---
title: "use vim to remove duplicates"
description: "I just love how some features of vim are so discoverable and memorable once you really start to grasp it. Sorting and uniqing your files or ranges is one of..."
date: 2022-08-25
published: true
tags:
  - python
template: til
---



I just love how some features of vim are so discoverable and memorable once you
really start to grasp it.  Sorting and uniqing your files or ranges is one of
those examples for me.


``` vim
" sort the file
:sort
" sort the file only keeping unique lines
:sort u


" sort a range
:'<,'> sort
" sort a range only keeping unique lines
:'<,'> sort u
```

I recently used this to dedupe my autogenerated links section for
[rich-syntax-range-style](https://waylonwalker.com/rich-syntax-range-style/).
More often I am using it to sort and uniqify objects like arrays and lists.

Here is what the markdown looks like.

``` markdown
* [py-tree-sitter](https://github.com/tree-sitter/py-tree-sitter)
* [rich](https://github.com/Textualize/rich)
* [@textualizeio](https://twitter.com/textualizeio)
* [rich](https://github.com/Textualize/rich)
* [another post](https://waylonwalker.com/designing-kedro-router)
* [print-register-pipelines](https://screenshots.waylonwalker.com/print-register-pipelines.webp)
* [rich](https://github.com/Textualize/rich)
* [console-print-register-pipelines](https://screenshots.waylonwalker.com/console-print-register-pipelines.webp)
* [rich](https://github.com/Textualize/rich)
* [syntax-print-register-pipelines](https://screenshots.waylonwalker.com/syntax-print-register-pipelines.webp)
* [rich](https://github.com/Textualize/rich)
* [syntax-print-register-pipelines-highlight-line](https://screenshots.waylonwalker.com/syntax-print-register-pipelines-highlight-line.webp)
* [py-tree-sitter](https://github.com/tree-sitter/py-tree-sitter)
```

Then typing `vap:sort u` yields a uniqly sorted list of links.

``` markdown
* [@textualizeio](https://twitter.com/textualizeio)
* [another post](https://waylonwalker.com/designing-kedro-router)
* [console-print-register-pipelines](https://screenshots.waylonwalker.com/console-print-register-pipelines.webp)
* [print-register-pipelines](https://screenshots.waylonwalker.com/print-register-pipelines.webp)
* [py-tree-sitter](https://github.com/tree-sitter/py-tree-sitter)
* [rich](https://github.com/Textualize/rich)
* [syntax-print-register-pipelines-highlight-line](https://screenshots.waylonwalker.com/syntax-print-register-pipelines-highlight-line.webp)
* [syntax-print-register-pipelines](https://screenshots.waylonwalker.com/syntax-print-register-pipelines.webp)
```


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