Vim: The way to execute same command in command-line mode multiple times

Question

I'm recently working on a project in vim, and I need to execute the same command to different files which are in the same folder in command-line mode multiple times. like

:%s/V1/V2/g

Is there a easiler way to do this?

Sounds like a better job for leaving Vim and going to terminal. Then you can use bash, sed, or awk (assuming you're on a Linux-esque terminal). There is a way to apply a command to all open buffers in Vim, but that requires you to open all the files you want to apply this to first. — wxz
– wxz, Commented May 26, 2022 at 15:37

romainl · Accepted Answer · 2022-05-26 15:42:07Z

3

It's command-line mode, not "command mode".

From within Vim

Set your :help argument-list to the desired list of files:
```
:arg /path/to/dir/*.xyz
```
Perform your substitution on every file in the argument list and write it if there was a change:
```
:argdo %s/V1/V2/g | update
```

See :help :arg, :help :argdo, :help :update.

From your shell

Start Vim with each desired file as argument:
```
$ vim /path/to/dir/*.xyz
```
Perform your substitution on every file in the argument list and write it if there was a change:
```
:argdo %s/V1/V2/g | update
```

answered May 26, 2022 at 15:42

romainl

199k22 gold badges301 silver badges340 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Vim: The way to execute same command in command-line mode multiple times

1 Answer 1

From within Vim

From your shell

Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

From within Vim

From your shell

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related