> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://ploegert.gitbook.io/til/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://ploegert.gitbook.io/til/tools/vim/delete-every-other-line.md).

# Delete Every Other Line

You can delete every other line in the current buffer using the following command.

There is a fairly elegant way in vim to delete every other line in the current buffer. Why would you want to do that? I don't know. Nevertheless, here it is:

```
:g/^/+d
```

This will essentially delete all even numbered lines. If you'd like to delete all odd numbered lines, delete the first line in the file (`ggdd`) and then run the same command as above.

This syntax is a bit awkward, so you may be better off going straight for a macro (e.g. `qqjddq5@q` or `qqddjq5@q`).

[source](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1946738/vim-how-to-delete-every-second-row)