VIM
EDITOR CHEATSHEET.

Opening and Exiting Vim

# Open file
vim filename
nvim filename

# Open multiple files
vim file1 file2 file3

# Open at specific line
vim +10 filename
vim +/search_pattern filename

# Exit
:q        # quit (fails if unsaved)
:q!       # force quit (discard changes)
:wq       # save and quit
:x        # save and quit (same as :wq)
ZZ        # save and quit (normal mode)
ZQ        # force quit (normal mode)

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Modes

Mode	Purpose	How to Enter
Normal	Navigation, commands	Esc, Ctrl+[
Insert	Typing text	i, a, o, etc.
Visual	Selecting text	v, V, Ctrl+v
Command	Ex commands (:)	: from normal mode
Replace	Overwrite text	R
Terminal	Run shell commands (Neovim)	:term

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Navigation (Normal Mode)

Basic Movement

h          # left
j          # down
k          # up
l          # right
w          # forward by word
W          # forward by WORD (punctuation ignored)
b          # backward by word
B          # backward by WORD
e          # end of word
E          # end of WORD
0          # beginning of line
^          # first non‑blank character
$          # end of line
gg         # beginning of file
G          # end of file
:5         # go to line 5
5G         # go to line 5
Ctrl+u     # half‑page up
Ctrl+d     # half‑page down
Ctrl+f     # full page down
Ctrl+b     # full page up
%          # jump to matching bracket/paren
H          # top of screen
M          # middle of screen
L          # bottom of screen

Search

/pattern   # search forward
?pattern   # search backward
n          # next match
N          # previous match
*          # search forward for word under cursor
#          # search backward for word under cursor
:noh       # clear search highlighting

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Editing (Insert Mode)

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
s          # delete character and insert
S          # delete line and insert
c{motion}  # change (delete + insert)
C          # change to end of line
cc         # change entire line
r          # replace single character
R          # enter replace mode
Ctrl+n     # autocomplete (insert mode)
Ctrl+p     # autocomplete backwards

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Visual Mode (Selecting Text)

v          # character‑wise visual
V          # line‑wise visual
Ctrl+v     # block‑wise visual
gv         # reselect previous visual selection

# After selection:
d          # delete selected
y          # yank (copy) selected
p          # paste over selection
>          # indent right
<          # indent left
=          # auto‑format
u          # lowercase
U          # uppercase
~          # toggle case

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Cut, Copy, Paste (Registers)

# Delete (cut) – also stored in register
d          # delete (cut)
dd         # delete line
D          # delete to end of line
dw         # delete word
d$         # delete to end of line
d0         # delete to beginning of line
dgg        # delete to beginning of file
dG         # delete to end of file

# Yank (copy)
y          # yank (copy)
yy         # yank line
Y          # yank to end of line
yw         # yank word
y$         # yank to end of line

# Put (paste)
p          # paste after cursor (or below line)
P          # paste before cursor (or above line)
]p         # paste with auto‑indent

# Named registers (a‑z)
"ayy       # yank line into register a
"ap        # paste from register a

# System clipboard (requires +clipboard)
"+y        # copy to system clipboard
"+p        # paste from system clipboard
"*y        # copy to primary selection (X11)

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Undo, Redo, Repeat

u          # undo
Ctrl+r     # redo
.          # repeat last change
5.         # repeat 5 times

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Search and Replace

# Simple replace in current line
:s/old/new/          # replace first occurrence
:s/old/new/g         # replace all occurrences

# Replace in file
:%s/old/new/g        # replace all occurrences globally
:%s/old/new/gc       # with confirmation

# Replace in specific lines
:10,20s/old/new/g    # lines 10‑20

# With regex
:%s/\/new/g   # whole word match
:%s/foo/bar/g        # plain text
:%s/foo/bar/gi       # case‑insensitive

# Use register in replacement
:%s//new/g           # repeat last search pattern

# Visual selection replace
:'<,'>s/old/new/g   # after visual selection

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Macros

# Record macro into register a
qa         # start recording
...        # perform actions
q          # stop recording

# Play macro
@a         # play once
5@a        # play 5 times
@@         # repeat last macro

# View macro contents
:reg a     # show register a

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Multiple Files / Windows

Buffers

:ls        # list buffers
:b 2       # go to buffer 2
:bnext     # next buffer
:bprev     # previous buffer
:bd        # delete buffer
:bp        # previous buffer

Splits

:split     # horizontal split (or :sp)
:vsplit    # vertical split (or :vs)
Ctrl+w h   # move to left split
Ctrl+w l   # move to right split
Ctrl+w j   # move to lower split
Ctrl+w k   # move to upper split
Ctrl+w w   # cycle splits
Ctrl+w q   # close split
Ctrl+w =   # equalize splits
Ctrl+w _   # maximise height
Ctrl+w |   # maximise width
:only      # close all other splits

Tabs

:tabnew    # new tab
:tabnext   # next tab
:tabprev   # previous tab
gt         # next tab
gT         # previous tab
:tabclose  # close tab

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Indentation and Formatting

# Indent
>>         # indent right (normal mode)
<<         # indent left (normal mode)
>          # indent visual selection
<          # outdent visual selection
=          # auto‑format visual selection
gg=G       # auto‑format entire file

# Set indentation
:set tabstop=4
:set shiftwidth=4
:set expandtab        # use spaces
:set noexpandtab      # use tabs
:retab                 # convert tabs/spaces according to settings

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Command‑line Commands (Ex Mode)

# Save
:w         # save
:w!        # force save
:w newfile # save as

# Quit
:q         # quit
:q!        # force quit
:wq        # save and quit

# Open
:e file    # edit file
:e!        # reload file (discard changes)

# Shell
:!command  # run shell command
:shell     # open shell (exit to return)

# Set options
:set number        # show line numbers
:set nonumber      # hide line numbers
:set relativenumber # relative line numbers
:set hlsearch      # highlight search matches
:set nohlsearch    # disable highlight
:set ignorecase    # case‑insensitive search
:set smartcase     # case‑sensitive if uppercase used
:set incsearch     # incremental search

# Fold
:set foldmethod=indent
:set foldmethod=marker
za         # toggle fold
zA         # toggle fold recursively
zo         # open fold
zc         # close fold
zR         # open all folds
zM         # close all folds

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Configuration (~/.vimrc or ~/.config/nvim/init.vim)

" Basic settings
set number
set relativenumber
set tabstop=4
set shiftwidth=4
set expandtab
set hlsearch
set incsearch
set ignorecase
set smartcase
set autoindent
set smartindent
set wrap
set mouse=a

" Syntax highlighting
syntax enable
syntax on

" Filetype detection
filetype on
filetype plugin on
filetype indent on

" Leader key
let mapleader = ' '

" Mappings
nnoremap w :w
nnoremap q :q
nnoremap x :x

" Search and replace word under cursor
nnoremap r :%s/\<\>//g

" Remove trailing whitespace
autocmd BufWritePre * %s/\s\+$//e

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Useful Plugins

Plugin	Purpose
vim-plug	Plugin manager
fzf.vim	Fuzzy finder
nerdtree	File explorer
coc.nvim	Language Server Protocol (LSP) client
telescope.nvim	Fuzzy finder (Neovim)
vim-airline	Status bar
vim-fugitive	Git integration
tcomment_vim	Comment/uncomment
surround.vim	Add/change surroundings (brackets, quotes)

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Common Text Objects

# Text objects (can be used with d, y, c, v, etc.)
aw         # a word
iw         # inner word
as         # a sentence
is         # inner sentence
ap         # a paragraph
ip         # inner paragraph
a"         # a quoted string (including quotes)
i"         # inner quoted string
a'         # a single-quoted string
i'         # inner single-quoted string
a(         # a parenthesized block
i(         # inner parentheses
a[         # a bracket block
i[         # inner brackets
a{         # a brace block
i{         # inner braces
a<         # a tag block (HTML/XML)
i<         # inner tag block

# Examples
ciw        # change inner word
di"        # delete inside quotes
ya(        # yank including parentheses
vi{        # select inside braces

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Best Practices

• Learn the navigation keys – avoid arrow keys.
• Use . to repeat – combine with motions for efficiency.
• Use macros – for repetitive tasks.
• Use text objects – instead of counting characters.
• Use relative line numbers – for easy jumping (5j, 3k).
• Learn :help – built‑in documentation is excellent.
• Start with a minimal config – add plugins gradually.
• Use vim-plug – for plugin management.
• Use vim-tmux-navigator – if you use tmux.
• Commit your .vimrc – to version control.
• Practice – do Vim adventures or use Vim for all text editing.

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Quick Troubleshooting

• Can't type? – you're in normal mode. Press i.
• Can't save? – check file permissions or use :w!.
• Search highlights stuck? – :noh.
• Accidentally closed Vim? – :q or :q!.
• Line numbers not showing? – :set number.
• Syntax highlighting off? – :syntax on.