:help keyword # open help for keyword
:o file # open file
:saveas file # save file as file
:close # close current pane
:r file # read file content into current file
K # open man page for the command under the cursori # insert before the cursor
I # insert at the beginning of the line
a # insert (append) after the cursor
A # insert (append) at the end of the line
o # append (open) a new line below the current line
O # append (open) a new line above the current line
Esc # exit insert modeh # move cursor left
j # move cursor down
k # move cursor up
l # move cursor right
H # move to top of screen
M # move to middle of screen
L # move to bottom of screen
w # jump forwards to the start of a word
W # jump forwards to the start of a word (words can contain punctuation)
e # jump forwards to the end of a word
E # jump forwards to the end of a word (words can contain punctuation)
b # jump backwards to the start of a word
B # jump backwards to the start of a word (words can contain punctuation)
0 # jump to the start of the line
^ # jump to the first non-blank character of the line
$ # jump to the end of the line
g_ # jump to the last non-blank character of the line
gg # go to the first line of the document
G # go to the last line of the document
5G # go to line 5
fx # jump to next occurrence of character x
tx # jump to before next occurrence of character x
} # jump to next paragraph (or function/block, when editing code)
{ # jump to previous paragraph (or function/block, when editing code)
zz # center cursor on screen
Ctrl + b # move back one full screen
Ctrl + f # move forward one full screen
Ctrl + d # move forward 1/2 a screen
Ctrl + u # move back 1/2 a screenr # replace a single character
J # join line below to the current one
cc # change (replace) entire line
cw # change (replace) to the start of the next word
ce # change (replace) to the end of the next word
cb # change (replace) to the start of the previous word
c$ # change (replace) to the end of the line
s # delete character and substitute text
S # delete line and substitute text (same as cc)
xp # transpose two letters (delete and paste)
. # repeat last command
u # undo
Ctrl + r # redo:w[rite] # write (save) the file, but don't exit
:w[rite] !sudo tee % # write out the current file using sudo
:wq or :x or ZZ # write (save) and quit
:q[uit] # quit, fails when changes have been made
:q[uit]! or ZQ # quit and throw away unsaved changes
:cq[uit] # quit always, without writing.
:wqa # write (save) and quit on all tabsv # start visual mode, mark lines, then do a command (like y-yank)
V # start linewise visual mode
o # move to other end of marked area
O # move to other corner of block
aw # mark a word
ab # a block with ()
aB # a block with {}
ib # inner block with ()
iB # inner block with {}
Esc # exit visual mode
Ctrl + v # start visual block mode> # shift text right
< # shift text left
y # yank (copy) marked text
d # delete marked text
~ # switch caseyy # yank (copy) a line
yw # yank (copy) the characters of the word from the cursor position to the start of the next word
y$ # yank (copy) to end of line
p # put (paste) the clipboard after cursor
P # put (paste) before cursor
dd # delete (cut) a line
dw # delete (cut) the characters of the word from the cursor position to the start of the next word
D # delete (cut) to the end of the line
d$ # delete (cut) to the end of the line
d^ # delete (cut) to the first non-blank character of the line
d0 # delete (cut) to the begining of the line
x # delete (cut) character/pattern # search for pattern
?pattern # search backward for pattern
\vpattern # 'very magic' pattern: non-alphanumeric characters are interpreted as special regex symbols (no escaping needed)
n # repeat search in same direction
N # repeat search in opposite direction
:%s/old/new/g # replace all old with new throughout file
:%s/old/new/gc # replace all old with new throughout file with confirmations
:noh # remove highlighting of search matches:vimgrep /pattern/ {file} # search for pattern in multiple files
:cn # jump to the next match
:cp # jump to the previous match
:copen # open a window containing the list of matches:e file # edit a file in a new buffer
:bnext or :bn # go to the next buffer
:bprev or :bp # go to the previous buffer
:bd # delete a buffer (close a file)
:ls # list all open buffers
:sp file # open a file in a new buffer and split window
:vsp file # open a file in a new buffer and vertically split window
Ctrl + ws # split window
Ctrl + ww # switch windows
Ctrl + wq # quit a window
Ctrl + wv # split window vertically
Ctrl + wh # move cursor to the left window (vertical split)
Ctrl + wl # move cursor to the right window (vertical split)
Ctrl + wj # move cursor to the window below (horizontal split)
Ctrl + wk # move cursor to the window above (horizontal split):tabnew or :tabnew file # open a file in a new tab
Ctrl + wT # move the current split window into its own tab
gt or :tabnext or :tabn # move to the next tab
gT or :tabprev or :tabp # move to the previous tab
<number>gt # move to tab <number>
:tabmove <number> # move current tab to the <number>th position (indexed from 0)
:tabclose or :tabc # close the current tab and all its windows
:tabonly or :tabo # close all tabs except for the current one
:tabdo command # run the command on all tabs (e.g. :tabdo q - closes all opened tabs)Instead of reading the text (boring!) you can use the vimtutor to learn your first Vim commands.
This is a 30 minute tutorial that teaches the most basic Vim functionality hands-on.
On Unix, if Vim has been properly installed, you can start it from the shell:
vimtutorThis will make a copy of the tutor file, so that you can edit it without the risk of damaging the original.
There are a few translated versions of the tutor. To find out if yours is available, use the two-letter language code. For French:
vimtutor frOn Unix, if you prefer using the GUI version of Vim, use "gvimtutor" or "vimtutor -g" instead of "vimtutor".