10 Neovim Features You're Probably Installing Plugins For
You install a plugin for multi-cursor editing. Another for shell integration. A third for incremental search preview. Your plugin count grows, startup time increases, and you debug compatibility issues between packages.
Most of these features exist in vanilla Neovim. Have existed since Vim 7. Here are 10 built-in features that replace common plugins.
1. Shell Filter: ! and !!
Pipe any text through external commands. Every Unix tool becomes a text processor.
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
:.!date | Replace current line with date output |
!ip sort | Sort current paragraph |
!ap jq . | Format JSON in paragraph |
:%!column -t | Align entire file into columns |
The motion after ! defines the range. ip is "inner paragraph", ap is "around paragraph", % is whole file.
" Sort lines 10-20
:10,20!sort
" Reverse selection (visual mode, then !)
:'<,'>!tac
" Format current function as JSON
!i{jq .
This is the Unix philosophy applied to editing. sort, uniq, jq, column, sed - all available without plugins.
2. Visual Block Increment: g Ctrl-a
Select a column of numbers, press g Ctrl-a. They become a sequence.
item 0 item 1
item 0 → item 2
item 0 item 3
item 0 item 4
Standard Ctrl-a increments by the same amount. g Ctrl-a creates a sequence where each line increases by one more than the previous.
Works for generating IDs, numbered lists, array indices. No macro needed.
3. Global Command: :g/pattern/cmd
Run any Ex command on every line matching a pattern.
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
:g/TODO/d | Delete all lines containing TODO |
:g/^$/d | Delete all empty lines |
:g/error/t$ | Copy lines with "error" to end of file |
:g/func/norm A; | Append semicolon to lines containing "func" |
The inverse is :v/pattern/cmd - runs on lines NOT matching the pattern.
" Delete all comments
:g/^#/d
" Move all imports to top
:g/^import/m0
" Number all TODO lines
:let i=1 | g/TODO/s/TODO/\=i.'. TODO'/ | let i+=1
This is bulk editing without regex gymnastics in the replacement string.
4. Command-line Registers: Ctrl-r
In : or / prompts, Ctrl-r inserts register contents. Stop typing long paths and patterns manually.
| Shortcut | Inserts |
|---|---|
Ctrl-r Ctrl-w | Word under cursor |
Ctrl-r " | Last yanked text |
Ctrl-r / | Last search pattern |
Ctrl-r = | Expression result |
Practical example: cursor on myFunction, want to search for it:
/Ctrl-r Ctrl-w<Enter>
Inserts myFunction into the search prompt. Works in substitute commands too:
:%s/Ctrl-r Ctrl-w/newName/g
The Ctrl-r = variant evaluates expressions:
:echo Ctrl-r =system('date')<Enter>
5. Normal on Selection: :'<,'>norm
Run normal mode commands on every selected line. This is multi-cursor without plugins.
Select lines visually, then:
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
:'<,'>norm A, | Append comma to each line |
:'<,'>norm I# | Prepend "# " to each line (comment) |
:'<,'>norm @q | Run macro q on each line |
:'<,'>norm f=lD | Delete everything after = on each line |
The norm command executes keystrokes as if typed in normal mode. Combined with a range, it applies to multiple lines.
" Convert list to array elements
" Before: After:
" apple "apple",
" banana → "banana",
" cherry "cherry",
:'<,'>norm I"
:'<,'>norm A",
6. The g Commands
Navigation jumps you probably don't use:
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
gi | Go to last insert position AND enter insert mode |
g; | Jump to previous change location |
g, | Jump to next change location |
gv | Reselect last visual selection |
gi is the one I use most. Edit something, scroll away to reference code, gi puts you back exactly where you were typing.
g; and g, navigate the change list - every position where you modified text. Different from jump list (Ctrl-o/Ctrl-i) which tracks navigation.
7. Auto-Marks
Vim sets marks automatically. You don't need to remember to set them.
| Mark | Position |
|---|---|
`` | Previous cursor position (toggle back) |
`. | Last change |
`" | Position when file was last closed |
`[ / `] | Start/end of last yank or change |
The backtick goes to exact position. Apostrophe goes to line start.
(double backtick) is the most useful - it toggles between current position and previous. Edit something, jump to a definition, ``` ``` returns you instantly.
`[ and `] mark the boundaries of your last operation. Useful for reselecting: gv reselects visual, but `[v`] selects the range you just yanked or changed.
8. Command History Window: q:
Press q: and your command history opens in a buffer. Full editing. Search with /. Modify any line. Press Enter to execute.
| Shortcut | Opens |
|---|---|
q: | Command history |
q/ | Search history |
Ctrl-f | Switch from cmdline to history window |
The third one is key. Start typing a complex command, realize you want to edit it properly, hit Ctrl-f. The command line becomes a buffer.
Compose multi-part commands, edit previous attempts, combine parts from different history entries. Then Enter executes the current line.
9. Live Substitution Preview: inccommand
See substitution results before executing. Add to your config:
vim.opt.inccommand = "split"
Now when you type :%s/old/new/, matches highlight in real-time and a preview window shows what will change.
split shows preview in a split window. nosplit highlights inline only.
This catches regex mistakes before they happen. See exactly what :s/foo\(bar\)/\1/ will do before pressing Enter.
10. Copy/Move Lines: :t and :m
Duplicate or relocate lines without touching registers. Your yank stays intact.
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
:t. | Duplicate current line below |
:t0 | Copy current line to top of file |
:t$ | Copy current line to end of file |
:m+2 | Move current line 2 lines down |
:'<,'>t. | Duplicate selection below cursor |
:t is copy (think "transfer"), :m is move. Both take a destination line number.
" Copy line 5 to after line 10
:5t10
" Move lines 1-3 to end of file
:1,3m$
" Duplicate current line 5 times
:t.|t.|t.|t.|t.
No register pollution. p still pastes what you yanked earlier.
Bonus: Mark-Based Ranges
Set marks at function boundaries, substitute only within:
ma " mark start with 'a'
... navigate to end ...
mb " mark end with 'b'
:'a,'b s/old/new/g
Scoped refactoring without selecting anything. The substitution only affects lines between marks a and b.
Resources: