How can I add a string to the end of each line in Vim?

Question

I want to add * to the end of each line in Vim.

I tried the code unsuccessfully

:%s/\n/*\n/g

Yours doesn't work because on the right hand side of `:s///`, `\n` corresponds to a null character. The section `:help sub-replace-special` is relevant. — doubleDown, Jun 15 '13 at 13:26

score 477 · Answer 1 · edited Mar 01 '09 at 07:52

477

Even shorter than the :search command:

:%norm A*

This is what it means:

 %       = for every line
 norm    = type the following commands
 A*      = append '*' to the end of current line

edited Mar 01 '09 at 07:52

Nathan Fellman

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answered Mar 01 '09 at 07:09

Cyber Oliveira

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Man, there exists no vi or vim thread from which I do not learn something. Today I learn about norm. And as they say at Cheers, "Norm!" – smcameron Mar 01 '09 at 07:27
5

For prepending, you'd just use 0i*, 0 takes you to the beginning of the line, i for insert mode, and * for the *. D: – Rob Oct 12 '11 at 18:35
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As a [VimGolfer](http://vimgolf.com) I can't help but add that using `I*` rather than `0i*` will save you one keystroke. – Jedidiah Hurt Oct 13 '11 at 21:50
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_One other tip:_ This works for ranges as well. Just highlight the lines in visual mode and press `:`, this will pre-fill the command with `:'<,'>` which you can then make into `:'<,'>norm A*` – Jedidiah Hurt Oct 13 '11 at 21:53
A slight variation of this is `:%normal A*` – Graeme Walsh Mar 30 '14 at 20:17
Works a lot slower than top answer for some reason – Daniel Kobe Dec 01 '15 at 06:04
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For prepending, use `I` instead - `:%norm I*` – Just Lucky Really Jul 04 '16 at 11:46
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@DanielKobe :set lazyredraw should speed things up – Cyber Oliveira Mar 01 '18 at 15:21
If you want to add `*` to only specific lines use `:10,22norm A*`, this will add `*` to only lines 10-22. – Dave Oct 25 '22 at 14:45

score 421 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 31 '20 at 15:20

421

:%s/$/\*/g

should work and so should :%s/$/*/g.

edited Dec 31 '20 at 15:20

Sabito stands with Ukraine

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answered Feb 27 '09 at 11:53

dirkgently

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Is there a way to insert '*' at the same column, since all lines are not of same length, so line 1 might have '*' at 15th column, but line 2 has '*' at 25th column. – Aman Jain Jul 21 '10 at 20:41
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there is only 1 EOL per line, so the `g` flag is unnecessary. – doubleDown Jun 15 '13 at 13:14
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I wanted to add / to the start of each line :1,$s/^/\/g worked for me. – farooqsadiq Dec 17 '13 at 17:51

score 70 · Answer 3 · edited Oct 30 '19 at 11:58

70

I think using visual block mode is a better and more versatile method for dealing with this type of thing. Here's an example:

This is the First line.  
This is the second.  
The third.

To insert " Hello world." (space + clipboard) at the end of each of these lines:

On a character in the first line, press Ctrl-V (or Ctrl-Q if Ctrl-V is paste).
Press jj to extend the visual block over three lines.
Press $ to extend the visual block to the end of each line. Press A then space then type Hello world. + then Esc.

The result is:

This is the First line. Hello world.  
This is the second. Hello world.  
The third. Hello world.

(example from Vim.Wikia.com)

edited Oct 30 '19 at 11:58

Glory to Russia

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answered Aug 08 '13 at 18:44

nicole

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Instead of pressing `jj` one can hit `G` to move to the last line. This is useful in large files, where pressing `j` until you hit the last line isn't practical. – nash Nov 29 '13 at 08:02
Agree that visual block is cleanest here, more extensible too – Peter Dolan May 17 '18 at 02:28
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Note that this doesn't seem like it's working on all lines at first, but after you press Esc it goes through and adds it to all. – Noumenon Mar 15 '19 at 17:43
Visual Block causes issues and errors when using vim as an extension for other things, like VS Code. In those cases, the search and replace the original user is asking for is the reliable option. – Brettins Oct 11 '19 at 19:10
make sure you use Capital A, lowercase "a" doesn't work. – Jeff Hoye Jan 24 '20 at 10:29

score 45 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 27 '09 at 19:37

45

Also:

:g/$/norm A*

Also:

gg<Ctrl-v>G$A*<Esc>

answered Feb 27 '09 at 19:37

Brian Carper

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Ahhh... The second one can be used with a selection of lines too. Nice! – Tim Fletcher Oct 13 '11 at 16:03
Could you please explain the first example? – Cody Poll Mar 08 '15 at 19:12
@CodyPoll `g` is `global` command that does something with every matching line. `$` matches every line. It could be also `^` or `.*`. norm executes commands that you normally use in command mode. So `A*` means append `*` to the end of line. – defhlt Jul 30 '16 at 09:49

score 20 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 16 '14 at 09:59

20

If u want to add Hello world at the end of each line:

:%s/$/HelloWorld/

If you want to do this for specific number of line say, from 20 to 30 use:

:20,30s/$/HelloWorld/

If u want to do this at start of each line then use:

:20,30s/^/HelloWorld/

answered Jul 16 '14 at 09:59

utkarsh

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paxdiablo · Answer 6 · 2015-11-11T11:12:13.190

10

One option is:

:g/$/s//*

This will find every line end anchor and substitute it with *. I say "substitute" but, in actual fact, it's more of an append since the anchor is a special thing rather than a regular character. For more information, see Power of g - Examples.

edited Nov 11 '15 at 11:12

answered Feb 27 '09 at 12:41

paxdiablo

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What does s// mean in the regex? I know a similar command, :g/ / /p, (grep). I am pretty sure that your command is close to mine, at least in the structure. – Léo Léopold Hertz 준영 Feb 28 '09 at 00:23
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The s is substitute - it replace the end of line anchor with the asterisk (well, not actually replaces it since it's an anchor point). – paxdiablo Feb 28 '09 at 03:50

score 8 · Answer 7 · edited Jun 15 '13 at 12:57

8

You don't really need the g at the end. So it becomes:

:%s/$/*

Or if you just want the * at the end of, say lines 14-18:

:14,18s/$/*

or

:14,18norm A*

edited Jun 15 '13 at 12:57

glts

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answered Jun 15 '13 at 12:36

Pedro Norwego

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score 6 · Answer 8 · answered Jan 18 '12 at 17:28

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...and to prepend (add the beginning of) each line with *,

%s/^/*/g

answered Jan 18 '12 at 17:28

User 1058612

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This doesn't answer the question. – doubleDown Jun 15 '13 at 13:12

score 4 · Answer 9 · answered Feb 27 '09 at 12:05

4

:%s/\n/*\r/g

Your first one is correct anywhere else, but Vim has to have different newline handling for some reason.

answered Feb 27 '09 at 12:05

In my version of Vim \n works, but this just replaces the newline with a *, effectively joining the lines. – Nathan Fellman Mar 01 '09 at 07:50
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This command is verified to work fine on every version of Vim I've tried. Are you using the windows version or something? – Mar 01 '09 at 23:44

score 3 · Answer 10 · edited Jul 27 '12 at 05:12

3

%s/\s*$/\*/g

this will do the trick, and ensure leading spaces are ignored.

edited Jul 27 '12 at 05:12

Conner

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answered Feb 27 '09 at 11:59

ng.

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How can I add a string to the end of each line in Vim?

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