Vim Quick Reference

Quick reference guide for basic Vim commands.

Modes

Vim is a modal editor. The two main modes are:

  • Normal Mode
    • Default mode
    • Used for navigation, copy, paste, delete, and commands
  • Insert Mode
    • Used for typing and editing text

Mode Switching

  1. i – Enter Insert Mode
    • Start typing text
  2. Esc – Exit Insert Mode
    • Return to Normal Mode

Basic Commands

All commands run from Normal Mode.

Saving and Quitting

  1. :w – Save file
    • Writes changes to disk
  2. :q – Quit file
    • Exit if no unsaved changes
  3. :qa – Quit all
    • Close all open files
  4. :wq – Save & quit
    • Write and exit
  5. ZZ – Quick save & quit
    • Same as :wq
  6. :q! – Force quit
    • Exit without saving
  1. h j k l – Cursor movement
    • Left, down, up, right
  2. 0 – Line start
    • Jump to beginning of line
  3. $ – Line end
    • Jump to end of line
  4. gg – File start
    • Go to first line
  5. G – File end
    • Go to last line
  6. :20 – Jump to line
    • Goes to line number 20

Editing

  1. o – New line after
    • Insert below current line
  2. O – New line before
    • Insert above current line
  3. S – Replace line
    • Delete current line and enter insert mode
  4. u – Undo
    • Revert last change
  5. Ctrl + r – Redo
    • Re-apply undone change

Copy, Paste, Delete

  1. yy – Copy line
    • Yank current line
  2. p – Paste after
    • Paste below cursor
  3. P – Paste before
    • Paste above cursor
  4. dd – Delete line
    • Remove current line
  5. dw – Delete word
    • Delete from cursor to next word

Settings

  1. :set number – Show line numbers
    • Enables numbering
  2. :set nonumber – Hide line numbers
    • Disables numbering