How can I save a file I opened in vim as the wrong user?

Question

This happens to me all the time. I login as a normal user and start editing a file using vim. After editing is done, when I try to save the file, I don't have enough permission to save the file. I have to close the file, login as root and start editing again. Below is the given error in vim:

E45: 'readonly' option is set (add ! to override)

Or in plain vi:

File is read only

Is there a way to save without leaving the editor?

I avoid the problem with an autocmd that checks if 'readonly' is set after loading the file, and then setting 'nomodifiable' if the file is readonly to prevent me accidentally editing the file. — Ben, Feb 20 '15 at 21:24

Techie · Accepted Answer · 2015-03-05T17:46:12.130

106

Try the below command

:w !sudo tee %

Explanation

:w – write
!sudo – call shell sudo command
tee – the output of write (:w) command is redirected using tee
% – current file name

More info

edited Mar 05 '15 at 17:46

answered Feb 20 '15 at 18:20

Techie

44,706
42
157
243

Related post: [How does the vim “write with sudo” trick work?](http://stackoverflow.com/q/2600783/438329). If you have Tim Pope's [eunuch.vim](https://github.com/tpope/vim-eunuch) then you can do `:SudoWrite` – Peter Rincker Feb 20 '15 at 23:27
Also, a good similar alternative with explanations here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/48237738/670521 – DrBeco Oct 24 '19 at 01:51

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 27 '19 at 07:34

1

E45: 'readonly' option is set (add ! to override)

press Esc, then type :qa! and press Enter

answered Nov 27 '19 at 07:34

bdgbdhfh

21
1

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited Jan 03 '22 at 18:36

1

Just simply type your command with sudo like sudo vi filename.txt.

Then, hit i, edit what you want to change and hit Esc. Then :wq

edited Jan 03 '22 at 18:36

desertnaut

57,590
26
140
166

answered Oct 20 '21 at 15:26

Hoang Subin

6,610
6
37
56

Markus · Answer 4 · 2022-01-04T22:42:33.020

1

:w /tmp/xyz
:q!

/tmp should always be writeable to erveryone. And then mv or cp the file /tmp/xyz as the correct user to where your original file was

edited Jan 04 '22 at 22:42

answered Jan 03 '22 at 18:13

Markus

11
2

1

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Community Jan 03 '22 at 18:36

How can I save a file I opened in vim as the wrong user?

4 Answers4