Count number of matches of a pattern

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created 2005 · complexity basic · author Marc Weber · version 7.0

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To count the number of matches of a pattern, use the substitute command with the n flag. The following shows the number of times that pattern matches text in the current buffer:

:%s/pattern//gn

Omit g to display the number of lines where the pattern matches:

:%s/pattern//n

To restrict the count to a region of the text, specify a range instead of % (% means all lines). For example, the following counts the number of occurrences in lines 10 to 50 inclusive:

:10,50s/pattern//gn

The following counts the number of occurrences in the lines in the most recent visual selection.

:'<'>s/pattern//gn

Comments

To count number of occurrences of a pattern under search,

:%s///gn

This makes it easier for words, once the cursor is on the desired word, doing '#' or '*' followed by this count is much easier than typing.