VimCheatSheet

Here's a comprehensive Vim cheat sheet, summarizing key commands for efficient navigation, editing, and file management:

Global Commands

• :h[elp] keyword - Open help for a keyword
• :sav[eas] file - Save file as
• :clo[se] - Close current pane
• :ter[minal] - Open terminal window
• K - Open man page for word under the cursor

Cursor Movement

• h - Move cursor left
• j - Move cursor down
• k - Move cursor up
• l - Move cursor right
• gj - Move cursor down (multi-line text)
• gk - Move cursor up (multi-line text)
• H - Move to top of screen
• M - Move to middle of screen
• L - Move to bottom of screen
• w - Jump forward to start of word
• e - Jump forward to the end of word
• b - Jump backward to start of word
• % - Move cursor to matching character (e.g., parentheses)
• 0 - Jump to start of line
• $ - Jump to end of line
• gg - Go to first line of document
• G - Go to last line of document
• fx - Jump to next occurrence of character x
• tx - Jump to before next occurrence of character x
• ; - Repeat previous f, t, F, T movement

Insert Mode

• i - Insert before cursor
• I - Insert at the beginning of line
• a - Insert (append) after cursor
• A - Insert (append) at end of line
• o - Open a new line below
• O - Open a new line above
• Ctrl + h - Delete char before cursor
• Esc or Ctrl + c - Exit insert mode

Editing

• r - Replace a character
• J - Join the line below with a space
• gJ - Join the line below without space
• cc - Change (replace) entire line
• ciw - Change (replace) entire word
• u - Undo
• Ctrl + r - Redo
• . - Repeat last command

Visual Mode

• v - Start visual mode
• V - Start linewise visual mode
• Ctrl + v - Start visual block mode
• y - Yank (copy) marked text
• d - Delete marked text
• ~ - Switch case of marked text
• u - Convert marked text to lowercase
• U - Convert marked text to uppercase

Registers

• :reg - Show registers content
• "xy - Yank into register x
• "xp - Paste from register x
• "+y - Yank into system clipboard
• "+p - Paste from system clipboard

Marks and Positions

• :marks - List marks
• ma - Set current position for mark A
• `a - Jump to position of mark A
• Ctrl + i - Go to newer position in jump list
• Ctrl + o - Go to older position in jump list

Macros

• qa - Record macro a
• q - Stop recording macro
• @a - Run macro a
• @@ - Rerun last run macro

Cut and Paste

• yy - Yank (copy) a line
• 2yy - Yank (copy) 2 lines
• dw - Delete word
• p - Paste after cursor
• P - Paste before cursor
• dd - Delete (cut) a line

Indent Text

• >> - Indent line right
• << - Indent line left
• >% - Indent a block with () or {} (cursor on brace)
• =% - Re-indent a block with () or {}

Exiting Vim

• :w - Save the file but don't exit
• :wq or ZZ - Save and quit
• :q! - Quit without saving
• :wqa - Save and quit on all tabs

Search and Replace

• /pattern - Search for pattern
• ?pattern - Search backward for pattern
• :%s/old/new/g - Replace all occurrences of old with new
• :%s/old/new/gc - Replace with confirmation for each

Tabs and Buffers

• :tabnew - Open file in a new tab
• gt - Move to the next tab
• gT - Move to the previous tab
• :e[dit] file - Edit a file in a new buffer
• :bn[ext] - Go to the next buffer
• :bd[elete] - Delete a buffer (close a file)

Working with Multiple Files

• :sp[lit] file - Open file in a new split window
• :vs[plit] file - Open file in a new vertical split window
• Ctrl + ws - Split window horizontally
• Ctrl + wv - Split window vertically
• Ctrl + wq - Close current window

This cheat sheet covers the essentials for working with Vim. For more advanced usage, refer to the :help command in Vim itself.

Here’s a summary and clarification of the Vim commands you’ve listed, categorized by functionality:

Working with Multiple Files (Buffers and Windows)

• Buffers:

  • :e[dit] file – Open a file in a new buffer.
  • :bn[ext] – Switch to the next buffer.
  • :bp[revious] – Switch to the previous buffer.
  • :bd[elete] – Close a buffer (delete from the buffer list).
  • :b[uffer]# – Switch to a buffer by its index number.
  • :b[uffer] file – Switch to a buffer by its file name.
  • :ls or :buffers – List all open buffers.

• Splitting Windows:

  • :sp[lit] file – Open a file in a new buffer and split the window horizontally.
  • :vs[plit] file – Open a file in a new buffer and split the window vertically.
  • :vert[ical] ba[ll] – Open all buffers in vertical windows.
  • :tab ba[ll] – Open all buffers as tabs.

• Window Navigation (with Ctrl + w commands):

  • Ctrl + ws – Split the window.
  • Ctrl + wv – Split the window vertically.
  • Ctrl + ww – Switch to the next window.
  • Ctrl + wq – Close the current window.
  • Ctrl + wx – Exchange the current window with the next one.
  • Ctrl + w= – Make all windows equal size.
  • Ctrl + wh – Move the cursor to the window to the left (horizontal split).
  • Ctrl + wl – Move the cursor to the window to the right (horizontal split).
  • Ctrl + wj – Move the cursor to the window below (vertical split).
  • Ctrl + wk – Move the cursor to the window above (vertical split).
  • Ctrl + wH – Make the current window full height at the far left.
  • Ctrl + wL – Make the current window full height at the far right.
  • Ctrl + wJ – Make the current window full width at the very bottom.
  • Ctrl + wK – Make the current window full width at the very top.

Folding Commands (for Code/Content Management)

• Folding (Hiding/Showing Code or Sections):

  • zf – Manually define a fold up to a certain motion (e.g., zf2j to fold up to 2 lines down).
  • zd – Delete the fold under the cursor.
  • za – Toggle the fold under the cursor.
  • zo – Open the fold under the cursor.
  • zc – Close the fold under the cursor.
  • zr – Reduce (open) all folds by one level.
  • zm – Fold more (close) all folds by one level.
  • zi – Toggle the folding functionality.

  Tip: Uppercase letters (e.g., zA, zR) work on all levels of folding, not just the current one.

Diffing Files (Comparing Differences)

• Diff Commands:
  • ]c – Jump to the start of the next change in the diff.
  • [c – Jump to the start of the previous change in the diff.
  • do or :diffg[et] – Obtain the differences from another buffer/file.
  • dp or :diffpu[t] – Put the differences into the current buffer/file.
  • :diffthis – Make the current window part of the diff comparison.
  • :diffupdate – Update the diff view.
  • :diffoff – Disable diff mode for the current window.

Tip: To start Vim in diff mode directly, you can run vimdiff in a terminal. Additionally, Vim can be set as the default tool for Git diffs via git difftool.

Let me know if you need further clarification or examples on using these commands!

Reference

• https://vim.rtorr.com/