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Sometimes windows like this pop up. I can get out of with with :q but I wonder, how did i end up with this? Maybe there is some keystroke combinations involved but I have no idea. Can you link me with relevant information for this feature of vim?

thkang
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4 Answers4

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It's the command-line window.

You invoke it with q: and you can read all about it in :help cmdline-window.

In short: you get access to your latest Ex commands and a chance to edit them and re-execute them with all of Vim's editing power.

romainl
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  • Also: it can be closed like any other window, or by pressing enter on any element of the history (which executes it). – Jean-Marie Comets Aug 20 '13 at 12:49
  • Pressing `` will close the window and return you to the command line. See `:h E199` for more information on closing the cmdline-window. However if you are like me and want to use `` to close the window then add this to your `~/.vimrc` file: `autocmd CmdwinEnter * nnoremap :q` – Peter Rincker Aug 20 '13 at 13:38
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it is command-line window. You could open it by pressing q: or ctrl-f (in command line)

to close it, you could :q

for more details, check :h q:

I think it is good feature. We can not only choose previous command from that window, but also edit command with vim way.

similarly vim has q/ too. search history.

Kent
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As above answers refer, it is a feature called 'command-line window'.

Usually it is a typo of :q, you can disable it by

nnoremap q: :q
dyng
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See other answers for explanation of "what" the window is.

I'll address how to close the window since that part seems to have been overlooked:

use <C-c> (ctrl + 'C').

ash
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