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88 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
88 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Read Content Into a File with Vim"
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date: 2024-12-10 21:42:17-06:00
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# lastmod: 2024-12-07
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draft: false
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description: "Using Vim's :r[ead] command to import content from another file or insert command output without leaving the editor."
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featured: false
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toc: true
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reply: true
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categories: Tips # Backstage, ChromeOS, Code, Self-Hosting, VMware
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tags:
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- linux
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- shell
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---
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I've been comfortable working with Vim for what feels like ages, but I still regularly learn about features and capabilities I'd overlooked.
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I recently discovered [Vim's `:r[ead]` command](https://vimhelp.org/insert.txt.html#%3Aread) which makes it easy to insert data from another file. I put this to use when I was configuring Netplan on a Linux VM while connected through a remote console session (without copy/paste support) and needed to include an interface's MAC address. Through the magic of Vim, I was able to pull that data straight into the file. For example:
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```yaml
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network:
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ethernets:
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ens18:
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[...]
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match:
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macaddress: # and then I entered...
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`<Esc>:r /sys/class/net/ens18/address<CR>`
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```
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I hit `<Esc>` to switch to normal mode, invoked the `:r[ead]` command, and pointed it to the `/sys` file which holds the MAC address for the interface. The address was then inserted straight into the file:
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```yaml
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network:
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ethernets:
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ens18:
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[...]
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match:
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macaddress:
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de:ad:be:ef:ca:fe # [tl! ~~]
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```
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`:r[ead]` inserts the extracted content on the line *after* the cursor so I just needed to quickly back it up to the `macaddress` line but that was still a pretty easy exercise.
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```yaml
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network:
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ethernets:
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ens18:
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[...]
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match:
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macaddress: de:ad:be:ef:ca:fe # [tl! ~~]
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```
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This approach also works well for capturing output from a command with `:r !command`, such as generating a random password for a Docker Compose stack:
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```yaml
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services:
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my_app:
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[...]
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environment:
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DB_SECRET:
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`<Esc>:r !apg -M NCL -m 32 -a 1 -n 1`
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```
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would yield something like:
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```yaml
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services:
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my_app:
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[...]
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environment:
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DB_SECRET:
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Cn6kp5y2BBk0VvAisULO4dxkXaGyFJ4f # [tl! ~~]
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```
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And again just a quick bit of rearranging...
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```yaml
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services:
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my_app:
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[...]
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environment:
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DB_SECRET: Cn6kp5y2BBk0VvAisULO4dxkXaGyFJ4f # [tl! ~~]
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```
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Being able to merge in data from elsewhere without leaving the editor is a pretty slick trick, don't you think?
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