The Ultimate Guide to Find and Replace in Vi / Vim

If you work in a terminal environment, knowing how to efficiently find and replace in Vi / Vim is a fundamental skill. While its command-line nature might seem intimidating at first, it's incredibly powerful once you master the syntax. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know.

The Core Command: Substitute

The primary command for finding and replacing text in Vi/Vim is :substitute, which can be shortened to :s. The most common and useful form of this command replaces text across मौसम document.

First, ensure you are in Normal Mode (press `Esc` a couple of times). Then, type the following command and press `Enter`:

:%s/old_text/new_text/g

Breaking Down the Syntax

• : — Puts Vi/Vim into Command-Line Mode, allowing you to enter commands.
• % — Specifies the range. `%` is a shortcut for "every line in the file."
• s — The substitute command.
• / — The delimiter. It separates the parts of the command. You can use other characters like `|` or `#` if your text contains slashes.
• old_text — The string or regular expression you want to find.
• new_text — The string you want to replace it with.
• g — A "global" flag. Without it, the command would only replace the first occurrence on each line. The `g` flag ensures it replaces all occurrences on every line.

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Useful Modifiers (Flags)

You can enhance the substitute command by adding flags after the final delimiter. Here are the most essential ones:

Case-Insensitive Search (i)

To perform a case-insensitive replacement, add the i flag. This is useful when you want to replace "apple", "Apple", and "APPLE" all at once.

:%s/apple/orange/gi

Confirmation Before Replacing (c)

If you're unsure about a replacement, the c flag is your best friend. It will prompt you to confirm each change individually.

:%s/old_text/new_text/gc

Vim will highlight each match and ask you: `replace with new_text (y/n/a/q/l)?` (yes/no/all/quit/last).

When is Vi/Vim Not the Best Tool?

While powerful, the command-line approach has its limits. It can be cumbersome for:

• Multiple, unrelated replacements: If you have a list of 10 different words to replace with 10 different new words.
• Visual confirmation: When you need to see a clear "before and after" of your entire document without committing the changes.
• Non-programmers: The syntax can be unforgiving for users not accustomed to command-line tools.

A Simpler, Visual Alternative

For those complex tasks or for users who prefer a graphical interface, an online tool can be a lifesaver. Our free tool, Find and Replace Online, was built for this exact purpose.

You can paste your text, set up an entire list of find/replace pairs, and see the result instantly before copying it back. It offers the power of multiple replacements without the need to memorize command syntax.