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I have a repetitive configuration file and I'd like to match a regex and delete a range of lines before, and after a match. I'd also like delete the match in one command.

I can use...

:g/match/-1d

...several times to delete more than one line from before a match...

...and combine it with a few calls to...

:g/match/+1d

...to delete more than one line after the match...

But is there any way to delete a range of lines, before, after and including, the match with one command?

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You're almost there; you can also specify a range of lines, which is in the form of [line1],[line2][command], instead of just [line][command] (like you're using now).

You can use . to refer to the current line.

  • For the current & next line: :g/match/.,+1d
  • For the current & previous line: :g/match/-1,.d
  • For the previous, current, and next line: :g/match/-1,+1d

See :help [range] for more information, and in this answer there are a few more examples.

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3
  • Is the syntax the same in sed?
    – leeand00
    Commented May 27, 2015 at 14:27
  • 3
    @leeand00 No. All that :g does is run an ex command on the lines that match a pattern. So typing :g/match/.,+1d would be exactly the same as going to all lines with match, and typing :.,+1d
    – Martin Tournoij
    Commented May 27, 2015 at 14:29
  • This is the coolest thing I've learned on vim in a while. Thanks for sharing!
    – lps
    Commented Aug 30, 2018 at 22:18

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