the cursor (like what gf uses)

  • <afile>: When executing autocmds, is replaced with the file name of the buffer
    being edited, or the file for a read or write.

  • <abuf>: When executing autocmds, is replaced with the currently effective buffer number.

    • It's not set for all events, also see bufnr().
    • For :r file and :so file it is the current buffer, the file being read/sourced is not in a buffer.

  • <amatch>: When executing autocmds, is replaced with the match for
    which this autocommand was executed.

    • It differs from <afile> when the file name isn't used to
      match with (for FileType, Syntax and SpellFileMissing events).

    • When the match is with a file name, it is expanded to the full path.

  • <sfile>: When executing a :source command, is replaced with the
    file name of the sourced file.

    • When executing a function, is replaced with the call stack, as with <stack> (this is for backwards compatibility, using <stack> or
      <script> is preferred).

    • Note that filename-modifiers are useless when <sfile> is not used inside a script.

  • <stack>: Is replaced with the call stack, using
    function {function-name}[{lnum}] for a function line
    and script {file-name}[{lnum}] for a script line, and
    .. in between items. E.g.:

    • function {function-name1}[{lnum}]..{function-name2}[{lnum}]
    • If there is no call stack you get error (E489).

  • <script>: When executing a :source command, is replaced with the file
    name of the sourced file.

    • When executing a function, is replaced with the file name of the
      script where it is defined.

    • If the file name cannot be determined you get error (E1274).

  • <slnum>: When executing a :source command, is replaced with the line number.

    • When executing a function it's the line number relative to the start of the function.

  • <sflnum>: When executing a script, is replaced with the line number.

    • It differs from <slnum> in that <sflnum> is replaced with
      the script line number in any situation.

filename-modifiers

The file name modifiers can be used after %, #, #n, <cfile>, <sfile>, <afile> or <abuf>.

  • %:8
    • :8 Converts the path to 8.3 short format (currently only on MS-Windows).
  • %:p
    • :p Make file name a full path.
  • %:.
    • :. Reduce file name to be relative to current directory, if possible.
  • %:~
    • :~ Reduce file name to be relative to the home directory, if possible.
  • %:h
    • :h Head of the file name (the last component and any separators removed).
    • Cannot be used with :e, :r or :t.
  • %:t
    • :t Tail of the file name (last component of the name).
    • Must precede any :r or :e.
  • %:r
    • :r Root of the file name (the last extension removed).
    • When there is only an extension (.dotfiles), it is not removed.
  • %:e
    • :e Extension of the file name.
    • When there is only an extension (.dotfiles), the result is empty.
  • %:s
    • :s?pat?sub?
    • Substitute the first occurrence of pat with sub.
  • %:gs
    • :gs?pat?sub?
    • Substitute all occurrences of pat with sub.
    • Otherwise this works like :s.
  • %:S
    • :S Escape special characters for use with a shell command (see shellescape()).

Examples

Examples, when the file name is src/version.c, & current dir /home/mool/vim:

Modifier End Result
:p /home/mool/vim/src/version.c
:p:. src/version.c
:p:~ ~/vim/src/version.c
:h src
:p:h /home/mool/vim/src
:p:h:h /home/mool/vim
:t version.c
:p:t version.c
:r src/version
:p:r /home/mool/vim/src/version
:t:r version
:e c
:s?version?main? src/main.c
:s?version?main?:p /home/mool/vim/src/main.c
:p:gs?/?\\? \home\mool\vim\src\version.c

Examples, when the file name is src/version.c.gz:

Modifier End Result
:p /home/mool/vim/src/version.c.gz
:e gz
:e:e c.gz
:e:e:e c.gz
:e:e:r c
:r src/version.c
:r:e c
:r:r src/version
:r:r:r src/version

Debugging with gdb

:h termdebug-stepping/:h :Run

The main commands you'll use are :Run, to run the program, and
:Arguments to set the arguments.

These are the Ex commands for running Gnu Debugger (gdb):

Command Effect
:Run [args] run the program with [args] or the previous arguments
:Arguments {args} set arguments for the next :Run
:Break set a breakpoint at the current line; a sign will be displayed
:Clear delete the breakpoint at the current line
:Step execute the gdb "step" command
:Over execute the gdb "next" command (:Next is a Vim command)
:Until execute the gdb "until" command
:Finish execute the gdb "finish" command
:Continue execute the gdb "continue" command
:Stop interrupt the program

Inspecting variables

:h termdebug-variables/:h :Evaluate
Command Effect
:Evaluate evaluate the expression under the cursor
K same (see termdebug_map_K to disable)
:Evaluate {expr} evaluate {expr}
:'<,'>Evaluate evaluate the Visually selected text
:h termdebug-frames/:h :Frame/:h :Up/:h :Down
Command Effect
:Frame [frame] select frame [frame], which is a frame number,address, or function name (default: current frame)
:Up [count] go up [count] frames (default: 1; the frame that called the current)
+ same (see termdebug_map_plus to disable)
:Down [count] go down [count] frames (default: 1; the frame called by the current)
- same (see termdebug_map_minus to disable)

Other commands

Command Effect
:Gdb Jump to the gdb window.
:Program Jump to the window with the running program.
:Source Jump to the window with the source code, create it if there isn't one.
:Asm Jump to the window with the disassembly, create it if there isn't one.
:Var Jump to the window with the local and argument variables, create it if there isn't one. This window updates whenever the program is stopped.