Movement
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
h | Move left |
l | Move right |
j | Move down |
k | Move up |
0 | Move to beginning of line |
$ | Move to end of line |
gg | Move to start of the file |
G | Move to end of the file |
w | Move to start of next word |
e | Move to end of next word |
b | Move to previous word |
Ctrl + f | Move screen down one page |
Ctrl + b | Move screen up one page |
Ctrl + e | Move screen down one line |
Ctrl + y | Move screen up one line |
Editing
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
i | Insert before cursor |
I | Insert at beginning of line |
a | Append after cursor |
A | Append at the end of line |
o | Insert a new line below the cursor |
O | Insert a new line above the cursor |
x | Delete a character |
p | Paste the deleted line or character |
P | Paste above the cursor |
rx | Replace character at current cursor position with x |
R | Replace mode until Esc is pressed |
s | Delete the character and enter insert mode |
u | Undo |
U | Undo all changes in the current line |
Ctrl + r | Redo |
Operators (Operator [number] motion)
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
d | Operator to delete |
c | Operator to change words; removes the word and enters insert mode |
y | Operator to copy lines |
d2w | Delete two words |
y2w | Copy two words |
c2w | Delete two words from cursor and enter insert mode |
dw | Delete next word |
db | Delete previous word |
dd | Delete whole line |
2dd | Delete two lines |
ce | Delete a word and enter insert mode |
c$ | Delete till end of line and enter insert mode |
cc | Remove whole line and enter insert mode |
2w | Move cursor two words forward |
2b | Move cursor two words backward |
10j | Move cursor down 10 lines |
10k | Move cursor up 10 lines |
35G | Go to line 35 |
Search, Match, Replace
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
% | When cursor is at a parenthesis, go to the matching parenthesis |
:s/old/new/g | Replace all occurrences of old with new in the current line |
:1,20s/old/new/g | Replace all occurrences of old with new from lines 1 to 20 |
:%s/old/new/g | Replace all occurrences of old with new in the entire file |
:%s/old/new/gc | Replace all occurrences of old with new in the entire file, asking for confirmation |
Ctrl + g | Display file status |
Execute Shell Commands from Vim
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
:!ls | Execute a shell command by typing ! before the command |
:w filename | Write selected text to a file (select text in Visual mode first) |
:r filename | Read file contents into the current file |
:r !ls | Execute ls and insert its output into the current file |
:r !pwd | Execute pwd and insert its output into the current file |
Editing Multiple Files using Vim Buffers
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
:e ` | type the file name or tab to open the file |
:badd <filename> | Add a new file to the buffer list without switching to it |
:ls or :buffers | List all open buffers with their assigned numbers |
:bn or :bnext | Switch to the next buffer |
:bp or :bprevious | Switch to the previous buffer |
:b <number> | Jump directly to a specific buffer by its index (e.g., :b 3) |
:b! 2 | If you have modified the file and want to switch to next buffer add ! after the command |
:bw | remove current buffer |
:bw 2 | delete multiple buffer 2 |
:bw 2 3 4 | delete multiple buffers |
2 Ctrl + g | To show buffer status |
Vim Windows/ View Ports
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
:split [filename] (or :sp) | To open a file in horizontal split and add to buffer |
:vsplit [filename] (or :vs) | To open a file in vertical split and add to buffer |
sb 2 | Open the existing 2nd file in the buffer in split |
vert sb 2 | Open the 2nd file in the buffer in vertical split |
Ctrl + w , arrow keys or hjkl | To navigate between split screens |
Ctrl + w w | To navigate between all buffers |
Ctrl + w r | To reverse the order of windows |
Ctrl + w +/- | To increase/decrease horizontal split window size |
Ctrl + w >/< | To increase/decrease vertical split window size |
Ctrl + w = | To resize the window equally |
10 Ctrl + w +,-,>,< | To increase/decrease the horizontal/vertical window by 10 lines |
:resize [N] | Set current split height explicitly to N lines |
:vert resize [N] | Set current split width explicitly to N columns |
close | To close the split window, but file stays in the buffer |
only | Close everything else except the active split |