In Vim, what is the simplest way to join all lines in a file into a single line?

Question

I want to join all lines in a file into a single line. What is the simplest way of doing this? I've had poor luck trying to use substitution (\r\n or \n doesn't seem to get picked up correctly in the case of s/\r\n// on Windows). Using J in a range expression doesn't seem to work either (probably because the range is no longer in 'sync' after the first command is executed).

I tried :1,$norm! J but this only did half of the file - which makes sense because it just joins each line once.

See also "[How to delete the '\n' of every line in a file](http://stackoverflow.com/q/6868335/254635)". — ib., Apr 08 '12 at 02:18

score 138 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 24 '08 at 16:31

138

Another way:

ggVGJ

"ggVG" visually selects all lines, and "J" joins them.

answered Dec 24 '08 at 16:31

orip

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Examples like this show why vim is so powerful. "gg", "V", "G", "J", are all serparate commands. excellent – Dec 24 '08 at 16:41
As the accepted answer points out, `:%j` works, it's short, and doesn't require visual mode. – Mr. Lance E Sloan Oct 06 '17 at 17:20

Jordan Parmer · Accepted Answer · 2008-12-24T22:39:17.640

77

Ah, I found the answer.

:1,$join

Works like a charm.

EDIT: As pointed out in the comment:

:%join   -or-    :%j

...removes the range.

edited Dec 24 '08 at 22:39

answered Dec 24 '08 at 15:55

Jordan Parmer

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This can also be written as: :%join – Josh Lee Dec 24 '08 at 17:00
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You may also want to use the gJ operation instead of j. The gJ operation joins the lines without inserting or removing any spaces. – Kris Kumler Dec 24 '08 at 21:38
I self-answered this because I think this is much quicker than ggVGJ and slightly more elegant. – Jordan Parmer Jan 06 '09 at 23:44
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Note: %j! will join without spaces. (Add an exclamation mark.) You can't use gJ with %. – Rich Sep 05 '09 at 19:03

score 40 · Answer 3 · edited May 05 '15 at 21:28

40

You can do it with 3 keystrokes starting from normal mode:

:%j

: enters command mode
% refers to all lines in the file
j executes the join command

Now it seems that this adds a space between the lines. I am not sure if you want this.

edited May 05 '15 at 21:28

kenorb

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answered Apr 07 '12 at 16:11

Dimi

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```:%j!``` gets rid of the space. – McKean Jul 20 '22 at 09:59

score 17 · Answer 4 · edited May 05 '15 at 21:29

17

You can do it in three fewer keystrokes:

:1,$j

isn't ed grand?

edited May 05 '15 at 21:29

kenorb

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answered Dec 24 '08 at 17:00

tpgould

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score 11 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 24 '08 at 22:36

I’m surprised no one even mentioned the other way:

:%s/\n/ /

I am equally surprised that no one pointed out that the range 1,$ has a shorthand that’s written %.

(This doesn’t do the same thing as joining the lines, but depending on circumstances that may in fact be more appropriate.)

score 9 · Answer 6 · answered Dec 24 '08 at 16:55

9

Cryptic way:

qqqqqJ@qq@q

(the first three q's clear the q register, the qqJ@qq records a macro to the q register that performs a Join, then calls q, and the last @q runs it.

answered Dec 24 '08 at 16:55

Josh Lee

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Of course. :-p http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/61no8/holy_shmoly_haskell_smokes_python_and_ruby_away/c02jz8x – Josh Lee Dec 25 '08 at 07:36
Why would you want to clear the q register first, when you overwrite it anyway. That's like doing a bunch of no-ops to make your command longer. – Alf Jan 07 '09 at 08:25
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@Alf : Because if you have something in the q register, you will execute that macro while recording 'J@q'. – Michele Gargiulo Feb 02 '12 at 15:01

In Vim, what is the simplest way to join all lines in a file into a single line?

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