vim-ex

name	vim-ex
description	How to use Ex mode in Vim for non-interactive file editing (e.g., complex text substitution, deleting lines, file parsing, wrapping text, sorting lines). You MUST load this skill when using Vim Ex mode for non-interactive file editing.
license	MIT

File Editing with Ex Mode

ex is the line-editor mode of Vim, which is useful for non-interactive file editing in shell scripts or agent-executed terminal commands.

Unlike tools such as sed or awk which are stream editors designed to process data sequentially line-by-line—ex is a true file editor. It loads the entire file into a buffer, allowing you to freely navigate forwards and backwards, execute complex multi-line modifications, and utilize powerful normal-mode commands. Furthermore, while sed -i merely mimics in-place editing by secretly using temporary files (which leads to notoriously frustrating syntax incompatibilities between GNU/Linux and macOS), ex safely and natively edits the file directly in-place.

WHEN TO USE

You should prefer using ex over standard shell utilities (sed, awk, grep) in the following scenarios:

• Batch editing multiple files: When modifying multiple files at once, especially for small identical changes, making ex (via find -exec or argdo) far more efficient and flexible than generating and applying patch tooling.
• Complex structured parsing: When editing unstructured or multi-line formats (HTML, XML) where strict line-by-line stream processing is too fragile.
• Multi-line manipulation: When your edits require moving around a file (e.g., finding a specific pattern, moving up a few lines, and applying a change).
• Native in-place editing: To avoid the GNU/BSD syntax nightmare of sed -i across different operating systems.
• Script reliability: When writing bash heredocs (<< EOF) for complex configuration file patching.
• Vim power from the shell: Whenever you want to leverage Vim's normal mode commands (like gqq for formatting or norm! vitd for text object deletion) non-interactively.

WHEN NOT TO USE

• Simple, single-line replacements on a few files where sed or awk are well-understood and sufficient.
• Operations that require complex external data processing better suited for Python, Node.js, or dedicated parsing tools.
• Tasks that are inherently interactive and require visual feedback to complete correctly.

Basic Usage

You can run ex using the -c flag for commands and -s for silent (batch) mode:

# Search and replace all occurrences in a user-owned configuration file
ex -s -c '%s/alias/alias_new/g' -c 'wq' ~/.bashrc

# Append text (e.g., a new export path) to the end of your bash profile
ex -s -c '$put =\"export PATH=$PATH:~/bin\"' -c 'wq' ~/.bash_profile

# Delete a specific line (e.g., line 5) from an SSH configuration
ex -s -c '5d' -c 'wq' ~/.ssh/config

# Wrap all lines in a markdown document to 120 characters
ex -s -c 'set tw=120' -c '%normal gqq' -c 'wq' README.md

# Wrap specific lines (e.g., lines 19 to 23) to 120 characters
ex -s -c 'set tw=120' -c '19,23normal gqq' -c 'wq' README.md

# Sort a specific range of lines alphabetically (e.g., lines 10 to 20)
ex -s -c '10,20sort' -c 'wq' list.txt

# Reverse sort the entire file
ex -s -c '%sort!' -c 'wq' list.txt

Using Heredocs

For multiple commands, a heredoc is often cleaner (e.g., removing debugging logs from a python code file):

ex -s main.py << 'VIMEOF'
%s/print("debug: .*/pass/g
3,5d
wq
VIMEOF

Using a Script File

When you have a complex or reusable set of commands, you can store them in a .vim file and apply them to your target using standard input redirection or the source command:

# Using standard input redirection
ex -s ~/.bashrc < ~/.vim/custom_bash_rules.vim

# Alternatively, using the source command
ex -s -c "source ~/.vim/custom_bash_rules.vim" ~/.bashrc

Advanced Examples

You can also use Ex mode for more advanced manipulation like piping streams or executing normal mode commands:

# Print file contents to stdout after making a substitution
ex -s -c '%s/127/128/ge' -c '%p' -c 'q!' /etc/hosts

# Edit data piped via standard input
echo Example | ex -s -c '%p' -c 'q!' /dev/stdin

# Edit multiple files using find
find . -name "*.txt" -type f -exec ex -s -c '%s/old/new/ge' -c 'wq' {} \;

# Use normal mode commands (e.g. to extract or delete complex HTML tags or XML node)
ex -s -c '/<div.*id="the_div_id"/norm nvatd' -c '%p' -c 'q!' index.html

# String parsing examples
echo "This is example." | vim -es '+s/example/test/g' '+%print' '+q!' /dev/stdin
echo "This is example." | ex -s -c '%s/example/test/g' -c '%p' -c 'q!' /dev/stdin

# More examples for editing files in-place or via streams (non-interactive)
ex -s -c '%s/127/128/g' -c 'wq' /etc/hosts
ex -s -c '%s/olddomain\.com/newdomain.com/g' -c 'wq' /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
printf '%s\n' '%s/olddomain\.com/newdomain.com/ge' w q | ex -s /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
ex -s /etc/hosts <<< $'%s/localhost/localhost.localdomain/ge\nw\nq'
ex -s -c 'argdo %s/old/new/ge|update' -c 'q' ./**/*.txt
ex -s -c 'argdo g/TODO/d|update' -c 'q' ./**/*.txt
ex -s -c 'argdo g/^debug_print/s/^/# /|update' -c  ./**/*.py
find . - f -name  - ex -s -c  -c  {} \;
ex -s -c  -c  /etc/hosts

Instead of maintaining an external .vim script file (which adds clutter), you can stream multiple ex commands directly using a here-document:

ex -s /etc/hosts << 'EOF'
%s/127/128/g
%print
q!
EOF

Overcoming Patch Tooling Limitations

Standard patching (diff/patch) often fails across multiple files if surrounding line offsets drift or function boundaries vary slightly in spacing. Using ex solves this by applying structural or contextual logic independently of line numbers.

1. Replacing a Multi-line Block Across Many Files: If files contain dynamically sized headers (e.g., varying length copyright blocks), patch often rejects changes. Using ex and argdo, you can safely target and overwrite the entire block contextually without caring about line numbers or varied spacing:

# Delete everything between two patterns and insert a new standardized block
ex -s -c 'argdo silent! /^# BEGIN COPYRIGHT/,/^# END COPYRIGHT/c\
# BEGIN COPYRIGHT 2026\
# All rights reserved.\
# END COPYRIGHT' -c 'update' -c 'q' ./**/*.py

2. Conditionally Removing Code Structures (e.g., Functions): Traditional patches fail if the body of a target function has extra newlines injected by another developer. ex utilizes Vim's structural text objects (like dap to delete a paragraph or da{ to delete a bracket group):

# Locate 'function deprecated_handler' and structurally delete its entire body
ex -s -c 'argdo silent! /function deprecated_handler/norm! dap' -c 'update' -c 'q' ./**/*.js

3. Conditionally Appending to Contextual Sections: When appending settings into config files with varying contents, a .patch file will fail if the target section is on line 10 in one file and line 50 in another. ex finds the explicit section context and intelligently drops the new payload directly beneath it:

# Safely append a new property immediately following the '[plugins]' category
ex -s -c 'argdo silent! /^\[plugins\]/a\
enable_new_feature = true' -c 'update' -c 'q' ./**/*.conf

Practical Examples with Macros

When complex line-by-line transformations are too tedious to write via regular expressions (like parsing nested brackets or dynamically moving text objects), you can define and execute Vim macros programmatically.

# Example: Extract just the URLs from Markdown links (e.g. `[name](URL)` -> `URL`).
# The macro 'q' performs the exact Vim keystrokes:
# 1. di[ - Delete inner bracket content
# 2. da[ - Delete the now-empty brackets
# 3. x   - Delete the leading '('
# 4. $x  - Go to the end of the line and delete the trailing ')'
ex -s links.md << 'EOF'
let @q = 'di[da[x$x'
%norm! @q
update
q
EOF

# Example: Convert a list of unformatted words into a quoted YAML array.
# The macro 'q' uses `\e` in double quotes to represent the <Esc> key:
# 1. I"  - Insert quote at the beginning of the line
# 2. \e  - Return to Normal mode
# 3. A", - Append quote and comma at the end of the line
# 4. \e  - Return to Normal mode
ex -s items.txt << 'EOF'
let @q = "I\"\eA\",\e"
%norm! @q
update
q
EOF

Parse HTML/XML with Ex Mode

Examples:

# Extracting html tags
ex -s -c 'bufdo! /<div.*id=.the_div_id/norm nvatdggdG"2p' -c 'bufdo! %p' -c 'qa!' *.html

# Removing XML tags by piping stream data directly to standard input
echo "<root> <item>data</item> </root>" | ex -s -c '%s/<[^>].\{-}>//ge' -c '%p' -c 'q!' /dev/stdin

# Removing style tag from the header and print the parsed output
curl -s https://example.com/ | ex -s -c '/<style.*/norm nvatd' -c '%p' -c 'q!' /dev/stdin

# Parse html with multiple complex rules by passing HTML dynamically
ex -s <(curl -s https://example.com) << 'EOF'
  %s,'//,'http://,ge
  %s,"//,"http://,ge
  " Remove the margin on the left of the main block. "
  %s!id="doc_container"!id="doc_container" style="min-width:0px;margin-left : 0px;"!ge
  %s!<div class="outer_page!<div style="margin: 0px;" class="outer_page!ge
  " Remove useless html elements. "
  %s!<div.*id="global_header".*</div>!!ge
  %p " Print changes
  q! " Quit without saving
EOF

# Real live example from an RPM specification dynamically compiled via stdin
ex -s main.spec << 'EOF'
   %s/CFLAGS = -g$/CFLAGS =-fPIC -DPIC -g/ge
   %s/CFLAGS =$/CFLAGS =-fPIC -DPIC/ge
   %s/ADAFLAGS =$/ADAFLAGS =-fPIC -DPIC/ge
   %p
   q!
EOF

Create a new HTML structure by downloading HTML of Example site and replacing its body by an auto-generated 20x20 table with random numbers in it (streamed to standard out):

ex -s <(curl -s https://example.com) << 'VIMEOF' > /tmp/generated_table.html
let @t='<table>'.repeat('<tr>'.repeat('<td>_</td>',20).'</tr>',20).'</table>'
%s!<body>.*</body>!\='<body>'.@t.'</body>'!g
%s!_!\=trim(system('echo $RANDOM'))!g
%p
q!
VIMEOF

Plugins

One-liner to convert source code file into HTML using one of the standard plugins (redirecting standard output to /dev/null avoids unnecessary logging):

ex -s -c 'let g:html_no_progress=1' -c 'syntax on' -c 'set ft=c' \
  -c 'runtime syntax/2html.vim' -c 'wqa' main.c > /dev/null

Tips

• Appending Text in Heredocs: When appending lines within an ex heredoc script, use a followed by a newline, the text to insert, and a single . on a new line to terminate the block. Do not use the a\ syntax (which is only suitable for inline -c commands).
• Custom Delimiters: Use alternative delimiters in substitutions (e.g., %s!pattern!replacement!g or %s,pattern,replacement,g) when manipulating HTML tags (like </body>), paths, or URLs to bypass repetitive backslash escaping.
• Inserting Newlines in Substitutions: When using the substitution command (s/.../.../), you cannot insert literal newlines or \n. You must use \r in the replacement string to generate a newline (e.g., %s/old/new\rnewLine/g).
• Non-interactive Execution: When adding or updating examples in this file, ensure they work non-interactively and do not require user input.
• Preserve Examples: Do not change existing examples unless they are not working; keep proven examples unchanged.
• Silent Mode: The -s flag suppresses prompts and feedback, making it ideal for automated file edits.
• Terminal Automation: Use ex when complex string replacements or regular expression-based modifications are required directly from the terminal without breaking the automated flow.
• Write and Quit: Always include wq at the end to write changes and quit when you intend in-place edits.

Common Pitfalls

• Forgetting the -s Flag: Omitting -s causes ex to run interactively, leading to hung agent sessions waiting for user input.
• Incorrect Delimiters in Heredocs: Using spaces or tabs incorrectly around EOF or failing to terminate the heredoc properly.
• Missing wq or update: Forgetting to save changes before quitting, causing the command to run successfully but without modifying the file.
• Overly Complex Regex: Attempting to parse deeply nested HTML/XML using only regex in ex instead of specialized parsing tools.

Troubleshooting

• Debugging Silent Failures: If a command fails silently with an exit code or hangs without output, temporarily replace the -s (silent) flag with -V1 (verbose level 1) to print the command execution steps and exact error messages to the terminal.

• Hanging Commands: When testing new commands, use timeout to prevent hanging risks on read-only files.

• Hanging Processes (Control-Z or infinite wait): If you accidentally find yourself stuck in an interactive ex command-line prompt (often indicated by messages like The terminal is awaiting input or Type "visual" to go to Normal mode), do not kill the terminal and never type visual (this launches the full interactive UI and completely breaks headless agents). This usually happens if you forget the -s (silent) flag. Simply type qa! and press Enter to safely abort. In batch mode using argdo, a missing update or standard q command may leave ex waiting for interactively unsaved buffers. Run qa! unconditionally at the end of heredocs to cleanly abort everything if any step stalled.

• Heredoc Conflicts / Infinite Hangs: Avoid piping data (command | ex -s /dev/stdin) when you are also providing commands via a heredoc (<< EOF). This causes ex to confuse its input streams and hang indefinitely. Use process substitution instead: ex -s <(command) << EOF.

• Newline appending via string ($put=""/a\): In headless automated CI or agent scripts, using $put="string" or a\ across multiple files via argdo can fail explicitly or invisibly swallow newlines depending on shell escaping. Use Vimscript's explicit call append('$', 'your string') to safely bypass multiline shell escaping issues completely.

• Range Errors (e.g. Exit code 1 with no output): Complex address ranges like /<pattern>/+1,+3command often fail because ex evaluates the second relative address before the cursor moves to the pattern. Splitting them solves this by explicitly moving the cursor first:

Appending to multiple files

Example of safely appending text across multiple files via argdo and call append() instead of multi-line shell escaping:

ex -s */SKILL.md << 'VIMEOF'
set hidden
let m = 'Note that this file should be updated if outdated or steps/examples are not working.'
argdo call append('$', ['', '## Maintenance', '', m]) | update

qa!
VIMEOF

References

• Does Ex mode have any practical use?
• How to edit files non-interactively (e.g. in pipeline)?
• Vim Ex Mode Documentation
• Vim Q&A
• Learning the vi Editor/Vim/Modes

Related Skills

• shell: You MUST load this skill when handling shell commands with performance monitoring or timeouts.