Neovim Macros and Automation

Macros are recorded sequences of keystrokes. Record once, replay many times to automate repetitive edits.

q + letter — start recording macro (e.g., qa records to register 'a'). Keystrokes are captured. Press q again to stop.

@ + letter — replay macro (e.g., @a replays register 'a'). @@ — replay last macro.

qa              " start recording in register 'a'
i- <Esc>        " add dash and space at line start
j               " move to next line
q               " stop recording
 
@a              " replay macro a
3@a             " replay 3 times

Macros are stored in registers, so "a contains the keystrokes. :registers` shows all.

Add dashes to line starts:

qa
I- <Esc>
j
q
 
@a              " repeat on next line

Replace first word on each line:

qa
cw
replacement     " type new word
<Esc>
j
q
 
@a              " repeat

Complex: reformat list items:

qa
0               " start of line
cw(              " change word to (
<Esc>
A)
<Esc>           " add ) at end
j
q
 
@a

Select lines visually, then :normal @a applies macro to each line:

5j              " select 5 lines down (rough select)
:normal @a      " apply macro a to each

Or use a range:

:10,20normal @a  " apply macro to lines 10-20

• Keep macros simple. Complex macros are hard to debug.
• Use marks to bookmark positions: ma (mark 'a'), `a (jump to 'a').
• Break complex operations into steps (edit, move, repeat).
• If macro fails, press u to undo, fix the recording, and try again.
• Macros record absolute movements, not relative. j moves down one line always, while G jumps to end of file (depends on buffer size). Use counts (5j) for relative counts.

Macros are great for one-off repetitive edits. For repeated tasks across sessions, write an ex command or Lua script:

-- ~/.config/nvim/plugin/format_list.lua
vim.api.nvim_create_user_command('FormatList', function()
  -- transform list items
  vim.cmd(":%s/^/- /")  -- add dash
  vim.cmd(":%s/$/.,/")  -- add comma
end, {})

Then :FormatList applies everywhere, always.

For find-and-replace, use :s / :%s (faster, regex support). Use macros for structural changes that vary per line.

Example: swap names from “First Last” to “Last, First”

qa
0               " start
ci s            " change inside spaces
<C-r>"          " insert word (register)
, 
<Esc>
e               " end
x               " delete space
I <Esc>         " insert space at start
j
q
 
:%normal @a     " apply to all

Or with search-replace:

:%s/\(\w\+\) \(\w\+\)/\2, \1/g

Search-replace is cleaner here. Use macros for edits that don't fit regex patterns.