VIM-Editor CheatSheet for Developers

Introduction

Vim is a widely used, open-source Unix text editor. Learning to use Vim commands is a matter of practice and experience. That is why it is handy to have a helpful reference sheet while mastering them.

How to open a file in vim

Commands	Descriptions	Examples
$ vim <file path>	Open a file in Vim Editor	- $ vim './myRepo/README.md' or - vim README.md

Moving by Characters, Words and Tokens

The basic keys for moving the cursor by one character are:

Commands	Description
h	move the cursor left
j	move the cursor down
k	move the cursor up
l	move the cursor right

You can also use these keys with a number as a prefix to move in a specified direction multiple times. For example, if you run 5j the cursor moves down 5 lines.

Commands	Description
b	move to the start of a word
B	move to the start of a token
w	move to the start of the next word
W	move to the start of the next token
e	move to the end of a word
E	move to the end of a token

Moving by Lines

Commands	Description
0 (zero)	jump to the beginning of the line
$	jump to the end of the line
^	jump to the first (non-blank) character of the line
#G / #gg / :#	move to a specified line number (replace # with the line number)

Moving by Screens

Commands	Description
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 screen
Ctrl + e	move screen down one line (without moving the cursor)
Ctrl + y	move screen up one line (without moving the cursor)
Ctrl + o	move backward through the jump history
Ctrl + i	move forward through the jump history

Commands	Description
H	move to the top of the screen (H=high)
M	move to the middle of the screen (M=middle)
L	move to the bottom of the screen (L=low)

Inserting Text

Commands	Description
i	switch to insert mode before the cursor
I	insert text at the beginning of the line
a	switch to insert mode after the cursor
A	insert text at the end of the line
o	open a new line below the current one
O	open a new line above the current one
ea	insert text at the end of the word
Esc	exit insert mode; switch to command mode

Some of these commands switch between command and insert mode. By default, Vim launches in command mode, allowing you to move around and edit the file. To switch to command mode, use the Esc key.

On the other hand, the insert mode enables you to type and add text into the file. To move to insert mode, press i.

Editing Text

Commands	Description
r	replace a single character (and return to command mode)
cc	replace an entire line (deletes the line and moves into insert mode)
C / c$	replace from the cursor to the end of a line
cw	replace from the cursor to the end of a word
s	delete a character (and move into insert mode)
J	merge the line below to the current one with a space in between them
gJ	merge the line below to the current one with no space in between them
u	undo
Ctrl + r	redo
.	repeat last command

Cutting, Copying And Pasting

Commands	Description
yy	copy (yank) entire line
#yy	copy the specified number of lines
dd	cut (delete) entire line
#dd	cut the specified number of lines
p	paste after the cursor
P	paste before the cursor

Replace # by number

Marking Text (Visual Mode)

Apart from command mode and insert mode, Vim also includes visual mode. This mode is mainly used for marking text.

Based on the chunk of text you want to select, you can choose between three versions of visual mode: character mode, line mode, and block mode.

Commands	Description
v	select text using character mode
V	select lines using line mode
Ctrl+v	select text using block mode

Once you have enabled one of the modes, use the navigation keys to select the desired text.

Commands	Description
o	move from one end of the selected text to the other
aw	select a word
ab	select a block with ()
aB	select a block with {}
at	select a block with <>
ib	select inner block with ()
iB	select inner block with {}
it	select inner block with <>

Visual Commands

Once you have selected the desired text in visual mode, you can use one of the visual commands to manipulate it. Some of them include:

Commands	Description
y	yank (copy) the marked text
d	delete (cut) the marked text
p	paste the text after the cursor
u	change the market text to lowercase
U	change the market text to uppercase

Search in File

Commands	Description
*	jump to the next instance of the current word
#	jump to previous instance of the current word
/pattern	search forward for the specified pattern
?pattern	search backward for the specified pattern
n	repeat the search in the same direction
N	repeat the search in the opposite direction

Saving and Exiting File

Commands	Description
:w	save the file
:wq / :x / ZZ	save and close the file
:q	quit
:q!/ ZQ	quit without saving changes
:w new_file_name	save the file under a new name and continue editing the original
:sav	save the file under a new name and continue editing the new copy
:w !sudo tee %	write out the file using sudo and tee command

Enabling Vim Color Schemes

Vim Color Schemes	Description
:colorscheme [colorscheme_name]	change to specified scheme
:colorscheme [space]+Ctrl+d	list available Vim color scheme