Mastering Vim: A Comprehensive Guide to Efficient Navigation and Editing

Basic Navigation

• h - Move left

• j - Move down

• k - Move up

• l - Move right

• w - Move to the start of the next word

• b - Move to the start of the previous word

• e - Move to the end of the word

• 0 - Move to the beginning of the line

• $ - Move to the end of the line

• gg - Go to the first line of the file

• G - Go to the last line of the file

• :[n] - Go to line number [n] (e.g., :10 goes to line 10)

• Ctrl + f - Move forward one page

• Ctrl + b - Move backward one page

Insert Mode

• i - Insert before the cursor

• I - Insert at the beginning of the line

• a - Insert after the cursor

• A - Insert at the end of the line

• o - Open a new line below the current line

• O - Open a new line above the current line

• Esc - Exit insert mode

Editing

• x - Delete the character under the cursor

• dd - Delete (cut) the current line

• yy - Yank (copy) the current line

• p - Paste after the cursor

• P - Paste before the cursor

• u - Undo

• Ctrl + r - Redo

• . - Repeat the last command

• r - Replace the character under the cursor

• cw - Change word (delete word and enter insert mode)

• cc - Change line (delete line and enter insert mode)

• C - Change from cursor to end of line

• s - Delete character and enter insert mode

• S - Delete line and enter insert mode

Search and Replace

• /pattern - Search forward for pattern

• ?pattern - Search backward for pattern

• n - Go to the next match

• N - Go to the previous match

• :%s/old/new/g - Replace all occurrences of old with new in the file

• :%s/old/new/gc - Replace with confirmation

• :s/old/new/g - Replace in the current line

Visual Mode

• v - Enter visual mode (character-wise)

• V - Enter visual line mode

• Ctrl + v - Enter visual block mode

• y - Yank (copy) selected text

• d - Delete (cut) selected text

• > - Indent selected text

• < - Unindent selected text

File Operations

• :w - Save file

• :wq or :x or ZZ - Save and quit

• :q - Quit (fails if there are unsaved changes)

• :q! - Quit without saving

• :e [file] - Open another file

• :w [file] - Save as [file]

• :r [file] - Insert contents of [file] below the cursor

Miscellaneous

• :set number - Show line numbers

• :set nonumber - Hide line numbers

• :set paste - Enable paste mode (prevents auto-indentation)

• :set nopaste - Disable paste mode

• :help [command] - Open help for [command]

• Ctrl + g - Show file status and current line

Advanced Navigation

• Ctrl + d - Move half-page down

• Ctrl + u - Move half-page up

• H - Move to the top of the screen

• M - Move to the middle of the screen

• L - Move to the bottom of the screen

• } - Move to the next paragraph or block

• { - Move to the previous paragraph or block

• % - Jump to the matching bracket (), {}, or []

• * - Search for the word under the cursor (forward)

• # - Search for the word under the cursor (backward)

• gd - Go to the definition of the word under the cursor (local)

• gD - Go to the definition of the word under the cursor (global)

Advanced Editing

• di[ - Delete inside [] (works with other delimiters like (), {}, "", etc.)

• da[ - Delete around [] (includes the delimiters)

• ci[ - Change inside [] (delete and enter insert mode)

• ca[ - Change around [] (delete including delimiters and enter insert mode)

• dt[x] - Delete until character [x]

• ct[x] - Change until character [x]

• guu - Convert the current line to lowercase

• gUU - Convert the current line to uppercase

• g~ - Toggle case of the current character or selection

• >> - Indent the current line

• << - Unindent the current line

• J - Join the current line with the next line

• gq - Format selected text or paragraph

• :m [n] - Move the current line to after line [n]

• :t [n] - Copy the current line to after line [n]

Macros

• q[a-z] - Start recording a macro into register [a-z]

• q - Stop recording the macro

• @[a-z] - Execute the macro stored in register [a-z]

• @@ - Repeat the last executed macro

Windows and Tabs

• :sp [file] - Split window horizontally (open [file] if specified)

• :vsp [file] - Split window vertically (open [file] if specified)

• Ctrl + w + h/j/k/l - Move to the window left/down/up/right

• Ctrl + w + w - Cycle through windows

• Ctrl + w + c - Close the current window

• Ctrl + w + o - Close all other windows

• Ctrl + w + = - Equalize window sizes

• Ctrl + w + _ - Maximize current window height

• Ctrl + w + | - Maximize current window width

• :tabnew [file] - Open a new tab (with [file] if specified)

• gt - Go to the next tab

• gT - Go to the previous tab

• :tabclose - Close the current tab

• :tabonly - Close all other tabs

Registers

• "[a-z]y - Yank (copy) into register [a-z]

• "[a-z]p - Paste from register [a-z]

• :reg - View the contents of all registers

• "+y - Yank to the system clipboard

• "+p - Paste from the system clipboard

Search and Replace with Regular Expressions

• /\vpattern - Use "very magic" mode for regex (simplifies escaping)

• /pattern\c - Case-insensitive search

• /pattern\C - Case-sensitive search

• :%s/\vold/new/g - Use regex for search and replace

• :%s/\<word\>/new/g - Replace whole words only

• :%s/old/new/gI - Replace with case-insensitive search

Folding

• zf - Create a fold (visual mode or motion-based, e.g., zfap for a paragraph)

• zo - Open a fold

• zc - Close a fold

• zR - Open all folds

• zM - Close all folds

• zd - Delete a fold

• :set foldmethod=indent - Fold based on indentation

• :set foldmethod=syntax - Fold based on syntax

Command-Line Tricks

• :!command - Run a shell command (e.g., :!ls)

• :r !command - Insert the output of a shell command into the file

• :sh - Open a shell (return to Vim with exit)

• :!% - Run the current file as a script (if executable)

• :read [file] - Insert the contents of [file] below the cursor

• :write !sudo tee % - Save a file with sudo permissions

Plugins and Customization

• :PluginInstall - Install plugins (if using a plugin manager like vim-plug)

• :PluginUpdate - Update installed plugins

• :PluginClean - Remove unused plugins

• :set [option] - Enable a Vim option (e.g., :set number)

• :set no[option] - Disable a Vim option (e.g., :set nonumber)

• :colorscheme [name] - Change the color scheme

• :syntax on - Enable syntax highlighting

• :syntax off - Disable syntax highlighting

Marks

• m[a-z] - Set a mark at the current position (e.g., ma)

• '[a-z] - Jump to the line of mark [a-z]

• ``[a-z]- Jump to the exact position of mark[a-z]`

• :marks - List all marks

Buffers

• :e [file] - Open a file in a new buffer

• :bnext or :bn - Go to the next buffer

• :bprev or :bp - Go to the previous buffer

• :bd - Close the current buffer

• :ls - List all open buffers

• :b [n] - Switch to buffer [n]

• :b [name] - Switch to buffer by name (partial match)

Reference

1. Vim Official Documentation
   https://vimhelp.org/
   The official Vim documentation provides detailed information about all commands, features, and customization options.

2. Vim Cheatsheet
   https://vim.rtorr.com/
   A concise and beginner-friendly cheatsheet that summarizes the most important Vim commands for quick reference.

3. Vim Tutorial (OpenVim)
   https://www.openvim.com/
   An interactive Vim tutorial where you can practice commands directly in your browser.

4. Vim Adventures
   https://vim-adventures.com/
   A fun, game-based way to learn Vim commands and navigation techniques in an interactive setting.

5. Vim Tips Wiki
   http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Vim_Tips_Wiki
   A community-driven collection of Vim tips, tricks, and guides for both beginners and advanced users.