Essential Vim commands

Modes

Key	Effect
`Esc`	Back to normal mode
`i`	Insert before the cursor
`a`	Insert after the cursor
`v`	Visual mode (character selection)
`Shift` + `v`	Visual line mode
`:`	Command mode

Moving around

Key	Effect
`h` `j` `k` `l`	Left, down, up, right
`w` / `b`	Next / previous word
`0` / `$`	Start / end of line
`gg` / `G`	Start / end of file
`:42`	Go to line 42

Editing

Key	Effect
`dd`	Delete the line
`yy`	Copy (yank) the line
`p` / `P`	Paste after / before
`u` / `Ctrl` + `r`	Undo / redo
`.`	Repeat the last change
`x`	Delete the character under the cursor

Search and replace

/pattern                search downward
n / N                   next / previous match
:%s/old/new/g           replace everywhere in the file
:%s/old/new/gc          replace with confirmation

Saving and quitting

:w      save
:q      quit
:wq     save and quit
:q!     quit without saving

Stuck in Vim? Esc then :q! + Enter quits without saving anything.

Multiple files and windows

:e file.txt        open another file
:sp file.txt       split horizontally
:vsp file.txt      split vertically
Ctrl + w then w    switch between windows
:bn / :bp          next / previous buffer

The count + command combination

Almost every Vim command accepts a number in front to repeat it:

3dd     delete 3 lines
5j      move down 5 lines
2yy     copy 2 lines
10x     delete 10 characters

This "count + verb + motion" logic (e.g. d2w = delete 2 words) is at the heart of Vim's philosophy: composing commands rather than memorising each one individually.

Modes

Moving around

Editing

Search and replace

Saving and quitting

Multiple files and windows

The count + command combination

Related sheets