Mastering Vim: A Cheatsheet Guide for Fast & Efficient Text Editing

Vim is a powerful, modal text editor that offers unmatched speed and control — once you overcome the steep learning curve. Whether you're a beginner or brushing up, this cheatsheet-style article will help you quickly get up to speed and boost your productivity.

🧠 Understanding Vim Modes

Vim operates in modes — each with a specific purpose:

• Normal mode: for navigation and editing (press Esc to enter)
• Insert mode: for typing text (i, a, o, etc.)
• Visual mode: for selecting text (v, V, Ctrl+v)
• Command-line mode: for commands like saving and quitting (: from Normal mode)

🧭 Movement

Move the cursor:

• h – left
• j – down
• k – up
• l – right

Word and line navigation:

• w – next word
• b – previous word
• e – end of word
• 0 – beginning of line
• ^ – first non-blank character of line
• $ – end of line

File navigation:

• gg – start of file
• G – end of file
• :n – go to line n (e.g. :3 moves to line 3)
• % – jump between matching () {} []

Scrolling:

• Ctrl-d – scroll down half-page
• Ctrl-u – scroll up half-page
• Ctrl-f – scroll forward one page
• Ctrl-b – scroll back one page

✍️ Inserting Text

• i – insert before cursor
• I – insert at beginning of line
• a – append after cursor
• A – append at end of line
• o – open new line below
• O – open new line above

🔧 Editing

• x – delete character under cursor
• X – delete character before cursor
• r<char> – replace character
• R – enter replace mode
• J – join current line with the next
• u – undo
• Ctrl-r – redo
• . – repeat last command

📋 Copy, Paste, and Delete

• yy – yank (copy) current line
• y<motion> – yank based on motion (e.g. yw, y$)
• p – paste after cursor
• P – paste before cursor
• dd – delete current line
• d<motion> – delete based on motion (e.g. dw, d$)

Working with registers:

• "ay – yank into register a
• "ap – paste from register a

🔍 Search and Replace

Searching:

• /pattern – search forward
• ?pattern – search backward
• n – repeat search forward
• N – repeat search backward

Replacing:

• :s/old/new/ – replace first match on current line
• :s/old/new/g – replace all matches on current line
• :%s/old/new/g – replace all in file
• :%s/old/new/gc – replace all with confirmation

📐 Visual Mode (Selection)

• v – start visual selection (character mode)
• V – linewise selection
• Ctrl+v – blockwise selection
• d – delete selection
• y – yank selection
• > – indent selection
• < – un-indent selection
• ~ – toggle case of selection

💾 File and Buffer Commands

File operations:

• :e filename – open file
• :w – save
• :w filename – save as
• :q – quit
• :q! – quit without saving
• :wq or ZZ – save and quit
• :x – save if needed and quit

Buffers (multiple open files):

• :ls – list open buffers
• :bnext or :bn – next buffer
• :bprev or :bp – previous buffer
• :bd – delete (close) buffer
• :b <number> – switch to buffer

🔁 Macros

• q<register> – start recording macro to register
• <commands> – perform your actions
• q – stop recording
• @<register> – play macro
• @@ – repeat last macro

⚙️ Useful Settings

• :set number – show line numbers
• :set relativenumber – show relative line numbers
• :set ignorecase – ignore case in search
• :set smartcase – ignore case unless uppercase used
• :set hlsearch – highlight search matches
• :set incsearch – incremental search
• :syntax on – turn on syntax highlighting
• :noh – clear search highlight

📌 Essential Commands Recap

• Save: :w
• Quit: :q
• Save and Quit: :wq
• Quit without saving: :q!
• Search: /pattern
• Replace all: :%s/old/new/g
• Undo: u
• Redo: Ctrl-r
• Open file: :e filename

✅ Tips

• Start slow. Learn hjkl, i, :wq, and /search first.
• Practice motions with commands (d, y, c) to operate efficiently.
• Use . to repeat last change — it’s a huge time-saver.
• Explore :help for anything (:help :wq, :help visual).