Editing text files often requires repetitive actions, which can be slow and error-prone. Neovim includes a powerful macro system that leverages the named registers that were introduced in the previous chapter.
Performing tasks in Neovim generally involves typing sequences of keys. The sequence of keys that are typed to perform a specific action can be concatenated together into a string that defines the specific sequence of keys required to perform our task. This string can be stored in a [[named register]], just like any string.
The difference between a macro and any other string is how that string is interpreted when retrieved from the register. Whereas pasting text from a register inserts that text into the buffer, when executing a macro Neovim interprets the string as a sequence of keys and executes each as if we were typing them.
Macros are quite powerful, and are useful for solving quick one-off editing tasks as well as for executing common tasks across multiple files.
One of the nice things about Neovim macros is the ease with which they can be created, which is the topic of the next section.