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+) .+