piper.vim

The magic of pipes.

Commands

There are fourteen commands by default:

Key	Command	Mnemonic
a	ansifilter	(A)nsifilter
c	column -t	(C)olumn
d	uniq -d	show only (D)uplicate lines
e	uniq -c	(E)numerate (count) the duplicates
f	clang-format	(F)ormat source code
k	sort -t: -k1,1	Sort file by (K)ey
l	nl -nrz -w4 -ba	(L)ine numbers
n	sort -n	(N)umeric sort
r	rev	(R)everse each
s	sort -f	(S)ort lines (fold case)
t	tac	(T)ac (reverse the file)
u	uniq	(U)nique (remove duplicate lines)
x	shuf	mi(X) up lines
z	cat -s	squee(Z)e blank lines

Mappings

First, it's a good idea to create a mapping to show the mappings. This will list all the shortcuts and the commands they call:

nmap <silent> <F6> <Plug>PiperShowMappings

Alternatively, you can use the command:

:PiperShowMappings

or call the function directly:

:call PiperShowMappings()

Each command has four mappings. Each mapping begins with cp (remember this as Change using a Pipe), followed by a letter from the table above. For example, the mappings for the "rev" command are:

Mapping	Mode	Description
cpr	Normal	Filter region defined by vim {motion} commands
cprr	Normal	Filter the current line
cpR	Normal	Filter the entire file (note the capital letter)
cpr	Visual	Filter the visual selection
3cpr	Normal	Filter the next 3 lines (count support)

e.g.

Mapping	Works on	Command	Effect
cpa{motion}	{motion}	ansifilter	ANSI sequences are stripped out
cpaa	current line	ansifilter	ANSI sequences are stripped out
cpA	entire file	ansifilter	ANSI sequences are stripped out
cpc{motion}	{motion}	column -t	Data are put into columns
cpcc	current line	column -t	Data are put into columns
cpC	entire file	column -t	Data are put into columns
cpd{motion}	{motion}	uniq -d	Only duplicate lines are shown
cpdd	current line	uniq -d	Only duplicate lines are shown
cpD	entire file	uniq -d	Only duplicate lines are shown
cpe{motion}	{motion}	uniq -c	Duplicate lines are counted
cpee	current line	uniq -c	Duplicate lines are counted
cpE	entire file	uniq -c	Duplicate lines are counted
cpf{motion}	{motion}	clang-format	Source lines are tidied
cpff	current line	clang-format	Source lines are tidied
cpF	entire file	clang-format	Source lines are tidied
cpk{motion}	{motion}	sort -t: -k1,1	Lines are sorted by key
cpkk	current line	sort -t: -k1,1	Lines are sorted by key
cpK	entire file	sort -t: -k1,1	Lines are sorted by key
cpl{motion}	{motion}	nl -nrz -w4 -ba	Lines are numbered
cpll	current line	nl -nrz -w4 -ba	Lines are numbered
cpL	entire file	nl -nrz -w4 -ba	Lines are numbered
cpn{motion}	{motion}	sort -n	Lines are sorted numerically
cpnn	current line	sort -n	Lines are sorted numerically
cpN	entire file	sort -n	Lines are sorted numerically
cpr{motion}	{motion}	rev	Each line is written backwards
cprr	current line	rev	Each line is written backwards
cpR	entire file	rev	Each line is written backwards
cps{motion}	{motion}	sort -f	Lines are sorted (ignoring case)
cpss	current line	sort -f	Lines are sorted (ignoring case)
cpS	entire file	sort -f	Lines are sorted (ignoring case)
cpt{motion}	{motion}	tac	Lines are written in reverse order
cptt	current line	tac	Lines are written in reverse order
cpT	entire file	tac	Lines are written in reverse order
cpu{motion}	{motion}	uniq	Duplicate lines are removed
cpuu	current line	uniq	Duplicate lines are removed
cpU	entire file	uniq	Duplicate lines are removed
cpx{motion}	{motion}	shuf	Lines are written in a random order
cpxx	current line	shuf	Lines are written in a random order
cpX	entire file	shuf	Lines are written in a random order
cpz{motion}	{motion}	cat -s	Duplicate blank lines are removed
cpzz	current line	cat -s	Duplicate blank lines are removed
cpZ	entire file	cat -s	Duplicate blank lines are removed

User Commands

:Piper {key}

Run a piper command on a range of lines. Defaults to the entire file.

:Piper s              Sort the entire file
:10,20Piper n         Numerically sort lines 10-20
:'<,'>Piper r         Reverse the visual selection

Tab-completion is available for the command key.

:PiperShowMappings

List all the command keys and the commands they call.

Count Support

The motion mappings accept a count. If a count is given, the command is applied to that many lines starting from the cursor position. Without a count, operator-pending mode is entered and a {motion} is expected.

3cps                  Sort the next 3 lines
5cpr                  Reverse the next 5 lines

Behaviour

All filtering is line-range based, even with characterwise motions or visual selections.

After filtering, the cursor position and scroll state are preserved. The filter operation is grouped into a single undo step, so a single u will undo the entire operation.

Configuration

The pipes are initialised from a vim dictionary. Here's the default:

let g:piper_command_list = {
    \ 'a': 'LANG=C ansifilter',
    \ 'c': 'LANG=C column --table --output-separator " "',
    \ 'd': 'LANG=C uniq --repeated',
    \ 'e': 'LANG=C uniq --count',
    \ 'f': 'LANG=C clang-format -assume-filename=%',
    \ 'k': 'LANG=C sort --field-separator=: --key=1,1 --key=2,2n --key=3,3n',
    \ 'l': 'LANG=C nl --number-format=rz --number-width=4',
    \ 'n': 'LANG=C sort --numeric-sort',
    \ 'r': 'LANG=C rev',
    \ 's': 'LANG=C sort --ignore-case',
    \ 't': 'LANG=C tac',
    \ 'u': 'LANG=C uniq',
    \ 'x': 'LANG=C shuf',
    \ 'z': 'LANG=C cat --squeeze-blank',
\ }

To add your own command, or change the parameters for an existing command, copy the script, above, into your .vimrc.

Examples

Type This	Result
cpsip	Current paragraph is sorted
cpx9j	Ten lines are randomised
cpL	Add lines numbers to the entire file
3cps	Sort the next 3 lines
:10,20Piper r	Reverse lines 10-20

License

Copyright © 2014-2026 Richard Russon (flatcap). Distributed under the GPLv3 http://fsf.org/

See also

• flatcap.org
• GitHub