VIM Cheatsheet
VIM Notes
Vim Cheat Sheet
A comprehensive reference for vim commands, organized by skill level and use case.
Table of Contents
- Getting Started
- Modes
- Basic Navigation
- Essential Editing
- Advanced Movement
- Text Objects
- Visual Mode
- Search & Replace
- File Operations
- Buffers & Windows
- Macros
- Marks & Jumps
- Command Line
- Configuration
- Tips & Tricks
Getting Started
First Steps
vim filename # Open file in vim
vimtutor # Interactive vim tutorial
:help # Built-in help system
:q # Quit vim
Emergency Exit
:q! # Quit without saving (force quit)
<Esc>:q! # From any mode: escape, then force quit
Modes
Vim operates in different modes. Understanding modes is crucial to vim mastery.
| Mode | Purpose | How to Enter | Indicator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | Navigation & commands | <Esc> |
Default mode |
| Insert | Typing text | i, a, o, O |
-- INSERT -- |
| Visual | Selecting text | v, V, <C-v> |
-- VISUAL -- |
| Command | Execute commands | : |
: at bottom |
| Replace | Overwrite text | R |
-- REPLACE -- |
Basic Navigation
Character Movement
h # Left
j # Down
k # Up
l # Right
Word Movement
w # Next word beginning
b # Previous word beginning
e # Next word end
ge # Previous word end
W # Next WORD (space-separated)
B # Previous WORD
E # Next WORD end
Line Movement
0 # Beginning of line
^ # First non-blank character
$ # End of line
g_ # Last non-blank character
Screen Movement
H # Top of screen
M # Middle of screen
L # Bottom of screen
<C-f> # Page down
<C-b> # Page up
<C-d> # Half page down
<C-u> # Half page up
File Movement
gg # Top of file
G # Bottom of file
:n # Go to line n
nG # Go to line n
Essential Editing
Entering Insert Mode
i # Insert before cursor
a # Insert after cursor
I # Insert at beginning of line
A # Insert at end of line
o # Open new line below
O # Open new line above
s # Substitute character
S # Substitute line
Basic Editing
x # Delete character under cursor
X # Delete character before cursor
dd # Delete line
D # Delete from cursor to end of line
dw # Delete word
cw # Change word
cc # Change line
C # Change from cursor to end of line
r # Replace single character
R # Replace mode
Copy & Paste
yy # Copy line
yw # Copy word
y$ # Copy from cursor to end of line
p # Paste after cursor
P # Paste before cursor
Undo & Redo
u # Undo
<C-r> # Redo
U # Undo all changes on line
Advanced Movement
Line Numbers
:set number # Show line numbers
:set nonumber # Hide line numbers
:set relativenumber # Show relative line numbers
Find Character
f{char} # Find next occurrence of char
F{char} # Find previous occurrence of char
t{char} # Move to before next char
T{char} # Move to before previous char
; # Repeat last find
, # Repeat last find (opposite direction)
Matching
% # Jump to matching bracket/parenthesis
* # Search for word under cursor (forward)
# # Search for word under cursor (backward)
Sentence & Paragraph
( # Previous sentence
) # Next sentence
{ # Previous paragraph
} # Next paragraph
Text Objects
Text objects allow you to operate on logical text structures. Combine with operators like d, c, y.
Syntax
[operator][a/i][object]
a= “a” (includes surrounding)i= “inner” (excludes surrounding)
Common Text Objects
iw / aw # inner word / a word
is / as # inner sentence / a sentence
ip / ap # inner paragraph / a paragraph
i( / a( # inner parentheses / a parentheses
i[ / a[ # inner brackets / a brackets
i{ / a{ # inner braces / a braces
i" / a" # inner quotes / a quotes
i' / a' # inner single quotes / a single quotes
it / at # inner tag / a tag (HTML/XML)
Examples
ciw # Change inner word
di" # Delete inside quotes
ya( # Copy everything including parentheses
vit # Visually select inside tag
Visual Mode
Visual Mode Types
v # Character-wise visual mode
V # Line-wise visual mode
<C-v> # Block visual mode
gv # Reselect last visual selection
Visual Operations
d # Delete selection
y # Copy selection
c # Change selection
> # Indent selection
< # Unindent selection
= # Auto-indent selection
u # Make lowercase
U # Make uppercase
Block Visual Tips
<C-v> # Start block selection
I # Insert at beginning of all selected lines
A # Append at end of all selected lines
Search & Replace
Basic Search
/pattern # Search forward
?pattern # Search backward
n # Next match
N # Previous match
* # Search word under cursor forward
# # Search word under cursor backward
Search Options
:set ignorecase # Case insensitive search
:set smartcase # Case sensitive if uppercase present
:set incsearch # Incremental search
:set hlsearch # Highlight search results
:nohlsearch # Clear search highlighting
Replace
:s/old/new/ # Replace first occurrence in line
:s/old/new/g # Replace all occurrences in line
:%s/old/new/g # Replace all in file
:%s/old/new/gc # Replace all with confirmation
:5,12s/old/new/g # Replace in lines 5-12
Advanced Replace
:%s/\<word\>/new/g # Replace whole word only
:%s/old/new/gi # Case insensitive replace
:%s/^/new/g # Add 'new' to beginning of each line
:%s/$/new/g # Add 'new' to end of each line
File Operations
Basic File Commands
:w # Save file
:w filename # Save as filename
:q # Quit
:wq # Save and quit
:x # Save and quit (only if modified)
:q! # Quit without saving
File Navigation
:e filename # Edit file
:e! # Reload current file
:e . # Open file browser
:pwd # Show current directory
:cd path # Change directory
File Information
<C-g> # Show file info
:f # Show filename and position
:ls # List open buffers
Buffers & Windows
Buffers
:ls # List buffers
:b n # Switch to buffer n
:b filename # Switch to buffer by name
:bp # Previous buffer
:bn # Next buffer
:bd # Delete buffer
:b# # Switch to alternate buffer
Windows (Splits)
:split # Horizontal split
:vsplit # Vertical split
:sp filename # Split and open file
:vsp filename # Vertical split and open file
<C-w>s # Horizontal split
<C-w>v # Vertical split
Window Navigation
<C-w>h # Move to left window
<C-w>j # Move to window below
<C-w>k # Move to window above
<C-w>l # Move to right window
<C-w>w # Cycle through windows
<C-w>q # Close current window
Window Resizing
<C-w>= # Make all windows equal size
<C-w>+ # Increase height
<C-w>- # Decrease height
<C-w>> # Increase width
<C-w>< # Decrease width
Tabs
:tabnew # New tab
:tabnext # Next tab
:tabprev # Previous tab
:tabclose # Close tab
gt # Next tab
gT # Previous tab
Macros
Recording Macros
qa # Start recording macro 'a'
q # Stop recording
@a # Execute macro 'a'
@@ # Repeat last executed macro
5@a # Execute macro 'a' 5 times
Macro Tips
:let @a='...' # Edit macro 'a' directly
:reg a # View contents of register 'a'
qA # Append to existing macro 'a'
Marks & Jumps
Setting Marks
ma # Set mark 'a' at current position
mA # Set global mark 'A'
Jumping to Marks
'a # Jump to line with mark 'a'
`a # Jump to exact position of mark 'a'
'' # Jump to previous position
`` # Jump to exact previous position
Special Marks
'. # Last edited position
'^ # Last insert position
'[ # Beginning of last change
'] # End of last change
Jump List
<C-o> # Jump to previous location
<C-i> # Jump to next location
:jumps # Show jump list
Command Line
Command History
: # Enter command mode
<C-p> # Previous command in history
<C-n> # Next command in history
:history # Show command history
q: # Open command history window
Command Completion
:e <Tab> # File completion
:set <Tab> # Option completion
:colorscheme <Tab> # Colorscheme completion
Useful Commands
:!command # Execute shell command
:r !command # Insert output of shell command
:w !sudo tee % # Save as root (if opened without sudo)
:source % # Source current file
Configuration
Basic Settings
:set number # Show line numbers
:set relativenumber # Show relative line numbers
:set ignorecase # Case insensitive search
:set smartcase # Override ignorecase if uppercase
:set incsearch # Incremental search
:set hlsearch # Highlight search results
:set autoindent # Auto-indent new lines
:set expandtab # Use spaces instead of tabs
:set tabstop=4 # Tab width
:set shiftwidth=4 # Indent width
:set wrap # Wrap long lines
:set linebreak # Break at word boundaries
Color Schemes
:colorscheme desert # Change color scheme
:colorscheme <Tab> # Browse available schemes
:syntax on # Enable syntax highlighting
:syntax off # Disable syntax highlighting
.vimrc Location
~/.vimrc # Unix/Linux/macOS
$HOME/_vimrc # Windows
Tips & Tricks
Efficiency Tips
- Stay in Normal mode: Don’t live in Insert mode
- Use counts:
3dd,5j,2wfor repeated actions - Learn text objects:
ciw,di",va(are game changers - Use
.command: Repeat last change - Master search:
/and*for quick navigation
Common Patterns
3dd # Delete 3 lines
5j # Move down 5 lines
2w # Move forward 2 words
d2w # Delete 2 words
y5j # Copy current line plus 5 below
>ip # Indent paragraph
=ap # Auto-indent paragraph
Useful Combinations
<C-a> # Increment number under cursor
<C-x> # Decrement number under cursor
ggVG # Select entire file
:%y # Copy entire file
:%d # Delete entire file content
:g/pattern/d # Delete all lines matching pattern
:v/pattern/d # Delete all lines NOT matching pattern
Plugin Recommendations
- vim-plug: Plugin manager
- fzf.vim: Fuzzy file finder
- vim-surround: Manipulate surrounding characters
- vim-commentary: Easy commenting
- vim-fugitive: Git integration
- nerdtree: File explorer
Learning Resources
:help- Built-in help system:help user-manual- Complete user manualvimtutor- Interactive tutorial:help quickref- Quick reference- Vim Adventures - Game-based learning
- OpenVim - Interactive tutorial
Quick Reference Card
Most Important Commands
| Command | Action |
| ——– | ————————— |
| <Esc> | Return to Normal mode |
| i | Insert mode |
| hjkl | Navigate left/down/up/right |
| w b | Next/previous word |
| 0 $ | Beginning/end of line |
| gg G | Top/bottom of file |
| dd | Delete line |
| yy | Copy line |
| p | Paste |
| u | Undo |
| /text | Search for text |
| :w | Save |
| :q | Quit |
| :wq | Save and quit |
Remember
- Everything in vim is composable: operators + motions + text objects
- When in doubt, press
<Esc>to return to Normal mode - Practice daily: 15 minutes of focused practice beats hours of occasional use
- Start simple: Master the basics before moving to advanced features
This cheat sheet covers the essential vim commands. For more detailed information, use :help [command] within vim.