Advanced Search and Replace Across Files

Intermediate10 min

Master Vim's search and replace with regex, multi-file substitution, and confirmation workflows for safe bulk edits.

Prerequisites

-Neovim or Vim installed

Steps

Basic search and replace in current file

Replace all occurrences of a pattern in the entire file.

$ :%s/oldText/newText/g

Add 'c' flag (:%s/old/new/gc) to confirm each replacement individually.

Replace with regex capture groups

Use capture groups to restructure text during replacement.

$ :%s/$\w\+$_$\w\+$/\2_\1/g

This example swaps two words separated by an underscore: foo_bar becomes bar_foo.

Replace only in a visual selection

Select a range of lines visually, then substitute only within that range.

$ :'<,'>s/pattern/replacement/g

Search and replace across multiple files with argdo

Open files matching a pattern and run substitution across all of them.

$ :args **/*.ts | argdo %s/oldFunc/newFunc/ge | update

Always use the 'e' flag with argdo to suppress errors on files that do not contain the pattern.

Use cfdo for quickfix-list-based replacement

Populate the quickfix list with grep results, then replace across those matches.

$ :grep -r 'oldName' src/ | cfdo %s/oldName/newName/g | update

This is more targeted than argdo because it only edits files that contain the match.

Full Script

full-script.sh

# Vim Search and Replace Quick Reference
# (Run these commands inside Vim/Neovim command mode with :)

# Current file - replace all
:%s/old/new/g

# Current file - replace with confirmation
:%s/old/new/gc

# Current file - case insensitive
:%s/old/new/gi

# Lines 10-50 only
:10,50s/old/new/g

# Visual selection
:'<,'>s/old/new/g

# With regex groups (swap words)
:%s/\(\w\+\)_\(\w\+\)/\2_\1/g

# Multi-file with argdo
:args **/*.ts | argdo %s/old/new/ge | update

# Multi-file with cfdo (quickfix)
:vimgrep /pattern/ **/*.ts | cfdo %s/pattern/replacement/g | update

# Delete lines matching pattern
:g/pattern/d

# Delete lines NOT matching pattern
:v/pattern/d

FAQ

Discussion

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# Vim Search and Replace Quick Reference # (Run these commands inside Vim/Neovim command mode with :) # Current file - replace all :%s/old/new/g # Current file - replace with confirmation :%s/old/new/gc # Current file - case insensitive :%s/old/new/gi # Lines 10-50 only :10,50s/old/new/g # Visual selection :'<,'>s/old/new/g # With regex groups (swap words) :%s/$\w\+$_$\w\+$/\2_\1/g # Multi-file with argdo :args **/*.ts | argdo %s/old/new/ge | update # Multi-file with cfdo (quickfix) :vimgrep /pattern/ **/*.ts | cfdo %s/pattern/replacement/g | update # Delete lines matching pattern :g/pattern/d # Delete lines NOT matching pattern :v/pattern/d