Command Mode
Files and directories
| :e filename |
open file filename |
| :w |
save current file |
| :pwd |
show working directory |
| :cd |
change working directory for all windows |
| :lcd |
change working directory only for current window |
| :lcd %:p:h |
change working directory to directory of full path of current file |
Buffers
| :new |
create new window with new empty buffer |
| :ls |
list all buffers |
| :bn |
switch to next buffer |
| :bp |
switch to previous buffer |
| :b2 |
switch to buffer 2 |
| :b exa |
switch to buffer with filename that matches exa (use tab for completion if unsure) |
| ctrl-^ |
toggle between current and last buffer |
| :bd |
delete current buffer |
| :bd! |
discard changes and delete buffer |
Windows
| :vsp |
split window vertically |
Tabs
| :tabe filename |
edit filename in new tab |
Substitution
| :.,+#s/xyz/abc/g |
Starting with current line through # additional lines,
substitute “abc” for “xyz” globally
(each occurrence is changed rather than just the first) |
| :.,+#s/^/ / |
Starting with current line through # additional lines,
add space to beginning of line |
| :.,-#s/^/ / |
Starting with current line through # previous lines,
add space to beginning of line |
Normal Mode
Text
Copy & Paste
| y |
copy text |
| yy |
copy current line |
| y#y |
copy # of lines starting with current line and moving down |
| yw |
copy current word |
| y#w |
copy # of words starting with current word and moving right |
| p |
paste line/word after current line/word |
| P |
paste line/word before current line/word |
Visual
Windows
| ctrl-w v |
split window vertically |
| ctrl-w s |
split window horizontally |
| ctrl-w l or ctrl-w right |
move to window to the right |
| ctrl-w h or ctrl-w left |
move to window to the left |
| ctrl-w j or ctrl-w down |
move to window to the bottom |
| ctrl-w k or ctrl-w up |
move to window to the top |
| ctrl-w w |
move to other window |
| ctrl-w > |
increase width of window |
| ctrl-w < |
decrease width of window |
| ctrl-w + |
increase height of window |
| ctrl-w - |
decrease height of window |
| ctrl-w = |
balance window dimensions |
Insert mode
| esc |
go to normal mode |
| ctrl-[ |
go to normal mode (useful when esc isn’t passed to vim) |
Extensions
NERDTree
| C |
change working directory to selected (requires NERDTreeChDirMode=2) |
Links
https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/vim-editor-modes-explained/
https://www.fprintf.net/vimCheatSheet.html
https://vim.fandom.com/wiki/Project_browsing_using_find