what can the dot command repeat, exactly?

Question

Vimmers know that . can repeat simple changes. I tried to build a list of what can be repeated or not, but is there a list?

I tried to list what I know to be repeatable: they are all normal-mode commands:

• Text insertion : a, A, i, I, o, O
• Text changes involving registers: c, C, d, D, p, gp, P, gP, s, S,x, X
• Other text changes: J, gJ, r, gr, R, gR, gU, gu, gw, gq, g?, ~, g~, <, >, =
• Equivalent of these operations in visual mode.
• Control-operations: C-A, C-X
• gi will repeat the insertion but at current cursor position, not at last insert position. So it sort of works.

But it does not include:

• All move and display commands (too numerous to be listed here)
• All fold commands (z-commands, also numerous)
• Mark (m)
• Substitution repeat (&, g&)
• Colon or Filter command (!, :, Q)
• Macro recordings or playing (q or @, will repeat last repeatable action done while recording or playing ).
• Diff put and get (dp, do)
• Undo (u, U, C-R)
• Yanks (y)

I know that tpope's repeat plugin can have custom plugins subscribe to the repetition mechanism. But by default, is the above list good?

Answer 1

I believe a change is any command that modifies the current buffer. The . command excludes Ex commands (because that's a different mode that was bolted onto vi in the far history, I guess), and can optionally include yanks.

So for your list, :help change.txt, filtered for Ex commands, is probably the best source.

Note that when a change command cannot be applied (i.e. it beeps), it is also not registered for repeat; the command execution must be successful.

Answer 2

some combination with v/V can be "dot" repeated too.

e.g.

Vgq, v/VU or v/Vu

Answer 3

Tim Pope's repeat.vim can make repeat many more things (including stuff like surround.vim and other must haves).

To repeat a motion, look at , / ; (forward/reverse direction).

To repeat an Ex command, @: is a good key combination