Vim Cheat Sheet¶

Cheat Sheet Highlights:¶

What is Vim?
Installation
Modes
Most Common Commands
File Operations
Cursor Movement
Editing Text
Search & Replace
Visual Mode
Advanced Navigation (Marks & Scrolling)
Multiple Windows & Tabs
Macros
Ex Commands & Ranges
Global Commands
Vim Options (Settings)

What is Vim?¶

Vim (Vi IMproved) is a highly configurable text editor built to enable efficient text editing. It is an improved version of the vi editor distributed with most UNIX systems.

Vim is known for being: * Modal: It has different modes for inserting text, navigating, and executing commands. * Keyboard-centric: Almost everything can be done without a mouse. * Ubiquitous: Available on almost every Linux/Unix system.

Installation¶

Most Linux distributions come with vi installed by default, but it might be the lightweight version. To get the full vim experience:

OS	Command
Ubuntu / Debian	`sudo apt update && sudo apt install vim`
CentOS / RHEL	`sudo yum install vim`
Fedora	`sudo dnf install vim`
macOS	`brew install vim` (or use built-in `vi`)
Arch Linux	`sudo pacman -S vim`

Modes¶

Vim has several modes. Understanding them is key to using Vim.

Mode	Description	How to access
Normal	The default mode for navigation and manipulation.	Press `Esc`
Insert	For typing text.	Press `i`, `a`, `o`
Visual	For selecting blocks of text.	Press `v`, `V`, `Ctrl+v`
Command	For saving, quitting, and settings.	Press `:` in Normal mode

Most Common Commands¶

These are the absolute essentials you need to survive in Vim.

Command	Action
`i`	Switch to Insert Mode (start typing)
`Esc`	Switch to Normal Mode (exit insert mode)
`:w`	Save the file
`:q`	Quit Vim
`:wq`	Save and Quit
`:q!`	Force Quit (discard changes)
`u`	Undo last change
`Ctrl + r`	Redo

File Operations¶

Commands for managing the file itself (saving, quitting, opening).

Command	Action
`:w`	Save changes
`:w <filename>`	Save as a new file
`:q`	Quit (fails if there are unsaved changes)
`:q!`	Quit and discard unsaved changes
`:wq` or `ZZ`	Save and quit
`:e <filename>`	Open a file for editing
`:sav <filename>`	Save file as `<filename>` and continue editing it

Cursor Movement¶

Navigate through the file quickly without leaving the keyboard.

Basic Movement¶

Command	Action
`h`	Move Left
`j`	Move Down
`k`	Move Up
`l`	Move Right

Command	Action
`0` (zero)	Jump to start of the line
`$`	Jump to end of the line
`gg`	Jump to first line of the file
`G`	Jump to last line of the file
`:n`	Jump to line number `n` (e.g., `:10`)
`nG`	Jump to line number `n`

Word Movement¶

Command	Action
`w`	Jump forward to start of next word
`b`	Jump backward to start of previous word
`e`	Jump forward to end of word

Editing Text¶

Commands to manipulate text (delete, copy, paste, change).

Inserting Text¶

Command	Action
`i`	Insert before cursor
`I`	Insert at beginning of line
`a`	Append after cursor
`A`	Append at end of line
`o`	Open new line below and insert
`O`	Open new line above and insert

Deleting & Changing¶

Command	Action
`x`	Delete character under cursor
`dw`	Delete word
`dd`	Delete entire line
`D`	Delete from cursor to end of line
`r`	Replace single character
`cw`	Change word (delete word and enter insert mode)
`cc`	Change entire line

Copy & Paste¶

Command	Action
`yy`	Yank (copy) current line
`yw`	Yank word
`p`	Paste after cursor
`P`	Paste before cursor

Search & Replace¶

Find text and replace it efficiently.

Command	Action
`/pattern`	Search forward for `pattern`
`?pattern`	Search backward for `pattern`
`n`	Jump to next match (in same direction)
`N`	Jump to previous match (in reverse direction)
`*`	Search forward for word under cursor
`#`	Search backward for word under cursor
`:%s/old/new/g`	Replace all occurrences of `old` with `new` in file
`:%s/old/new/gc`	Replace all with confirmation
`:noh`	Clear search highlights

Visual Mode¶

Select text to perform actions on specific blocks.

Command	Action
`v`	Start character-wise visual mode
`V`	Start line-wise visual mode
`Ctrl + v`	Start block-wise visual mode
`d`	Delete selection
`y`	Yank (copy) selection
`>`	Indent selection
`<`	Un-indent selection

Move around the file faster.

Scrolling¶

Command	Action
`Ctrl + u`	Scroll Up half a page
`Ctrl + d`	Scroll Down half a page
`Ctrl + f`	Scroll Forward one full page
`Ctrl + b`	Scroll Backward one full page

Marks¶

Command	Action
`ma`	Set mark a at current cursor location
`'a`	Jump to line of mark a
`a	Jump to exact position (line & column) of mark a
`''`	Jump back to the line you were on before the last jump

Multiple Windows & Tabs¶

Work on multiple files or parts of a file simultaneously.

Split Windows¶

Command	Action
`:sp`	Split window horizontally
`:vsp`	Split window vertically
`Ctrl + w` then `w`	Switch between windows
`Ctrl + w` then `q`	Close current window

Tabs¶

Command	Action
`:tabnew`	Open a new tab
`:tabn` or `gt`	Go to next tab
`:tabp` or `gT`	Go to previous tab

Macros¶

Record and replay complex sequences of commands.

Command	Action
`qa`	Start recording macro into register a
`q`	Stop recording
`@a`	Play back macro a
`@@`	Replay the last executed macro

Ex Commands & Ranges¶

Ex commands allow you to execute commands on specific lines or ranges.

Command	Action
`:10,20d`	Delete lines 10 through 20
`:%d`	Delete all lines in the file
`:.,$d`	Delete from current line (`.`) to end of file (`$`)
`:1,10w newfile.txt`	Write lines 1 to 10 to `newfile.txt`
`:5r file.txt`	Read `file.txt` and insert it after line 5
`:%s/foo/bar/g`	Substitute `foo` with `bar` in the entire file (`%`)
`:5,10s/foo/bar/g`	Substitute `foo` with `bar` in lines 5-10

Global Commands¶

The :g (global) command executes a command on all lines that match a pattern. Syntax: :g/pattern/command

Command	Action
`:g/pattern/d`	Delete all lines matching `pattern`
`:g!/pattern/d` or `:v/pattern/d`	Delete all lines NOT matching `pattern`
`:g/^$/d`	Delete all empty lines
`:g/error/p`	Print all lines containing “error”
`:g/pattern/m$`	Move all matching lines to the end of the file
`:g/pattern/t$`	Copy (transfer) all matching lines to the end of the file

Vim Options (Settings)¶

Customize Vim’s behavior on the fly. These can also be added to your ~/.vimrc file.

Display Options¶

Command	Description
`:set number`	Show line numbers
`:set nonumber`	Hide line numbers
`:set relativenumber`	Show relative line numbers
`:set wrap`	Enable line wrapping
`:set nowrap`	Disable line wrapping
`:syntax on`	Enable syntax highlighting

Search Options¶

Command	Description
`:set hlsearch`	Highlight search results
`:set nohlsearch`	Disable search highlighting
`:set incsearch`	Show matches as you type
`:set ignorecase`	Ignore case when searching
`:set smartcase`	Ignore case unless uppercase letters are used

Indentation & Tabs¶

Command	Description
`:set autoindent`	Copy indentation from previous line
`:set expandtab`	Use spaces instead of tabs
`:set tabstop=4`	Set tab width to 4 spaces
`:set shiftwidth=4`	Set indentation width to 4 spaces

Other Useful Settings¶

Command	Description
`:set mouse=a`	Enable mouse support
`:set clipboard=unnamedplus`	Use system clipboard
`:set paste`	Enable paste mode (prevents auto-indenting when pasting)
`:set nopaste`	Disable paste mode