Vim is a versatile text editor with advanced options for developers and is known for its shorthand keys and commands. You can quickly perform operations like undo or redo using a single command. The undo operation is carried out to revert to the specific change that occurred previously. Similarly, if you have performed “undo” to revert to some last version, you can “redo” it again to restore the state as it was before applying the undo operation.
In our today’s Vim guide, we will provide the possible ways to undo and redo in Vim.
Outline:
Note: Ensure that you have not quit the editor after the changes. If you have quit the Vim after saving, Vim Undo./Redo won’t work.
Understanding the Undo and Redo in Vim
Any change or edit in the Vim is recorded in Vim’s tree. All the changes are recorded in a sequential manner.
Look at the following image, “Version 1” has a total of three changes. Here’s a quick explanation of the Undo and Redo using the Vim tree structure as shown in the image:
- Undo: Moving from “Change 3” to “Change 2”, and then to “Change 1”.
- Redo: Moving from “Change 1” to “Change 2”, and then to “Change 3”.
Keeping the figure in view, here is how the “undo” and “redo” actually work:
- Undo: If you are at the oldest change (Change 1), the undo won’t work further.
- Redo: Similarly, If you are already at the latest change (Change 3), you won’t be able to Redo further.
Moreover, the “undo” and “redo” are applicable in the current session. If you have saved and exited the file, you won’t be able to use Undo and Redo in Vim.
How to Undo in Vim
The purpose of the undo operation is to correct any mistake that occurred in the previously performed actions using Vim. Let’s practice the supported commands to undo:
- u or :u Command
Run the following command in the command line mode to undo the last change:
:uu
I have commented the line “Defaults….”, highlighted below:
Upon execution, you can see the line is uncommented and the Vim editor has confirmed the “Undo” action, as seen below:
Similarly, you can prepend a digit before the “u” to undo the specific number of changes:
| Command(s) | Purpose | Description(s) |
|---|---|---|
| :<number>u | Revert the changes on the specific line | The “:7u” command will undo the changes done at line number 7. |
| :u <number> | Revert all the specified changes. | The “:u 4” will undo the last four changes that occurred in the file. |
- U Command
Moreover, you can use the “U” (in capital) to undo all the changes on the current line. Here is the line where several changes were attempted:
Now, when the U command is applied, all the changes on that line are undone, as can be seen below:
- :undo Command
The undo command also reverts the last change applied. Here is the basic command syntax to use the “undo” command:
:undo
Here is the screenshot before the change:
Upon undoing, the last change will be reverted as can be seen in the below screenshot:
The “undo” command provides more control over the undo operation as compared to the simple “u” command. Here is the further extended usage of the “:undo”
| Command(s) | Purpose(s) | Description(s) |
|---|---|---|
| :<number>undo | Undo at Specific Line | Specify the number to undo the changes in that specific line. For instance, if we use the “2” in place of “number”, the change on “line number 2” will be reverted. |
| :undo number | Undo the Specific number of changes | Like, if we use 4 as a number then the last four changes will be reverted. |
For instance, the following command will undo the last three changes:
:3undo
- :earlier Command
The “earlier” command reverts the changes that were done before the specific time. The time could be in minutes or hours. For instance, the command below reverts the changes done before “10mins”:
:earlier 10m
Let’s apply it:
Before:
After:
You can see there are a total of 8 changes have occurred that occurred in the last 10mins:
Similarly, you can specify the time in “hours” (:earlier 5h) and “seconds” (:earlier 5s) to restore the file version at a specific time.
How to Redo in Vim
Redo is the opposite of the undo. The redo operations undid the last change. Redo operation is carried out using one of the below commands/shortcuts:
:red Command
The “:red” command refers to the redo operation. Here is the
The undo was applied which resulted in uncommenting the line. Here we will apply the “redo” operation:
After applying the “redo” operation, the recent undo was reverted and hence resulted in commenting on the above-highlighted line again:
:later Command
Like the earlier command, the “later” command refers to the redo operation which actually redoes the changes that were undone in the specific time, i.e., in the last 5 minutes, last 1 hour, or 10 sec.
For instance, the below command redoes the undid changes in the last 7mins:
:later 7m
Here is the snapshot of the file before applying the above command:
After applying the command, the file turns out like this:
CTRL+r Shortcut
The “CTRL+r” shortcut key in the normal mode will redo the last change that was undone. Here are the shortcuts that you can use to redo the changes:
To Redo the last Change:
CTRL+r
To Redo Multiple Changes: Press any digit with the CTRL+R to Redo the specific number of undid changes:
n+CTRL+R
To “Redo” multiple times, you need to keep on pressing the “CTRL+r” again and again.
Bottom Line
Let’s summarize. If you want to undo the change(s) in Vim, you can use “:u”, “:undo”, or the “:earlier” commands. And if you want to redo the changes (undid), use the commands, “:red”, “:later”, and “CTRL+r”.
Go through this guide to learn the detailed functionality of all the commands/shortcuts supported to undo and redo in Vim.
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