Quickfix and Location Lists

A typed list of file:line:message — the spine of grep, make, and lint workflows.

Keys: :make, :grep, :vimgrep, :copen, :cnext, :cprev, :cclose

:make, :grep, and :vimgrep populate the quickfix list. :copen shows it; :cnext / :cprev step through entries. The location list is the per-window twin.

The quickfix list is Vim's universal results pane. Compile errors, grep hits, lint warnings, test failures — they all funnel into the same list with the same navigation keys. Once you wire your tools through it, every command-line workflow becomes a structured editing session.

Populate the list

Command	Effect
`:make`	Run `makeprg` (default `make`), capture errors via `errorformat`
`:make test`	Pass arguments to the make program
`:grep PATTERN [PATH]`	Run external grep (`grepprg`), populate from results
`:vimgrep /PATTERN/ FILES`	Run Vim's internal grep (no shell)
`:vimgrep /TODO/ */.py`	Recursively find `TODO` in Python files
`:cexpr system('rg --vimgrep PATTERN')`	Inject any tool's output via `errorformat`

Navigate the list

Step through entries

Key	Note
``:copen``	Open the quickfix window (fills the bottom)
``:cclose``	Close it
``:cnext``	Jump to the next entry
``:cprev``	Jump to the previous entry
``:cfirst``	Jump to the first
``:clast``	Jump to the last
``:ccN``	Jump to entry number N

Tip. In the quickfix window, Enter opens the entry under the cursor. p previews it without leaving. :colder restores a previous quickfix list — Vim keeps a stack of them.

Location list — same idea, scoped to a window

Replace every c-prefixed command with l: :lmake, :lgrep, :lopen, :lnext, :lprev. The list lives on the window, not the editor, so two splits can run two greps without stepping on each other.

Tip. :set grepprg=rg\ --vimgrep to use ripgrep — it's massively faster than grep and produces output matching Vim's default grepformat.

See also: Shell Commands (:!), Tag Navigation