how do I go from typing `/foo` to `:%s/foo/bar` efficiently

Question

In vim, I typed /foo Enter and found some matches.

Now I want to replace all instances of foo with bar (i.e. :%s/foo/bar).

Can this be done without retyping the foo? (e.g. into the command line following :)

Answer 1

Yes, you can do it with :%s//bar.

Explanation: in the substitute command when the search pattern is empty, Vim uses the last search pattern.

Alternatively, you can explicitly paste the last search pattern, which is stored in a special register. You can quickly insert its contents by typing Ctrl-R+/ in insert or command mode.

So enter command mode, type %s/, then Ctrl-R+/ to paste the last pattern, and then the remaining /bar.