Save a macro just created in vimrc

Question

Sometimes I create macros. Sometimes I create the same macro multiple times.

Sometimes I get tired of creating the same macro over again. Can I store macros? Can I load a preset of macros? Can I make a macro and save it forever?

DJMcMayhem · Accepted Answer · 2019-04-12T16:38:27.157

19

Yes, you can! There are a couple ways to do this. By default, all registers will be saved into your viminfo file, and loaded once you start vim. This is the easiest way. However, it's not foolproof. Each register will be lost if you accidentally record/yank over it.

The better way to save a specific macro is to put it in your .vimrc. For example, let's say you want foo to be saved into macro a. This could be achieved with:

let @a='foo'

in your vimrc. If you have your macros already made, you could type

ilet @a='<C-r><C-r>a'<esc>

to paste the current contents of the macro, if you don't feel like typing it all out again.

Thanks to Andrew Keeton for pointing out <C-r><C-r>

edited Apr 12 '19 at 16:38

answered May 27 '17 at 21:36

DJMcMayhem

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You'll probably want to use <C-r><C-r> (two, instead of one) to insert the text literally – Andrew Keeton Mar 20 '19 at 16:51
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@AndrewKeeton Ooh, great improvement. Thanks for letting me know about that – DJMcMayhem Apr 12 '19 at 16:38
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<c-r><c-r> won't work if your macro contains special key sequence such as <c-right>, "ap don't have this problem. – dedowsdi Nov 07 '19 at 06:08
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note you can map the string, e.g. `nnoremap fo foo' in your vimrc so that you establish a direct keybinding. The advantage is that you keep your registers clean. – TamaMcGlinn Oct 22 '20 at 13:43
An advice I give all you is to use double quotes so you can use things like \<c-a>\<esc>, otherwise your control characters must be typed literally. – SergioAraujo Sep 05 '21 at 18:18

Save a macro just created in vimrc

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