Vim Cheatsheet

Vim is a highly efficient, keyboard-driven text editor available on virtually every Unix system. This cheatsheet covers the essential commands.

Modes

Vim is modal — commands depend on the mode.

i        insert mode (before cursor)
a        insert after cursor
Esc      return to normal mode
v        visual mode (select)
V        visual line mode
:        command mode

Movement

Navigate without arrow keys.

h j k l   left, down, up, right
w  b      next / previous word
0  $      start / end of line
gg  G     top / bottom of file
{  }      previous / next paragraph
Ctrl+d    half page down

Editing

Modify text quickly.

x         delete character
dd        delete line
dw        delete word
yy        yank (copy) line
p         paste after cursor
u         undo
Ctrl+r    redo
r<char>   replace one character
cc        change whole line

Search & Replace

Find and substitute.

/pattern       search forward
?pattern       search backward
n  N           next / previous match
:%s/old/new/g  replace all in file
:%s/old/new/gc replace with confirm

Files

Open, save, and quit.

:w        save
:q        quit
:wq       save and quit
:q!       quit without saving
:e file   open a file

Multiple Files

Work with buffers and splits.

:sp file    horizontal split
:vsp file   vertical split
Ctrl+w w    switch windows
:bn  :bp    next / previous buffer

Combining Commands

Vim's power is composability.

3dd        delete 3 lines
d$         delete to end of line
ci"        change inside quotes
>>         indent line
.          repeat last command

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Vim rewards muscle memory with incredible speed. Start with movement and basic editing, and run vimtutor in your terminal to practice.

For full documentation, see https://www.vim.org/docs.php