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nepsilon/3-vim-tips-with-external-commands.md

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    # 3 Vim tips with external commands

    Vim has this `!` special character that will run any shell command without having to close it. Here are 3 ways I often use it:

    **1. Format a JSON blob:**
    ```
    :%!python -m json.tool
    ```

    **2. Count number of characters in a file:**
    ```
    :! wc -c %
    ```

    **3. Load a directory listing:**
    ```
    :r ! ls -1 /my/dir
    ```
    The possibilities are virtually unlimited. Remember `%` will be replaced with the current filename, and `:r` (`:read`) will copy the output of what follows into the current file.