Save all open buffers at once

Tip 652 Printable Monobook Previous Next

created 2004 · complexity intermediate · author Andreas Berg · version 6.0

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Vim can open multiple files, each in its own buffer. Here is how to save all changes and continue working, or save all changes and exit Vim. It is also possible to quit all (discard changes).

:wa	write all changed files (save all changes), and keep working
:xa	exit all (save all changes and close Vim)
:wqa	same as :xa
:qa	quit all (close Vim, but not if there are unsaved changes)
:qa!	quit all (close Vim without saving—discard any changes)

The :wa and :xa commands only write a file when its buffer has been changed. By contrast, the :w command always writes the current buffer to its file (use :update to save the current buffer only if it has been changed).

Warning: If you enter :qa!, Vim will discard all changes without asking "are you sure?".

See also

• Tutorial

References

• :help window-exit