Vim Cheat Sheet: Commands, Shortcuts, and Modes Explained

Vim's power comes from composable commands — but the learning curve is real. This reference covers every command you actually need, from the basics of not getting stuck to advanced macros and window splits.

Quick reference

The 30 commands that cover 90% of daily Vim work.

The four modes

Understanding Vim's modes is the key to everything else.

The mental model: Normal mode is your base. You spend most time there, dipping into Insert mode only to type, and Visual mode only to select regions.

Navigation

Basic movement

h   ← left
j   ↓ down
k   ↑ up
l   → right

You can prefix any motion with a count: 5j moves 5 lines down, 3w moves 3 words forward.

Word and line movement

w       forward to start of next word
W       forward to start of next WORD (whitespace-separated)
b       backward to start of previous word
B       backward to start of previous WORD
e       forward to end of current word
0       start of line (column 0)
^       first non-blank character of line
$       end of line

File navigation

gg      go to first line
G       go to last line
:42     go to line 42
Ctrl+f  page forward (down)
Ctrl+b  page backward (up)
Ctrl+d  half-page down
Ctrl+u  half-page up
H       top of visible screen
M       middle of visible screen
L       bottom of visible screen

Jump list and marks

Ctrl+o      go back to previous position (jump list)
Ctrl+i      go forward in jump list
ma          set mark 'a' at cursor position
`a          jump to mark 'a' (exact position)
'a          jump to line of mark 'a'
``          jump back to position before last jump

Editing

Entering Insert mode

Deleting

All d commands cut to the default register — you can paste them back with p.

Copying (yanking)

Pasting

p       paste after cursor (or below line for linewise)
P       paste before cursor (or above line for linewise)

Changing (delete + insert)

The pattern is c<motion> — any motion works.

Text objects

Text objects are the most powerful Vim concept for editing code.

Combine with operators: di( deletes everything inside (), yi{ yanks inside {}, vi" selects inside "".

Undo and redo

u           undo last change
U           undo all changes to current line
Ctrl+r      redo

Search and replace

Searching

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

Pattern is a regular expression. Case sensitivity:

• :set ignorecase — case-insensitive search
• :set smartcase — case-insensitive unless pattern contains uppercase
• \c in pattern — force case-insensitive (e.g., /\chello)
• \C in pattern — force case-sensitive

Search and replace (substitute)

: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 matches in file
:%s/old/new/gc      replace all with confirmation (y/n/a/q/l)
:5,10s/old/new/g    replace in lines 5 to 10
:'<,'>s/old/new/g   replace in visual selection (auto-inserted)

Flags:

• g — all matches on line (not just first)
• c — confirm each replacement
• i — case-insensitive
• I — case-sensitive (overrides ignorecase)

Special replacement patterns:

• & — the entire match
• \1 — first capture group
• \u — uppercase next character

Example — capitalize first letter of each word:

:%s/\b\(\w\)/\u\1/g

Visual mode

Selection types

v           character-by-character selection
V           line-by-line selection
Ctrl+v      rectangular (block) selection

Visual mode operations

After selecting:

Block editing (Ctrl+v)

Inserting text on multiple lines at once:

1. Ctrl+v — start block selection
2. Select the lines (with j/k)
3. I — insert mode at start of block
4. Type your text
5. Esc — text appears on all selected lines

Registers

Vim has named registers for storing text beyond the default clipboard.

"ayy        yank line into register 'a'
"ap         paste from register 'a'
"Ayy        append line to register 'a' (capital = append)
"+yy        yank to system clipboard
"+p         paste from system clipboard
:reg        show all register contents

The unnamed register "" is the default (always receives last d/y).
Register "0 always has the last yanked text (not deleted).
Register "+ is the system clipboard (requires clipboard support).

Macros

Macros record and replay sequences of commands.

qa          start recording macro into register 'a'
q           stop recording
@a          replay macro 'a'
@@          replay last-used macro
5@a         replay macro 'a' 5 times

Practical example — add a semicolon to the end of each line:

1. qa — start recording
2. A; — append semicolon
3. Esc — back to Normal
4. j — move to next line
5. q — stop recording
6. 100@a — replay 100 times

Windows and splits

Opening splits

:split or :sp       horizontal split (same file)
:vsplit or :vsp     vertical split (same file)
:sp filename        horizontal split with file
:vsp filename       vertical split with file
Ctrl+w s            horizontal split
Ctrl+w v            vertical split

Navigating splits

Ctrl+w h    move to left window
Ctrl+w j    move to window below
Ctrl+w k    move to window above
Ctrl+w l    move to right window
Ctrl+w w    cycle through windows

Resizing splits

Ctrl+w =        equal size
Ctrl+w >        wider
Ctrl+w <        narrower
Ctrl+w +        taller
Ctrl+w -        shorter
:resize 20      set height to 20 lines
:vertical resize 80     set width to 80 columns

Tabs

:tabnew         open new tab
:tabnew file    open file in new tab
gt              go to next tab
gT              go to previous tab
:tabc           close current tab
:tabo           close all other tabs

File and buffer operations

:w              save
:w filename     save as
:e filename     open file
:e!             reload file (discard changes)
:q              quit
:q!             quit without saving
:wq or :x or ZZ    save and quit
:qa             quit all windows
:ls or :buffers    list open buffers
:b2             switch to buffer 2
:bd             delete (close) buffer
:bn             next buffer
:bp             previous buffer

Useful settings (vimrc)

Add these to ~/.vimrc (Vim) or ~/.config/nvim/init.vim (Neovim):

" Display
set number              " line numbers
set relativenumber      " relative line numbers (great for motions)
set cursorline          " highlight current line
set scrolloff=8         " keep 8 lines visible above/below cursor

" Indentation
set tabstop=4           " tab = 4 spaces
set shiftwidth=4        " indent step
set expandtab           " use spaces instead of tabs
set autoindent          " copy indent from previous line

" Search
set ignorecase          " case-insensitive search
set smartcase           " case-sensitive if uppercase in pattern
set hlsearch            " highlight matches
set incsearch           " incremental search as you type

" Usability
set backspace=indent,eol,start  " backspace over everything in insert
set mouse=a             " enable mouse
set clipboard=unnamed   " use system clipboard
set undofile            " persistent undo across sessions

6 common mistakes

1. Being stuck in Insert mode

If the screen is showing typed characters as commands (like kkkkjjjj), you're in Normal mode. Press u to undo, then remember: Esc to return to Normal from anywhere.

2. Using arrow keys instead of hjkl

Arrow keys work, but they also work in Insert mode — which lets you avoid learning hjkl. The problem: hjkl in Normal mode keeps your fingers on the home row, and motions like 5j or w only work in Normal mode anyway. Remap arrows in Normal mode to train yourself:

nnoremap <Left>  :echo "Use h"<CR>
nnoremap <Right> :echo "Use l"<CR>
nnoremap <Up>    :echo "Use k"<CR>
nnoremap <Down>  :echo "Use j"<CR>

3. Repeatedly pressing h/l instead of using word motions

w, e, b, f, t are faster for horizontal movement. fX jumps to the next X character on the line, ; repeats it. tx jumps to just before x.

4. Using dd when you only want to delete to end of line

dd cuts the whole line. For "delete to end of line", use D or d$. For "delete word", use dw. dd is specifically for the whole line including the newline.

5. Forgetting that d, y, c all accept motions and text objects

Once you internalize d<motion>, you can delete to any position. dt) deletes to the next ). dap deletes the paragraph. d/foo<Enter> deletes to the next occurrence of "foo". Same for y and c.

6. Not using . (repeat last change)

The . command repeats whatever you last did in Normal/Insert mode — including text typed. This is extremely powerful for repetitive edits. Fix one thing with a compound command, then . on the next occurrence.

FAQ

What's the difference between Vim and Neovim?

Neovim is a modern Vim fork with built-in LSP (Language Server Protocol), Lua configuration, better defaults, and a larger plugin ecosystem. The core Vim commands and modes are identical. Start with Vim to learn the fundamentals; switch to Neovim when you want a full IDE setup.

How do I exit Vim?

:q to quit (fails if unsaved changes), :q! to quit without saving, :wq to save and quit, ZZ to save and quit (shortcut). If you're stuck in a mode, press Esc first, then type the command.

What is set nocompatible in vimrc?

It disables Vi compatibility mode, enabling Vim's full feature set. Modern Vim detects vimrc and sets nocompatible automatically, but adding it explicitly does no harm.

How do I copy to the system clipboard?

Use the + register: "+yy copies the line to the system clipboard, "+p pastes from it. Requires vim --version to show +clipboard. On many Linux systems, install vim-gtk or vim-gnome to get clipboard support. In Neovim, set clipboard=unnamedplus.

How do I search and replace with regex?

:%s/pattern/replacement/g uses the Vim regex dialect. Use \( and \) for capture groups (not ( and ) without \). In "very magic" mode (\v), regular regex syntax works: :%s/\v(\w+)/[\1]/g wraps each word in brackets.

What is the difference between :w and :wq?

:w saves without quitting. :wq saves and quits. :x is similar to :wq but only writes if the file was modified. ZZ in Normal mode is the same as :wq.