vi(m) command mode | Code Bales

Andrew Fletcher published: 13 December 2019 (updated) 25 October 2023 3 minutes read

shell

In Vim, following is an outline of the vi(m) functions you can utilise whilst in command mode - yes they are case sensitive

action	outcome
a	change to insert mode (after cursor)
A	change to insert mode (at end of line)
dd	delete one line
G	go to end of the file
1G	go to top of the file
i	change to insert mode (before cursor)
J	merge next line with this one
p	paste deleted or yanked text after cursor
P	paste deleted or yanked text before cursor
r	replace one character
R	overwrite text
x	delete one character
yy	yank line (copy)
$	The $ key in normal mode will move the cursor to the end of the current line
0	0 (zero) in normal mode will move the cursor to the start of the current line

/	search, follow / with text to find
{esc}:wq!	write file and quit
{esc}:q!	quit without saving
%s/old/new/g	substitute; replace "old" with "new" on all lines
:g/pattern/d	delete all lines that match the pattern

Note: when editing a file and the permission is 444 or r--r--r--, to save the file you need to add an exclamation mark... for example :wq!

Vim is a highly customisable text editor with a rich set of commands and features. Here are some of the most commonly used Vim commands to help you get started:

Basic Movement

key	outcome
h	Move the cursor left
j	Move the cursor down
k	Move the cursor up
i	Move the cursor right

Word Movement

key	outcome
w	Move the cursor to the beginning of the next word
b	Move the cursor to the end of the current word
e	Move the cursor to the end of the current word
ge	Move the cursor to the end of the previous word

Line Movement

key	outcome
0 (zero)	Move to the beginning of the line
$	Move to the end of the line
e	Move the cursor to the end of the current word
^	Move to the first non-whitespace character of the line

Page Movement

key	outcome
ctrl u	Scroll up (half page)
ctrl d	Scroll down (half page)
ctrl b	Page up (full page)
ctrl f	Page down (full page)

Search and Find

key	outcome
/search_term	Search forward for search_term
?search_term	Search backward for search_term
n	Move to the next search result
N	Move to the previous search result

Insert Mode

key	outcome
i	Insert text before the cursor
I	Insert text at the beginning of the line
a	Insert text after the cursor
N	Insert text at the end of the line
o	Open a new line below the current line
O	Open a new line above the current line

Visual Mode

key	outcome
v	Enter visual mode to select text character by character
V	Enter visual mode to select whole lines
ctrl v	Enter visual block mode to select rectangular blocks of text

Copy, Cut, Paste

key	outcome
yy	Yank (copy) the current line
dd	Delete (cut) the current line
p	Paste the yanked or deleted text after the cursor
P	Paste the text before the cursor

Undo and Redo

key	outcome
u	Undo the last change
ctrl r	Redo the last undone change

Save and Quit

key	outcome
:w	Save the current file
:q	Quit Vim
:wq	Save and quit
:q!	Quit without saving

Other Commands

key	outcome
:e file_path	Edit a different file
:sp file_path	Split the screen and open a different file
:vsp file_path	Vertical split and open a different file
:set number	Display line numbers
:set nonumber	Hide line numbers

These are just a few of the many Vim commands available. Vim has a steep learning curve but offers powerful text-editing capabilities once you become familiar with its commands and concepts. You can access Vim's built-in help system by typing :help to learn more.

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