Vim is a free, open-source text editor that comes installed by default with most operating systems. This tool is one of the most popular and powerful text editors that has been the preferred choice of many programmers. Learning to use Vim effectively can be a challenge, as Vim contains a lot of commands, and memorizing each and every command could take time. Below, we have compiled some of the most used Vim commands into a cheat sheet that will be helpful for using this text editor.The following table contains the most common and useful Vim commands to know, along with the functionalities of each command.
Command |
Function |
File Management |
|
| :w | Write file to disk |
| Ctrl g | Show file information |
| ga | Show character information |
| :q | Quit vi without saving file |
| :wq | Write file to disk and quit vi |
| :q! | Ignore warning and discard changes |
| :w filename | Save the file as filename |
| :r filename | Read and insert filename |
Navigation |
|
| h | Move cursor left |
| l | Move cursor right |
| j | Move cursor down one line |
| 2j | Move cursor down 2 lines |
| k | Move cursor up one line |
| 2k | Move cursor up 2 lines |
| w | Jump to start of next word (punctuation considered words) |
| W | Jump to start of next word (spaces separate words) |
| e | Move to end of next word (punctuation considered words) |
| E | Move to end of next word (no punctuation) |
| b | Move backwards to start of current word |
| B | Move backwards to start of current word (no punctuation) |
| ( | Move a sentence back |
| ) | Move a sentence forward |
| { | Move a paragraph back |
| } | Move a paragraph forward |
| $ | Move to end of line |
| ^ | Move to first non-blank character in line |
| 0 | Move to start of line |
| G | Move to last line of document |
| 3G | Move to line 3 |
| gg | Move to first line of document |
| :n | Go to line n in document |
| Ctrl d | Scroll down half a screen |
| Ctrl u | Scroll up half a screen |
| Ctrl f | Page forward |
| Ctrl b | Page backward |
Switching Modes |
|
| i | Enter Insert mode |
| v | Enter Visual mode |
| Esc | Return to normal mode from Insert and Visual mode |
Insert/Append Text |
|
| i | Insert text before current cursor location |
| I | Insert text at beginning of line |
| a | Append text after current cursor location |
| A | Append text at end of current line |
| o | Create new line for text below current cursor location |
| O | Create new line for text above current cursor location |
| ea | Insert (append) at end of current word |
Search and Replace |
|
| /pattern | Search forward |
| ?pattern | Search backward |
| * | Search forward for word under cursor |
| # | Search backward for word under cursor |
| r | Replace single character at cursor position |
| R | Replace characters starting at cursor position |
| cc | Replace entire line |
| :%s/search/replace/g | Replace every occurrence of search with replace. |
| :%s/search/replace/gc | Replace every occurrence of search with replace with confirmation |
Cut, Copy and Paste |
|
| x | Cut character under current cursor location |
| X | Cut character before current cursor location |
| dw | Cut from current cursor location to next word |
| D | Cut from current cursor location to end of current line |
| dd | Cut entire current line |
| Y | Copy selected text |
| yy | Copy entire current line |
| p | Paste text after cursor |
| P | Paste text before cursor |
Undo and Redo |
|
| u | Undo last change |
| Ctrl r | Redo changes that were undone |
Working with Multiple Files |
|
| :e filename | Edit file in a new buffer |
| :ls | List available buffers |
| :bn | Move to next buffer |
| :bp | Move to previous buffer |
| :bfirst | Move to first buffer |
| :blast | Move to last buffer |
| Ctrl ws | Split windows |
| Ctrl ww | Switch windows |
| Ctrl wq | Quit window |
| Ctrl wv | Split windows vertically |
| :tabnew | Create new tab |
| gt, :tabn, | Move to next tab |
| gT, :tabp | Move to previous tab |
| :tabfirst | Move to first tab |
| :tablast | Move to final tab |
| #gt | Move to tab number # |
Set Line Number |
|
| :set number | Show line numbers |
| :set nonumber | Do not show line numbers |
Visual Mode Commands |
|
| y | Copy selected text |
| d | Delete selected text |
| c | Delete selected text and enter Insert mode |
| > | Increase indent |
| < | Decrease indent |
| = | Fix indentation of current line |
| ~ | Change case |
The cheat sheet above should fill you in on the most used Vim commands. Vim can be hard to use at first but mastering a few commands can help you to gain more productivity in text editing and coding.
About the author
Karim Buzdar
Karim Buzdar holds a degree in telecommunication engineering and holds several sysadmin certifications. As an IT engineer and technical author, he writes for various web sites. You can reach Karim on LinkedIn.
