Vim

Vim is a text editor.
It’s handy when working on most remote machines.
Many programmers use it as their default code editor.

I created this guide to act as a cheat-sheet for my personal use.
People who use vim regularly often create one for reference.
More detailed vim guides for various use cases can be found on the internet.

Overview

Linting is not available in plain vim.
A prowess in typing will make vim enjoyable:

• High typing speed; code completion is not available in plain vim.
• High typing accuracy; error correction is not available in plain vim.

Resources

• vimtutor Command-line program.
• :help _ Visit vim’s documentation. Replace _ with command.

Operations

Commands and actions are used to operate vim.
Ideally vim is supposed to be operated using only the keyboard.
Most commands can be called multiple times by prepending them with a number or range. A range is defined as _,_ where _ are numbers or marks or certain special characters:

• . Current line.
• $ Last line.
• % Entire file. Equivalent to 1,$.
• * Last selection in visual mode.
  Range can also be augmented with basic arithmetic.

Configuration

Vim configuration is stored in .vimrc file.
Vimscript is used to write the configuration.
Look for ~/.vimrc.

General Commands

Commands are made up of set followed by options. Options may hold value.

Boolean options can be toggled by appending ! to the option.
Boolean options can be unset by prepending no to the option.
Value of an option can be checked by appending ? to the option.
Value can be assigned to an option by appending = followed by the value to the option.
Value can be added to an option by appending += followed by the value to the option.
Value can be subtracted from an option by appending -= followed by the value to the option.
An option can be reset to default value by appending & to the option.

• :set hlsearch Set highlight search results.
• :set noh Unset highlight search results.
• :set number Set line numbers.
• :set nonumber Unset line numbers.
• :set ignorecase Set to ignore case in patterns and words.
• :set smartcase Set to consider case in patterns and words. Requires :set ignorecase.
• :set undofile Set to track changes to a file.
• :set undodir=~/example/path Set file location to save track of change. Replace ~/example/path with path and name of file. Requires :set undofile.
• :set undolevels=_ Set number of changes to track for undo. Replace _ with a number.
• :set foldenable Set to enable fold.
• :set foldmethod=_ Set method to collapse blocks of code. Replace _ with one of manual, indent, expr, syntax, diff, marker. Requires :set foldenable.
• :set foldcolumn=_ Set number of folds to display on the sidebar. Replace _ with a number.
• :set incsearch Set highlight pattern during input.
• :set statusline=example.expression Set status line. Replace example.definition with format.
• :set background=_ Set background scheme. Replace _ with scheme name.
• :set encoding=_ Set encoding. Replace _ with name of encoding.
• :set expandtab Set to use spaces in place of tabs.
• :set tabstop=_ Set number of spaces to place for each tab. Replace _ with a number.
• :set shiftwidth=_ Set number of spaces for each indentation. Replace _ with a number.
• :set smarttab Set to use number of spaces depending upon the location of cursor.
• :set autoindent Set auto-indent. Equivalent to :set ai.
• :set smartindent Set to use auto-indent depending upon the location of cursor. Equivalent to :set si.
• :set cursorline Set to show line underneath cursor.
• :set nocursorline Unset cursorline.
• :set cursorcolumn Set to highlight the column of cursor.
• :set nocursorcolumn Unset cursorcolumn.
• :set warp Set line warp.
• :set nowarp Unset line warp.
• :set autoread Set to re-read files modified on disk.
• :set noautoread Unset autoread.
• :set title Set to display file title.
• :set notile Unset title display.
• :set wildmenu Display tab complete options as menu.
• :set spell Enable spellchecking.
• :set list Set to display whitespaces.
• :set nolist Unset whitespaces display.
• :retab Replace all tabs with spaces.
• :syntax on Enable syntax highlight.
• :syntax off Disable syntax highlight.
• :colorscheme _ Choose colorscheme for highlight. Replace _ with colorscheme. Requires :syntax on.
• :filetype on Enable file type detection.
• :filetype plugin on Enable plugins for the detected filetype.
• :filetype plugin off Disable plugins for filetype.
• :filetype indent on Enable filetype specific indentation.
• :filetype indent off Disable filetype specific indentation.

Commands in .vimrc must be added without :.

Save Options and Sessions

• :mk example.file Save operations and mappings to file. Replace example.file with name of file. Use :mk! example.file to overwrite file.
• :mkexrc example/file Save operations and mappings to file. Replace example/file with path and name of file. Use :mkexrc! example/file to overwrite file.
• :mks example/file Save session to file. Equivalent to :mksession example/file. Replace example/file with path and name of file. Use :mks! example/file to overwrite file.
• :source example/file Restore operations and mapping or session. Replace example/file with path and name of file.

Buffers, Windows and Tabs

A buffer is an open file.
A window displays a buffer.
A tab contains one or more windows.

General Commands

• :buffers List buffers.
• :buffer _ Move to buffer. Replace _ with id or name of the buffer.
• :ls List buffers. Equivalent to :buffers.
• :bn Move to next buffer. Equivalent to :bnext.
• :bp Move to previous buffer. Equivalent to :bprevious.
• :bf Move to first buffer. Equivalent to :bfirst.
• :bl Move to last buffer. Equivalent to :blast.
• :badd example.file Add file to buffer. Replace example.file with file path.
• :bdelete _ Delete buffer. Replace _ with id or name of the buffer.
• :_,_bdelete Delete buffers. Replace _,_ with start id and end id respectively.
• :bd Delete buffer. Equivalent to :bdelete.
• :Bdelete Delete buffer but do not close window.
• :jumps Display jump list.
• :history : Command history.
• :history / Search command history.
• :history ? Search command history.
• :qall Quit all buffers.

Operations And Navigation

• ctrl + ^ Switch to alternate buffer.
• _ctrl + ^ Switch to specific buffer. Replace _ with buffer id.
• ctrl + w followed by s Split the current window horizontally.
• ctrl + w followed by v Split the current window vertically.
• ctrl + w followed by n Split the current window horizontally and edit a new file.
• ctrl + w followed by ^ Split the current window with alternate file.
• _ followed by ctrl + w followed by ^ Split current window with specific buffer. Replace _ with buffer id.
• ctrl + w followed by j Move to lower window.
• ctrl + w followed by k Move to upper window.
• ctrl + w followed by h Move to left window.
• ctrl + w followed by l Move to right window.
• ctrl + w followed by r Rotate the windows.
• ctrl + w followed by x Exchange current window with next window.
• ctrl + w followed by = Resize current window to fit.
• ctrl + w followed by - Decrease the height of current window.
• ctrl + w followed by + Increase the height of current window.
• ctrl + w followed by < Decrease the width of current window.
• ctrl + w followed by > Increase the width of current window.
• ctrl + o Jump to previous cursor position.
• ctrl + i Jump to next cursor position.

History

• q: Open command history. Equivalent to :history :.
• q/ Search command history. Equivalent to :history /.
• q? Search command history. Equivalent to :history ?.
• @: Repeat last command.

Normal Mode

Mode defines the purpose for which vim is being used.
The default mode in vim is NORMAL mode.
All general commands are accessible in this mode.
Use ctrl + c or ctrl + [ to activate NORMAL mode.

Use : to switch to COMMAND mode:

• ctrl + r followed by ctrl + f Copy filename under cursor.
• ctrl + r followed by ctrl + w Copy word under cursor.
• ctrl + r followed by ctrl + l Copy line under cursor.

General Commands

• :help Vim’s help.
• :q Quit vim. Use :q! to Force quit vim.
• :w Write file to disk.
• :w example.file Write file example.file to disk. Replace example.file with name of file. Use :w! example.file to overwrite file example.file to disk.
• :wq Write file to disk and quit.
• :x Write file to disk and quit. Same as :wq.
• :e example.file Edit existing file. Replace example.file with name of file.
• :pwd Display present working directory.
• :cd example/directory Change directory. Replace example/directory with directory path.
• :reg Display register. Equivalent to :register.
• :s/example.pattern/replace.pattern/_ Substitute example.pattern with replace.pattern. Replace example.pattern with search pattern. replace.pattern can be left empty. Replace _ with &, c, g, i, I, n or leave empty.
• :g/example.pattern/_ Execute command globally. Replace example.pattern with search pattern. Replace _ with command.
• :marks Display list of marks.
• :marks _ Display specific mark. Replace _ with names of marks.
• :delm _ Delete mark. Replace _ with name of mark. Equivalent to delmarks _.
• :delm! Delete all marks. Equivalent to delmarks!.
• :dig Display digraphs. Equivalent to :digraphs.
• :! example.command Execute shell command. Replace example.command with shell command.
• :!! Execute last shell command.
• :r! example.command Execute shell command and insert output. Equivalent to :read! example.command. Replace example.command with shell command.
• :r!! Execute last shell command and insert output. Equivalent to :read!! example.command.
• :foldo Open all folds. Equivalent to :foldopen.
• :foldo! Open all folds recursively.
• :foldc Close all folds. Equivalent to :foldclose.
• :foldc! Close all folds recursively.
• :foldd example.command Execute command on all open folds. Equivalent to :folddoopen example.command. Replace example.command with command to execute.
• :folddoc example.command Execute command on all closed folds. Equivalent to :folddoclosed example.command. Replace example.command with command to execute.
• :ab List abbreviations. Equivalent to :abbreviate. Use :iab for INSERT mode abbreviations. Use :cab for COMMAND mode abbreviations.
• :ab eg List abbreviations beginning with eg. Equivalent to :abbreviate eg. Replace eg with any string. Use :iab eg for INSERT mode abbreviations. Use :cab eg for COMMAND mode abbreviations.
• :ab eg example given Abbreviate example given with eg. Equivalent to :abbreviate eg example given. Replace eg with any string. Replace example given with replacement strings. Use :iab eg example given for INSERT mode abbreviations. Use :cab eg example given for COMMAND mode abbreviations.
• :una eg Remove abbreviation eg. Equivalent to :unabbreviate eg. Replace eg with abbreviation string. Use :iuna eg for INSERT mode abbreviations. Use :cuna eg for COMMAND mode abbreviations.
• :abc Remove all abbreviations. Equivalent to :abclear. Use :iabc for INSERT mode abbreviations. Use :cabc for COMMAND mode abbreviations.
• :split Split file horizontally.
• :vsplit Split file vertically.

Search

• /example.pattern Search pattern forward in current file. Replace example.pattern with search pattern.
• ?example.pattern Search pattern backward in current file. Replace example.pattern with search pattern.
• /Example.Pattern\C Search case sensitive pattern forward in current file. Replace Example.Pattern with cased search pattern.
• ?Example.Pattern\C Search case sensitive pattern backward in current file. Replace Example.Pattern with cased search pattern.
• /example.pattern\c Search case insensitive pattern forward in current file. Replace example.pattern with search pattern.
• ?example.pattern\c Search case insensitive pattern backward in current file. Replace example.pattern with search pattern.
• // Search previous pattern.
• * Search word under cursor forward.
• # Search word under cursor backward.
• g* Search pattern under cursor forward.
• g# Search pattern under cursor backward.
• gn Select last search result.
• n Next search result.
• N Previous search result.
• ctrl + g Next search result from COMMAND mode. Requires :set incsearch.
• ctrl + t Previous search result from COMMAND mode. Requires :set incsearch.

Navigation

• h Move one character left.
• j Move one line down.
• k Move one line up.
• l Move one character right.
• w Move one word forward.
• b Move one word backward.
• 0 Move to start of line.
• ^ Move to first non whitespace character of line.
• $ Move to end of line.
• % Move to the other bracket of the pair.
• f_ Find character forward on line. Replace _ with character.
• F_ Find character backward on line. Replace _ with character.
• m_ Move to character forward on line. Replace _ with character.
• M_ Move to character backward on line. Replace _ with character.
• ; Go forward on line. Requires f_ or F_ or m_ or M_.
• , Go backward on line. Requires f_ or F_ or m_ or M_.
• _G Move to start of line. Replace _ with line number.
• G Move to start of last line of file.
• gg Move to start of first line of file. Equivalent to 1G.
• ctrl + u Move half screen up.
• ctrl + d Move half screen down.
• ctrl + y Scroll upwards.
• ctrl + e Scroll downwards.
• g; Move to next position of change.
• g, Move to previous position of change.
• gi Move to last position of change and switch to INSERT mode.
• gI Move to start of line and switch to INSERT mode.
• [m Move to start of method.
• m] Move to end of method.
• '_ Move to first non whitespace character on marked line. Replace _ with name of mark.
• `_ Move to position of mark. Replace _ with name of mark.
• [z Move to start of fold.
• ]z Move to end of fold.
• zj Move to start of next fold.
• zk Move to start of previous fold.

Operations

Operators may be used in conjuction to navigation commands.

• u Undo.
• ctrl + r Redo.
• . Repeat last command.
• dd Copy and delete line.
• d$ Delete to end of line.
• dgg Delete to beginning of file.
• dG Delete to end of file.
• ggdG Delete entire content of file.
• diw Delete inside word.
• dip Delete inside paragraph.
• ciw Change inside word.
• p Paste.
• & Repeat last substitute.
• zi Toggle foldenable.
• zf Create fold. Requires selection in VISUAL mode.
• zd Delete fold under cursor.
• zD Delete fold under cursor recursively.
• zE Eliminate all folds.
• zo Open fold under cursor.
• zO Open fold under cursor recursively.
• zc Close fold under cursor.
• zC Close fold under cursor recursively.
• za Toggle fold under cursor.
• zA Toggle fold under cursor recursively.
• zx Open fold under cursor and close all other folds.
• zm Close all folds.
• zM Close all folds recursively.
• zr Open all folds.
• zR Open all folds recursively.
• ctrl + a Increment next number on line.
• ctrl + x Decrement next number on line.

Registers

• "_ Set active register. Replace _ with name of register (a - z).
• q_ Start recording. Replace _ with name of register (a - z).
• q Stop recording. Requires q_.
• @_ Execute register. Replace _ with name of register (a - z).

Marks

• m_ Mark the current line. Replace _ with name of mark (a - z for local, A - Z for global).

Miscellaneous

• gf Open and edit file located at path under cursor.
• ctrl + w followed by ctrl + f Open and edit file located at path under cursor in separate window.
• gx Open file located at path under cursor.
• ga Get code of the character under cursor.

Insert Mode

Insert content.

Use i in NORMAL mode to INSERT before the current character.
Use a in NORMAL mode to INSERT after the current character.
Use A in NORMAL mode to INSERT after the end of line.
Use o in NORMAL mode to INSERT below the current line.
Use O in NORMAL mode to INSERT above the current line.

Operations and Navigation

• ctrl + r followed by _ Insert content of register. Replace _ with name of register.
• ctrl + r followed by = Expression register. Enter expression to evaluate and insert.
• ctrl + k followed by __ Insert digraph. Replace __ with digraph code.
• ctrl + a Insert last content that was inserted.
• ctrl + @ Insert last content that was inserted.
• ctrl + h Delete character before cursor.
• ctrl + w Delete word under cursor.
• ctrl + u Delete everything before cursor.
• ctrl + t Add indentation.
• ctrl + d Remove indentation.
• ctrl + v followed by _ Insert character. Replace _ with character literal. Equivalent to ctrl + q followed by _.
• ctrl + g followed by u Split undo sequence.
• ctrl + x followed by ctrl + y Scroll up.
• ctrl + x followed by ctrl + e Scroll down.
• ctrl + x followed by ctrl + l Whole line completion.
• ctrl + x followed by ctrl + f File name completion.
• ctrl + x followed by s Spelling suggestion.
• ctrl + x followed by ctrl + v Command-line completion.
• ctrl + x followed by ctrl + i Path pattern completion.

Visual Mode

Modify, edit or copy selection.

Use v in NORMAL mode.
Use shift + v in NORMAL mode to activate VISUAL LINE mode.
Use ctrl + v in NORMAL mode to activate VISUAL BLOCK mode.
Use ctrl + q in NORMAL mode to activate VISUAL BLOCK mode.

Use gv in NORMAL mode to select the last selection made using VISUAL mode.

Operations

• o Move to other end of selection. In VISUAL BLOCK mode.
• O Move to other side of selection. In VISUAL BLOCK mode.
• R Rewrite selection. Equivalent to S Substitute selection.
• U Uppercase selection.
• I Insert at start of selected line.
• A Append at end of selected line.
• c Substitute selected lines.