Find and Replace using wildcard in VIM or VI [closed]

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I have a file with numbered host names. I want to change the name while preserving the numbers.

CHANGE THIS:

server1.domain.com
server2.domain.com
server3.domain.com
server4.domain.com
server1.otherdomain.com
server2.otherdomain.com

TO THIS:

host1.domain.com
host2.domain.com
host3.domain.com
host4.domain.com
server1.otherdomain.com
server2.otherdomain.com

I have tried this but it does not work :%s/server*.domain.com/host*.domain.com/g

Neither vi nor Vim use wildcards in their :substitute commands. They use regular expressions, which are explained in :help pattern. — Friedrich
– Friedrich, Commented May 8 at 18:35
Not sure if they qualify as programming tools, but at the very least can you please pick one editor to ask about? Asking about multiple different editors is off-topic here because it's too broad a question. — TylerH
– TylerH, Commented May 13 at 17:58

The fourth bird · Accepted Answer · 2025-05-08 19:27:13Z

1

You could use a capture group, and make the match a bit more specific by matching the numbers and escaping the dot.

Then in the replacement use the capture group denoted as \1

:%s/server\([0-9]\+\.domain\.com\)/host\1/g

Result:

host1.domain.com
host2.domain.com
host3.domain.com
host4.domain.com
server1.otherdomain.com
server2.otherdomain.com

answered May 8 at 19:27

The fourth bird

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2 Comments

Friedrich May 8 at 21:48

I'd have gone for :%s/server\ze\d\+\.domain\.com/host/ but the result is the same. I just happen to like \zs/\ze.

romainl May 9 at 7:33

Who doesn't love \zs and \ze?

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