execute the below command: :w !/bin/sh see: http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/htmldoc/tips.htm Renaming files *rename-files* Say I have a directory with the following files in them (directory picked at random :-): buffer.c charset.c digraph.c ... and I want to rename *.c *.bla. I'd do it like this: $ vim :r !ls *.c :%s//(.*/).c/mv & /1.bla :w !sh :q! http://www.52rd.com/Blog/Detail_RD.Blog_wqyuwss_11315.html for i in file_list do vi $i <<-! :g/xxxx/s//XXXX/g :wq ! done http://easwy.com/blog/archives/replace-string-in-multiple-files/