Incorrect vim-mode replace

Bug reports
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1

Steps to reproduce

  1. Activate vim mode in the Editor preferences.
  2. Type **bold** on a line.
  3. Keep the cursor on the line, in normal mode.
  4. Try to remove all stars with the command :s/\*//g.

Did you follow the troubleshooting guide? Yes (observed in the Sandbox vault).

Expected result

In vim, the above removes all stars (as expected from the “global” flag /g).

Actual result

In Obsidian, only the first star is removed from each group, and we get *bold*.

Environment

SYSTEM INFO:
Obsidian version: v1.5.3
Installer version: v1.4.13
Operating system: Darwin Kernel Version 23.3.0: Wed Dec 20 21:30:27 PST 2023; root:xnu-10002.81.5~7/RELEASE_ARM64_T8103 23.3.0
Login status: not logged in
Insider build toggle: off
Live preview: on
Base theme: adapt to system
Community theme: none
Snippets enabled: 0
Restricted mode: off
Plugins installed: 1
Plugins enabled: 1
1: Various Complements v8.3.2

Additional information

I checked on CodeMirror that their vim editor works correctly, and it does (both with their version 5 and their version 6): this appears to be an Obsidian specific bug.

1 Like
2

Does it happen in source mode?

Does it happen here?

3

Thank you for your followup.

The same problem also appears in source mode (the result is *bold*).

The problem is also present in the online editor you pointed to (which produces *bold* too).

Now, vim on macOS correctly produces bold, instead (as does the CodeMirror 5 online editor, again).

4

Thanks

Please, search/open a bug report here and explain them how to reproduce the bug in their sandbox.

5

Thanks for the pointers.

Done!

1 Like
6

For reference:

  1. This was fixed upstream in the codemirror-vim repo on 2024-11-06.
  2. The fix is apparently not yet included in Obsidian 1.7.7, as codemirror-vim was only updated in Obsidian before 2024-10-16 (Obsidian 1.7.4).

Keeping my fingers crossed for the fix to work in a future version of Obsidian!

2 Likes
7

I’m running into this issue as well. It seems like the fix is included in codemirror-vim 6.3.0, released in March 2025, so hopefully Obsidian upgrades to the latest codemirror-vim soon!

2 Likes