Vim Keybindings Guide for Beginners

Vim modes

Vim has modes. The same key does different things in each mode.

• Normal mode is for moving and running commands. Press Esc to return to it. Vim starts here.
• Insert mode is for typing text. Enter it with i.
• Visual mode selects text. Enter it with v (characters), V (lines) or Ctrl+v (blocks).
• Command-line mode runs commands such as save, quit and search. Enter it with :.

Install Vim

sudo apt install vim

vim --version

Start Vim

vim filename.txt

Press i to enter insert mode and type your text.

Press Esc to go back to normal mode.

Move around (normal mode)

• h left, j down, k up, l right.
• w to the start of the next word, b to the start of the previous word, e to the end of the word.
• 0 to the start of the line, ^ to the first non-blank character, $ to the end of the line.
• gg to the first line, G to the last line, 42G to line 42.
• Ctrl+f page down, Ctrl+b page up.

Insert text

• i insert before the cursor, a after the cursor.
• I at the start of the line, A at the end.
• o open a new line below, O above.

Edit

• x delete the character under the cursor.
• dd delete (cut) the line, dw delete a word, d$ delete to the end of the line.
• yy copy (yank) the line, yw copy a word.
• p paste after the cursor, P before.
• u undo, Ctrl+r redo.
• r replace one character, cw change a word.
• . repeat the last change.
• A number before a command repeats it: 3dd deletes 3 lines.

Visual mode

1. Press v and move to select text.
2. Press y to copy, d to cut, or > to indent.

Search and replace

• /word search forward, ?word search backward.
• n next match, N previous match.
• Replace in the whole file: :%s/old/new/g
• Confirm each change: :%s/old/new/gc

Save and quit (command-line mode)

• :w save.
• :q quit.
• :wq or ZZ save and quit.
• :q! quit without saving.
• :w newname save as a new file.

Tips

• If you are stuck, press Esc twice, then type :q! to leave.
• Type vimtutor in the terminal for a free interactive lesson.
• Change settings in ~/.vimrc, for example set number shows line numbers.

Quick recap

• i to type, Esc to stop, :wq to save and quit.