sneak.vim 👞

Sneak is a Vim plugin that jumps to any location specified by two characters. It works with multiple lines, operators (including repeat . and surround), keymaps, visual mode, unicode ("multibyte"), and macros.

• Preserves default f, t, ; and , behavior
• Repeats operation with .
• Repeats motion with ; and ,
• Jumps immediately to the first match
• Updates the jumplist only for non-repeat motion
• Restricts to a vertical scope if count is used
• Provides label-mode for a minimalist EasyMotion alternative: let g:sneak#label = 1
• More at FAQ

Vim has many built-in motions, but "medium distance" is missing...

l  f  t  %  'm  }  ]m  ]]  M  L         /
                                   ^
                                   |
                                 sneak

Usage (Default)

Sneak is invoked with s followed by exactly two characters:

s{char}{char}

• Press sab to move the cursor immediately to the next instance of the text "ab".
  • Additional matches, if any, are highlighted until the cursor is moved.
• Press ; to go to the next match (or s again, if s_next is enabled; see :help sneak).
• Press 3; to skip to the third match from the current position.
• Press ctrl-o or `` to go back to the starting point.
  • This is a built-in Vim motion; Sneak adds to Vim's jumplist only on s invocation—not repeats—so you can abandon a trail of ; or , by a single ctrl-o or ``.
• Press s<Enter> at any time to repeat the last Sneak-search.
• Press S to search backwards.

Sneak can be scoped to a column of width 2×[number] by prefixing s with a number.

• Press 5sxy to go immediately to the next instance of "xy" within 5 columns of the cursor.
  • A highlight block indicates the vertical scope.

Sneak is invoked with operators via z (because s is taken by surround.vim).

• Press 3dzqt to delete up to the third instance of "qt".
  • Press . to repeat the 3dzqt operation.
  • Press 2. to repeat twice.
  • Press d; to delete up to the next match.
  • Press 4d; to delete up to the fourth next match.
• Press ysz))] to surround in brackets up to )).
  • Press ; to go to the next )).
• Press gUz\} to upper-case the text from the cursor until the next instance of the literal text \}
  • Press . to repeat the gUz\} operation.

Installation

• vim-plug
  • Plug 'justinmk/vim-sneak'
• Pathogen
  • cd ~/.vim/bundle && git clone git://github.com/justinmk/vim-sneak.git
• Manual installation:
  • Copy the files to your .vim directory.

To repeat Sneak operations (like dzab) with dot ., repeat.vim is required.

FAQ

Why not use /?

For the same reason that Vim has motions like f and t: common operations should use as few keystrokes as possible.

• /ab<cr> requires 33% more keystrokes than sab
• sets only the initial position in the Vim jumplist—so you can explore a trail of matches via ;, then return to the start with a single ctrl-o or ``
• doesn't clutter your search history
• input is always literal (no need to escape special characters)
  • ignores accents ("equivalence class") when matching (#183)
• smarter, subtler highlighting
• sneak label-mode

Why not use f?

• Sneak is fifty times more precise than f or t
• Sneak moves vertically
• Sneak highlights matches in the direction of your search

How dare you remap s?

You can specify any mapping for Sneak (see :help sneak). By the way: cl is equivalent to s, and cc is equivalent to S.

How can I replace f with Sneak?

    nmap f <Plug>Sneak_s
    nmap F <Plug>Sneak_S
    xmap f <Plug>Sneak_s
    xmap F <Plug>Sneak_S
    omap f <Plug>Sneak_s
    omap F <Plug>Sneak_S

How can I replace f and/or t with one-character Sneak?

Sneak provides <Plug> convenience-mappings for f and t 1-character-sneak. These mappings do not invoke label-mode, even if you have it enabled.

    "replace 'f' with 1-char Sneak
    nmap f <Plug>Sneak_f
    nmap F <Plug>Sneak_F
    xmap f <Plug>Sneak_f
    xmap F <Plug>Sneak_F
    omap f <Plug>Sneak_f
    omap F <Plug>Sneak_F
    "replace 't' with 1-char Sneak
    nmap t <Plug>Sneak_t
    nmap T <Plug>Sneak_T
    xmap t <Plug>Sneak_t
    xmap T <Plug>Sneak_T
    omap t <Plug>Sneak_t
    omap T <Plug>Sneak_T

Related

• Seek
• EasyMotion
• smalls
• improvedft
• clever-f
• vim-extended-ft
• Fanf,ingTastic;

License

Copyright © Justin M. Keyes. Distributed under the MIT license.