Macros¶

Macros are a basic automation facility consisting in sequences of commands. Use them whenever you need to repeat the exact same steps to perform an operation.

Macro files are JSON files with the extension .sublime-macro. Sublime Text ships with a few macros providing core functionality, such as line and word deletion. You can find these under Tools | Macros.

How to Record Macros¶

To start recording a macro, press Ctrl+q and subsequently execute the desired steps one by one. When you’re done, press Ctrl+q again to stop the macro recorder. Your new macro won’t be saved to a file, but kept in the macro buffer instead. You will now be able to run the recorded macro by pressing Ctrl+Shift+q or save it to a file by selecting Tools | Save macro….

Note that the macro buffer will only remember the macro recorded latest. Also, recorded macros only capture commands sent to the buffer: window level commands, such as creating a new file, will be ignored.

How to Edit Macros¶

Alternatively to recording a macro, you can edit it by hand. Save a new file with the extension .sublime-macro under PackagesUser and add commands to it. This is how a macro file looks like:

[
    {"command": "move_to", "args": {"to": "hardeol"}},
    {"command": "insert", "args": {"characters": "\n"}}
]

See the Commands section for more information on commands.

If you’re editing a macro by hand, you need to escape quotation marks, blank spaces and backslashes by preceding them with \.

Where to Store Macros¶

Macro files can be stored in any package folder, and they will show up under Tools | Macros | <PackageName>.