VIM

Vim Cheatsheet

Basics

• vim filename — Open a file in Vim
• :q — Quit Vim
• :q! — Quit without saving
• :w — Save file
• :wq or :x — Save and quit
• i — Enter insert mode
• Esc — Exit insert mode and return to normal mode

Movement

• h — Move left
• j — Move down
• k — Move up
• l — Move right
• 0 — Move to beginning of line
• ^ — Move to first non-blank character of line
• $ — Move to end of line
• gg — Go to beginning of file
• G — Go to end of file
• w — Jump forward to next word
• b — Jump backward to previous word
• Ctrl + d — Scroll half page down
• Ctrl + u — Scroll half page up

Editing

• x — Delete character under cursor
• dd — Delete current line
• yy — Yank (copy) current line
• p — Paste after cursor
• u — Undo
• Ctrl + r — Redo
• r<char> — Replace character under cursor with <char>
• cw — Change word
• C — Change to end of line

Searching and Replacing

• /pattern — Search for pattern forward
• ?pattern — Search for pattern backward
• n — Repeat last search forward
• N — Repeat last search backward
• :%s/old/new/g — Replace all occurrences of “old” with “new” in file

Visual Mode

• v — Start visual mode (select text)
• V — Start linewise visual mode
• Ctrl + v — Start block visual mode

Buffers and Files

• :e filename — Open another file
• :bnext or :bn — Switch to next buffer
• :bprev or :bp — Switch to previous buffer
• :bd — Close current buffer

Window Management

• :split or :sp — Horizontal split
• :vsplit or :vsp — Vertical split
• Ctrl + w + h/j/k/l — Move between windows

Exiting

• :wq — Save and quit
• :q! — Quit without saving

Note: Use Esc to switch back to Normal mode from Insert or Visual mode.