# Registers

**URL:** <https://discuss.kakoune.com/t/registers/551>\
**Category:** Manual++\
**Created:** [May 8, 2019, 2:24am UTC](https://discuss.kakoune.com/t/registers/551 "2019-05-08T02:24:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![robertmeta](https://discuss.kakoune.com/user_avatar/discuss.kakoune.com/robertmeta/32/833_2.png) [@robertmeta](https://discuss.kakoune.com/u/robertmeta)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 2:24am UTC](https://discuss.kakoune.com/t/registers/551/1 "2019-05-08T02:24:36Z")

</div>

# Description

Registers are named lists of text -instead of simply text- in order to  
interact well with multiselection. They are used for various purposes,  
like storing the last yanked text, or the captured groups associated  
with the selections.

# Interacting

**\<c-r\>\<c\>**  
when in insert mode or in a prompt, insert the value stored in the **c**  
register (single character)

**"\<c\>**  
in normal mode, select the **\<c\>** register (single character)

# Alternate names

Non alphanumeric registers have an alternative name that can be used in  
contexts where only alphanumeric identifiers are possible.

# Default registers

All normal-mode commands using a register default to a specific one if  
not specified:

**"** (dquote)  
default delete / copy / paste / replace register, used by: **c** , **d** ,  
**y** , **p** , **\<a-p\>** , **\<P\>** , **\<a-P\>** , **R** and  
**\<a-R\>**

**/** (slash)  
default search / regex register, used by: **/** , **\<a-/\>** , **?** ,  
**\<a-?\>** , **n** , **\<a-n\>** , **N** , **\<a-N\>** , **\*** ,  
**\<a-** \>\*, **s** , **S** , **\<a-k\>** and **\<a-K\>**

**@** (arobase)  
default macro register, used by: **q** and **Q**

**^** (caret)  
default mark register, used by: **z** , **\<a-z\>** , **Z** and  
**\<a-Z\>**

**|** (pipe)  
default shell command register, used by commands that spawn a subshell:  
**|** , **\<a-|\>** , **!** and **\<a-!\>**

# Special registers

Some registers are not general purposes, they cannot be written to, but  
they contain some special data

**%** (percent)  
current buffer name

**.** (dot)  
current selection contents

**#** (hash)  
selection indices (first selection has 1, second has 2, …)

**\_** (underscore)  
null register, always empty

**:** (colon)  
last entered command

# Integer registers

Registers **1** to **9** hold the grouped sub-matches of the regular  
expression used to make the last selection. Example: applying the  
following regular expression to the date of the day would put the day of  
the week in register **1** , the month in register **2** , and the day of  
the month in register **3** , but select the entire date:

```
(\w+) (\w+) (\d+) .+
```