TopolearnSearch-and-replace across a file is a daily task, and ranges make it precise.
The substitute command is :[range]s/pattern/replacement/[flags].
Without a range it works on the current line only. Common ranges:
%the whole file, so:%s/foo/bar/gis the classic replace-all.10,20lines 10 to 20,.,$from here to the end,.,+5the next five lines.'<,'>the Visual selection (inserted automatically when you press:in Visual mode)./start/,/end/from the next line matching start to the next matching end.
Common flags:
greplaces every match on the line, not just the first.casks for confirmation at each match (y,n,afor all,qto quit).i/Iignore / respect case regardless of settings.nonly counts matches without changing anything::%s/TODO//gn.
In the replacement, & stands for the whole match and \1...\9 for capture groups \(...\). \r inserts a line break. If the pattern contains slashes, use another delimiter: :s#/usr/bin#/opt/bin#g.
An empty pattern reuses the last search, which gives a great workflow: search with / until the highlight shows exactly what you want, then :%s//new/g. After a substitution, & repeats it on the current line and g& repeats it on the whole file.
Example
:s/foo/bar/ " first foo on this line
:s/foo/bar/g " every foo on this line
:%s/foo/bar/g " every foo in the file
:%s/foo/bar/gc " ...asking at each match
:10,20s/^/# / " comment out lines 10-20
:%s/\(\w\+\), \(\w\+\)/\2 \1/ " 'Smith, Ann' -> 'Ann Smith'
:%s/TODO//gn " count TODOs without changing anything
:%s#http://#https://#g " alternative delimiterRemember
- :%s/old/new/g = replace all in file
- Flags: g all on line, c confirm, n count only
- Empty pattern reuses the last / search
Watch out for
- Forgetting g: :%s/a/b/ changes only the first match on each line.