Vim Cheat Sheet

Modes

Key	Mode	Description
`Esc`	Normal	Default mode for navigation and commands
`i`	Insert	Insert text before cursor
`I`	Insert	Insert at beginning of line
`a`	Insert	Insert (append) after cursor
`A`	Insert	Insert at end of line
`o`	Insert	Open new line below and insert
`O`	Insert	Open new line above and insert
`v`	Visual	Character-wise visual selection
`V`	Visual Line	Line-wise visual selection
`Ctrl+v`	Visual Block	Block (column) visual selection
`:`	Command	Enter command-line mode
`R`	Replace	Replace characters as you type

Navigation

Basic Movement

Key	Description
`h j k l`	Left, down, up, right
`w`	Next word start
`b`	Previous word start
`e`	End of current/next word
`W / B / E`	Same as w/b/e but by WORD (whitespace-delimited)
`0`	Beginning of line
`^`	First non-blank character of line
`$`	End of line
`f{char}`	Jump to next occurrence of char on line
`F{char}`	Jump to previous occurrence of char
`t{char}`	Jump to just before next char
`;`	Repeat last f/F/t/T motion

Screen & File Movement

Key	Description
`gg`	Go to first line of file
`G`	Go to last line of file
`{n}G` or `:{n}`	Go to line n
`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 current line on screen
`{` / `}`	Previous / next paragraph
`%`	Jump to matching bracket
`Ctrl+o`	Jump back to previous position
`Ctrl+i`	Jump forward

Editing

Key	Description
`r{char}`	Replace single character
`s`	Delete character and enter insert mode
`S` or `cc`	Delete line contents and enter insert mode
`c{motion}`	Change (delete + insert). e.g., `cw` = change word
`C`	Change from cursor to end of line
`ciw`	Change inner word (delete word, enter insert)
`ci"`	Change inside quotes
`ci(`	Change inside parentheses
`ca{`	Change around braces (including braces)
`J`	Join current line with next
`u`	Undo
`Ctrl+r`	Redo
`.`	Repeat last change
`~`	Toggle case of character
`>>`	Indent line
`<<`	Unindent line
`=`	Auto-indent (e.g., `gg=G` to indent entire file)

Tip: The c, d, y commands follow the pattern: operator + motion. E.g., d3w = delete 3 words, y$ = yank to end of line, ci" = change inside quotes.

Copy, Paste & Delete

Key	Description
`x`	Delete character under cursor
`X`	Delete character before cursor
`dd`	Delete (cut) current line
`d{motion}`	Delete by motion (e.g., `dw`, `d$`, `dG`)
`D`	Delete from cursor to end of line
`diw`	Delete inner word
`di"`	Delete inside quotes
`{n}dd`	Delete n lines
`yy`	Yank (copy) current line
`y{motion}`	Yank by motion (e.g., `yw`, `y$`)
`{n}yy`	Yank n lines
`p`	Paste after cursor / below current line
`P`	Paste before cursor / above current line
`"+y`	Yank to system clipboard
`"+p`	Paste from system clipboard

Search & Replace

Key / Command	Description
`/pattern`	Search forward
`?pattern`	Search backward
`n`	Next match
`N`	Previous match
`*`	Search for word under cursor (forward)
`#`	Search for word under cursor (backward)
`:noh`	Clear search highlighting
`:%s/old/new/g`	Replace all in file
`:%s/old/new/gc`	Replace all with confirmation
`:s/old/new/g`	Replace all in current line
`:5,10s/old/new/g`	Replace in lines 5-10
`:'<,'>s/old/new/g`	Replace in visual selection

Visual Mode

Key	Description
`v`	Start character visual mode
`V`	Start line visual mode
`Ctrl+v`	Start block visual mode
`o`	Move to other end of selection
`d`	Delete selection
`y`	Yank selection
`c`	Change selection
`>` / `<`	Indent / unindent selection
`U` / `u`	Uppercase / lowercase selection
`gv`	Reselect last visual selection

# Block insert (add text to multiple lines)
Ctrl+v → select column → I → type text → Esc

# Block append
Ctrl+v → select column → A → type text → Esc

File Operations

Command	Description
`:w`	Save file
`:w filename`	Save as
`:q`	Quit (fails if unsaved changes)
`:q!`	Quit without saving
`:wq` or `:x` or `ZZ`	Save and quit
`:e filename`	Open file
`:e!`	Reload file (discard changes)
`:r filename`	Insert file contents below cursor
`:r !command`	Insert command output
`:saveas filename`	Save as and switch to new file

Windows & Tabs

Key / Command	Description
`:sp file`	Horizontal split
`:vsp file`	Vertical split
`Ctrl+w w`	Cycle between windows
`Ctrl+w h/j/k/l`	Move to left/down/up/right window
`Ctrl+w =`	Make all windows equal size
`Ctrl+w _`	Maximize current window height
`Ctrl+w \|`	Maximize current window width
`:close`	Close current window
`:only`	Close all other windows
`:tabnew file`	Open file in new tab
`gt / gT`	Next / previous tab
`:tabclose`	Close current tab
`:ls`	List buffers
`:bn / :bp`	Next / previous buffer
`:bd`	Close buffer

Macros & Registers

Key	Description
`qa`	Start recording macro into register 'a'
`q`	Stop recording
`@a`	Play macro 'a'
`@@`	Replay last macro
`10@a`	Play macro 'a' 10 times
`"ay`	Yank into register 'a'
`"ap`	Paste from register 'a'
`:reg`	Show all registers
`ma`	Set mark 'a' at current position
`'a`	Jump to mark 'a'
`:marks`	Show all marks

Configuration

" Essential .vimrc settings
set number            " show line numbers
set relativenumber    " relative line numbers
set tabstop=4          " tab = 4 spaces
set shiftwidth=4       " indent = 4 spaces
set expandtab          " use spaces instead of tabs
set autoindent         " auto indent new lines
set smartindent        " smart auto indent
set ignorecase         " case insensitive search
set smartcase          " case sensitive if uppercase used
set hlsearch           " highlight search results
set incsearch          " incremental search
set wrap               " wrap long lines
set mouse=a            " enable mouse
set clipboard=unnamedplus  " use system clipboard
syntax on              " syntax highlighting
set cursorline         " highlight current line

Modes

Navigation

Basic Movement

Screen & File Movement

Editing

Copy, Paste & Delete

Search & Replace

Visual Mode

File Operations

Windows & Tabs

Macros & Registers

Configuration

More Cheat Sheets

Bash / Shell

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