Vim Cheatsheet

Looking for a Vi/Vim commands cheat sheet with all the basic and easy shortcuts for your vim editor - we have got you covered!

Navigation & Cursor Movement

Standard

• h j k l : Arrow keys
• w : Go to the next word
• b : Go to the previous word
• e : Go to the next word at the end of the word
• ge : Go to the previous word at the end of the word
• 0 : Go to the start of the line
• $ : Go to the end of the line

Search

• n : Go to the next matching search pattern
• N : Go to the previous match
• * : Next whole word that is under the cursor
• # : The previous word that is under the cursor

Searching for Characters

• f [char] : Move forwards to the character supplied within the braces
• F [char] : Move backward to the character supplied within the braces
• t [char] : Move forward to just before the character
• T [char] : Move backward to just before the given character

Editing Text

• i : Start insert mode to append at the cursor
• a : Append after cursor
• A : Append from the end of the line
• I: Append from the beginning of the line
• o : Add a blank line below the current line / next line
• O : Add a blank line above the current line / previous line
• Esc or Ctrl+[ : Exit insert mode
• d : Delete
• dd : Delete line
• s : Delete character and insert
• S : Delete line and insert
• c : Delete, then open insert mode
• cc : Delete line, then open insert mode
• r : Replace one character
• R : Open replace mode
• u : Undo changes
• [number]Ctrl+r : To redo multiple undos with a single command, you can use this syntax. Here [number] should be replaced by the actual number of redoes you want to perform, then press and hold Ctrland type r.
• dd : Delete or cut a line
• x : Delete or cut the current character
• X - Delete or cut the previous character

Related: How to select all in Vim

How To ‘Select All’ in Vim

In this guide, we cover the main methods with which you can select all in the vim/vi editor.

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Copying and Pasting to Clipboard

• yy : Yank or copy a line
• p : Paste after the cursor position
• P : Paste before the cursor position
• d / c : Copy the deleted text

Saving and Exiting

• :w : Save the file without quitting
• :wq : Save and quit
• :q : Quit (this command fails if anything in the document has changed without saving)
• :q! : Quit and throw away changes all unsaved changes
• :qa : Close all files
• :qa! : Close all files without saving

Shortcuts and Commands for Working with Multiple Files

• Ctrl + ws : split window
• Ctrl + wv : split window vertically
• Ctrl + ww : switch windows
• Ctrl + wq : quit a window
• Ctrl + wx : exchange current window with next one
• Ctrl + w=  : make all windows equal height & width
• Ctrl + wJ : make current window full width and positions it at the bottom
• Ctrl + wK : Makes the current window full width and positions it at top
• Ctrl + wh : In a vertical split, move cursor to the window on the left
• Ctrl + wl : In a vertical split, move cursor to the window on the right
• Ctrl + wj : In a horizontal split, move cursor to the window below
• Ctrl + wk : In a horizontal split, move cursor to the window above
• Ctrl + wH : Makes the current window full height and positions it at the far left
• Ctrl + wL : Makes the current window full height and positions it at the far right