VSCodeVim / VSCodeVim/Vim

Issue with find and replace

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Dominant language
TypeScript
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Description

Describe the bug
Search-and-replace using regex in visual mode fails with the error E486: Pattern not found: pub const \(.*\)=.* when executed in VSCodeVim, but works correctly in native Vim.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

  1. Open a file with the following content:

    pub const tower = @import("tower.zip");
    pub const tower = @import("tower.zip");
    pub const tower = @import("tower.zip");
    pub const tower = @import("tower.zip");
    pub const tower = @import("tower.zip");
    
  2. Enter visual line mode with Shift + V

  3. Select 4 lines down using 4j

  4. Execute the following command:
    :s/ pub const \(.*\)=.*/test { _ = \1; }

  5. Press Enter

  6. See the error: E486: Pattern not found: pub const \(.*\)=.*

Expected behavior
The substitution should work correctly and output:

test { _ = tower; }
test { _ = tower; }
test { _ = tower; }
test { _ = tower; }
test { _ = tower; }

This behavior works as expected in native Vim.

Screenshots

Image

Environment (please complete the following information):

  • Extension (VsCodeVim) version: 1.29.0
  • VSCode version: 1.99.3
  • OS: macOS 15.1.1

Additional context
This appears to be a bug in how VSCodeVim handles regex substitution with capture groups in visual mode. Works perfectly in native Vim. Tried with and without escaping parentheses. Also tested on the latest VSCode and VSCodeVim versions.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing the visual-mode substitution with capture groups in VSCodeVim using the supplied Zig example, then compare it with native Vim behavior. Trace the visual-mode :s handling and regex replacement path; done means the command succeeds and produces the five expected test { _ = tower; } lines without E486.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript, vim, vscode
Domain
developer-experience, devtools
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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