How can I delete all lines in a file using vi?
At moment I do that using something like this to remove all lines in a file:
echo > test.txt
How can I delete all lines using vi?
Note:
Using dd is not a good option. There can be many lines.
12 Answers
In vi do
:1,$d
to delete all lines.
The : introduces a command (and moves the cursor to the bottom).
The 1,$ is an indication of which lines the following command (d) should work on. In this case the range from line one to the last line (indicated by $, so you don't need to know the number of lines in the document).
The final d stands for delete the indicated lines.
There is a shorter form (:%d) but I find myself never using it. The :1,$d can be more easily "adapted" to e.g. :4,$-2d leaving only the first 3 and last 2 lines, deleting the rest.
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23Pro tip. No more
ESC+dd+dd+dd+dd+dd+dd+dd+dd+dd+dd+dd+dd+dd+dd+dd+dd...Commented Nov 3, 2016 at 19:38 -
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2Even with
:%dand enter, its way too many strokes. I am trying to get into vim but without vim ctrl + a and del button is much more simpler than what vim provides for this. Just two strokes(ctrl+a, del) unlike:%dwhich has 4 strokes including the enter command Commented May 2, 2020 at 10:04
In vi I use
:%d
where
:tells vi to go in command mode%means all the linesd: delete
On the command line,
> test.txt
will do also.
What is the problem with dd?
dd if=/dev/null of=test.txt
where
/dev/nullis a special 0 byte fileifis the input fileofis the ouput file
answered Oct 13, 2014 at 11:41
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I was thinking that using
ddi need pess for every line on file.– ColdCommented Oct 13, 2014 at 11:43 -
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12You need to distinguish between
ddthe vi command (which the OP meant) andddthe utility, which you give an example of. Also,> test.txtmay not work as expected in non-bash shells (e.g. zsh).– depquidCommented Oct 13, 2014 at 13:03 -
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I'd recommend that you just do this (should work in any POSIX-compliant shell):
> test.txt
If you really want to do it with vi, you can do:
- 1G (go to first line)
- dG (delete to last line)
answered Oct 13, 2014 at 11:35
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Grepresents last line. If you are on the first line (gg),dGtells vi to remove all the lines from current line (first line) to the last line. So, you do it in one shot.– unxnutCommented Oct 13, 2014 at 11:44 -
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2Your shell syntax is dependent on configuration for some shells. Both bash and zsh (zsh by default) interactive shells can wait for input on STDIN after receiving that command and an additional <CTRL>+D is necessary to actually clear the file. The ability to run that is also dependent on CLOBBER settings.
>| test.txt < /dev/nullis somewhat more robust as it will always clobber the file and avoid waiting for input on interactive terminals.– CalebCommented Oct 16, 2014 at 10:43 -
2@Caleb: Like I said, in any POSIX-compliant shell. :-) Neither of those two situations are POSIX-complaint. Commented Oct 16, 2014 at 15:38
I'm a lazy dude, and I like to keep it simple. ggdG is five keystrokes including Shift
gg goes to the first line in the file, d is the start of the delete verb and G is the movement to go to the bottom of the file. Verbosely, it's go to the beginning of the file and delete everything until the end of the tile.
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rsrs. I'm lazy too and use
:$dor:1,$dis the faster way (I write less characters) kkk– ColdCommented Oct 15, 2014 at 15:52 -
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:%dis good alternative, since you only use 5 keystrokes that way too. Commented Oct 15, 2014 at 15:56 -
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If your cursor is on the first line (if not, type: gg or 1G), then you can just use dG. It will delete all lines from the current line to the end of file. So to make sure that you'll delete all the lines from the file, you may mix both together, which would be: ggdG (while in command mode).
Or %d in Ex mode, command-line example: vim +%d foo.bar.
Related: How I can delete in VIM all text from current line to end of file?
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3+1 for being more ergonomic than :1,$d. Not that our fingers aren't wired for typing colon all the time now, anyway ;)– Aaron R.Commented Oct 13, 2014 at 17:12
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2Upvoted.
dGis what I always use.– user6517Commented Oct 13, 2014 at 23:35 -
1I find this (
ggdG) the easiest method in vim. The reason this answer isn't upvoted as others is thatggis non-existent in pure vi?– thameeraCommented Oct 15, 2014 at 2:15 -
There are of course other similar variations if you're not already at the top of the file, such as
1GdGorGd1G. But if you're usingvim, thenggdGis the easiest to type.– jrw32982Commented Oct 16, 2019 at 18:11
Go to the beginning of the file and press dG.
I always use ggVG
ggjumps to the start of the current editing fileV(capitalized v) will select the current line. In this case the first line of the current editing fileG(capitalized g) will jump to the end of the file. In this case, since I selected the first line,Gwill select the whole text in this file.
Then you can simply press d or x to delete all the lines.
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If you use
dvertically, it automatically applies linewise.dldeletes a character to the right,djdeletes a line down, for example. Commented Oct 15, 2014 at 15:49
Another solution:
truncate -s 0 file
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1Seem to be a good method, but the target is doing it using vi. Tks– ColdCommented Jul 18, 2016 at 8:35
note that in your question, echo > test.txt creates a file with a single line break in it, not an empty file.
From the shell, consider using echo -n > test.txt or : > test.txt.
While I'd generally use a vi editing command (I use ggdG), you can also call out to the shell with a reference to the current file like so:
:!:>%
It's nearly as concise as ggdG, but harder to type, and you also have to confirm that you want to reload the modified file, so I don't particularly recommend it in this case, but knowing how to use shell commands from vi like this is useful.
breaking it down:
:initiate a vi command!initate a shell command:this is a shell builtin command with empty output>redirect the output%vi substitutes this with the name of the current file
The suggested :1,$d is also a good one of course, and just while I'm at it there's also 1GdG
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1
:!:>%is also dangerous asvidoesn't escape the file name for the shell (don't do it when editing a file called$(reboot)for instance). You'd need something:call system(":>" . shellescape(expand("%")))Commented Feb 7, 2019 at 11:51
I do a dgg, which deletes all lines from cursor (which is typically EOF when you open a file) to the top, which is the quickest.
I type gg to reach the top of the lines and then do a 100 dd. This brings the pointer to the top line of editor and clears 100 lines from there. You may have to adjust the number to add more lines if the file is lengthier.
> file.txt
You don't even have to open vi unless you really want to.
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2Hello and welcome to the U&L stack exchange site. Please review the help center for information on how to best post this site. We want to cultivate informative and unique questions and answers on this site. Your answer is identical to other answers and comments on this post. Please edit your post to be a more unique and informative answer please. Thank you!– kemotepCommented Feb 7, 2019 at 11:39
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2Besides, the point of the question is ... "using vi"– Jeff Schaller ♦Commented Feb 7, 2019 at 11:40
1GdGwould work from anywhere.echo | test.txtis not a valid command, unlesstest.txtis an executable script. I'm guessing you meanecho >test.txtinstead?vi,>test.txtis sufficient to truncate it to zero length - noechoneeded.