Vim Command Cheatsheet
Essential Vim commands and shortcuts for text editing
DevOps
Vim Command Cheatsheet
A comprehensive reference for Vim text editor commands and shortcuts.
Modes
Vim has several modes:
- Normal Mode - Navigate and manipulate text (default)
- Insert Mode - Insert text
- Visual Mode - Select text
- Command Mode - Execute commands
Basic Commands
Opening and Saving Files
vim file.txt # Open file
vim +10 file.txt # Open at line 10
vim +/pattern file.txt # Open at first match
:w # Save
:w filename # Save as
:wq or :x or ZZ # Save and quit
:q # Quit
:q! # Quit without saving
:qa # Quit all windows
:wqa # Save and quit all
Mode Switching
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
O # Open new line above
Esc # Return to normal mode
v # Visual mode (character)
V # Visual mode (line)
Ctrl+v # Visual block mode
: # Command mode
Navigation
Basic Movement
h, j, k, l # Left, down, up, right
w # Next word
b # Previous word
e # End of word
0 # Start of line
^ # First non-blank character
$ # End of line
gg # First line
G # Last line
10G or :10 # Go to line 10
Screen Movement
Ctrl+f # Page down
Ctrl+b # Page up
Ctrl+d # Half page down
Ctrl+u # Half page up
H # Top of screen
M # Middle of screen
L # Bottom of screen
zz # Center cursor on screen
zt # Cursor to top of screen
zb # Cursor to bottom of screen
Advanced Navigation
% # Jump to matching bracket
* # Next occurrence of word under cursor
# # Previous occurrence of word under cursor
f{char} # Jump to next {char} on line
F{char} # Jump to previous {char} on line
t{char} # Jump before next {char}
T{char} # Jump before previous {char}
; # Repeat last f/F/t/T
, # Repeat last f/F/t/T backwards
Editing
Inserting Text
i # Insert before cursor
I # Insert at line start
a # Append after cursor
A # Append at line end
o # Open line below
O # Open line above
Deleting
x # Delete character
X # Delete character before cursor
dw # Delete word
dd # Delete line
D # Delete to end of line
d$ # Delete to end of line
d0 # Delete to start of line
dG # Delete to end of file
dgg # Delete to start of file
Copying and Pasting
yy or Y # Yank (copy) line
yw # Yank word
y$ # Yank to end of line
p # Paste after cursor
P # Paste before cursor
Changing Text
r{char} # Replace character
R # Replace mode
cw # Change word
cc or S # Change line
C # Change to end of line
s # Substitute character
~ # Toggle case
u # Undo
Ctrl+r # Redo
. # Repeat last command
Search and Replace
Searching
/pattern # Search forward
?pattern # Search backward
n # Next match
N # Previous match
* # Search word under cursor forward
# # Search word under cursor backward
:noh # Clear search highlighting
Search and Replace
:s/old/new/ # Replace first on line
:s/old/new/g # Replace all on line
:%s/old/new/g # Replace all in file
:%s/old/new/gc # Replace all with confirmation
:10,20s/old/new/g # Replace in lines 10-20
Visual Mode
Selection
v # Character-wise visual mode
V # Line-wise visual mode
Ctrl+v # Block-wise visual mode
o # Move to other end of selection
gv # Reselect last selection
Operations on Selection
d # Delete selection
y # Yank selection
c # Change selection
> # Indent right
< # Indent left
= # Auto-indent
u # Lowercase
U # Uppercase
~ # Toggle case
Multiple Files
Buffers
:e filename # Edit file
:bn # Next buffer
:bp # Previous buffer
:bd # Delete buffer
:ls # List buffers
:b number # Go to buffer number
Windows
:split or :sp # Horizontal split
:vsplit or :vsp # Vertical split
Ctrl+w s # Horizontal split
Ctrl+w v # Vertical split
Ctrl+w w # Switch windows
Ctrl+w h/j/k/l # Navigate windows
Ctrl+w c # Close window
Ctrl+w o # Close other windows
Ctrl+w = # Equal size windows
Ctrl+w +/- # Resize window
Tabs
:tabnew # New tab
:tabnew file # Open file in new tab
gt # Next tab
gT # Previous tab
:tabclose # Close tab
:tabonly # Close other tabs
Advanced Features
Marks
ma # Set mark 'a'
`a # Jump to mark 'a'
'a # Jump to line of mark 'a'
:marks # List marks
Macros
qa # Record macro 'a'
q # Stop recording
@a # Play macro 'a'
@@ # Replay last macro
10@a # Play macro 10 times
Registers
"ayy # Yank to register 'a'
"ap # Paste from register 'a'
:reg # Show registers
"+y # Yank to system clipboard
"+p # Paste from system clipboard
Folding
zf # Create fold
zo # Open fold
zc # Close fold
za # Toggle fold
zR # Open all folds
zM # Close all folds
Configuration (.vimrc)
Basic Settings
" Enable syntax highlighting
syntax on
" Show line numbers
set number
set relativenumber
" Indentation
set tabstop=4
set shiftwidth=4
set expandtab
set autoindent
set smartindent
" Search settings
set hlsearch
set incsearch
set ignorecase
set smartcase
" UI improvements
set showcmd
set showmatch
set ruler
set cursorline
" Enable mouse
set mouse=a
" Disable swap files
set noswapfile
set nobackup
Key Mappings
" Map leader key
let mapleader = ","
" Quick save
nnoremap <leader>w :w<CR>
" Quick quit
nnoremap <leader>q :q<CR>
" Clear search highlight
nnoremap <leader>h :noh<CR>
" Navigate splits
nnoremap <C-h> <C-w>h
nnoremap <C-j> <C-w>j
nnoremap <C-k> <C-w>k
nnoremap <C-l> <C-w>l
Useful Commands
Text Manipulation
:sort # Sort lines
:sort u # Sort and remove duplicates
:g/pattern/d # Delete lines matching pattern
:v/pattern/d # Delete lines NOT matching pattern
:retab # Convert tabs to spaces
File Operations
:w !sudo tee % # Save with sudo
:r filename # Read file into current
:r !command # Read command output
:!command # Execute shell command
Indentation
>> # Indent line
<< # Unindent line
== # Auto-indent line
gg=G # Auto-indent entire file
Quick Reference
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
i |
Insert mode |
Esc |
Normal mode |
:w |
Save |
:q |
Quit |
dd |
Delete line |
yy |
Copy line |
p |
Paste |
u |
Undo |
Ctrl+r |
Redo |
/text |
Search |
n |
Next match |
:%s/old/new/g |
Replace all |
gg |
First line |
G |
Last line |
v |
Visual mode |
. |
Repeat command |
Tips
- Start with vimtutor - Run
vimtutorin terminal - Learn gradually - Master basics before advanced features
- Use motions - Combine commands with motions (e.g.,
d3w) - Practice regularly - Muscle memory is key
- Customize .vimrc - Make Vim work for you
- Use plugins - Extend functionality (vim-plug, Vundle)
- Learn one feature at a time - Don't overwhelm yourself
- Use visual mode - Great for complex selections
- Master search - Powerful for navigation
- Read :help - Built-in documentation is excellent
Resources
- Vim Documentation:
:help - Vimtutor:
vimtutorcommand - Vim Adventures: https://vim-adventures.com/
- Vim Cheat Sheet: https://vim.rtorr.com/