Vimgrep Open Buffers

How to vimgrep over hidden files.

I needed to delete all build pipeline steps that were named upload docs. I currently have about 60 projects running from the same template all running very similar builds. In the past I've scripted out migrations for large changes like this, they involved writing a python script that would load the yaml file into a dictionary, find the corresponding steps make the change and write it back out.

Today's job was much simplar, just delete the step, were all steps are surrounded by newlines. My first thought was to just open all files in vim and run dap. I just needed to get these files:positions into my quickfix. My issue is that all the builds reside within hidden directories by convention.

The issue

variability

After searching through all the projects it was clear that all the steps were in their own paragraph, though I was not 100% confident enough to completely automate it, and the word upload docs was in the paragraph.

some were a two liner

        
- name: upload docs
  script: aws s3 ...

Some had a variation in the name

        
- name: upload docs to s3
  script: aws s3 ...

some were more than 2 lines.

        
- name: upload docs
  script: |
    aws s3 ...

some used a different command.

        
- name: upload docs
  script: |
    python ...

Templates are great

but they change

Templates are amazing, and tools like cookiecutter and copier are essential in my workflow, but those templates change over time. Some things are a constant, and others like this one are an ever evolving beast until they are tamed into something the team is happy with.

vimgrep over hidden files

I know all the files that I care to search for are called build.yml, and they are in a hidden directory.

        
:args `fd -H build.yml`
:vimgrep /upload docs/ ##

Once opened as a buffer by using args, and a handy fd command I can vimgrep over all the open buffers using ##

Open buffers are represented by ##

Now I can just dap and :cnext my way through the list of changes that I have, and know that I hit every one of them when I am at the end of my list. And can double check this in about 10s by scrolling back through the quickfix list.

Vim points achieved

You're not a true vim enthusiast until you have spent 10 minutes writing a blog post about how vim saved you 5 minutes. Check out all the other times this has happened to me in the vim tag.