How do I repeat the last external command

Question

I would like to have the following behavior for a key in vim (for example the F8 key):

Find the most recent ex command starting with :! and repeat it.

For example, if my command history is

(...)
:!python abc.py
/hi
:%s/hi/ho/g
:w

then by pressing F8 I would like vim to run :!python abc.py

Answer 1

:!! repeats the last :!{cmd}. You can map it to F8 like so:

:nnoremap <F8> :!!<CR>

Answer 2

You could try the following mapping:

nnoremap <F8> q:?^!<CR><CR>

Explanation:

• q: - open the command-line window
• ?^! - search for a line starting with !
• <CR><CR> - hit enter twice to execute that command