Sudo save from within VIM

This is a critical trick for using VIM.

Here's the scenario: you've opened up a file that you don't have write permissions for. You've taken all this time to make all these edits, then you :wq to get outta there and BOOM!

You forgot, you needed to sudo to edit the file.

I do this all the time when editing /etc/hosts.

What's the solution?

Turns out it's really simple:

:w !sudo tee %>/dev/null

That's it. It'll prompt you for your password, and you'll be able to write the file and quit. Lifesaving technique here.

If you're interested in how this works, I have a quick explanation over at my blog.

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Hope this tip was useful for you!

If you're interested in Linux, VIM, Python, Django, React Native, and many other things, follow me here on dev.to or on Twitter @connorbode.

I'll keep posting the stuff I find useful!

Comments

[Dan Siefert]

Thanks for the tip!