Modes

Mode	Enter	Exit
Normal	`Esc` or `Ctrl+[`	-
Insert	`i` (before) / `a` (after) / `o` (new line below) / `O` (new line above)	`Esc`
Visual	`v` (char) / `V` (line) / `Ctrl+v` (block)	`Esc`
Command	`:`	`Esc`
Replace	`R`	`Esc`

Basic Motion

Key	Action
`h j k l`	Left, down, up, right
`w` / `b`	Next / prev word start
`e` / `ge`	Next / prev word end
`W` / `B` / `E`	Same, WORD (space-delimited)
`0` / `^`	Line start / first non-blank
`$`	Line end
`gg` / `G`	File start / file end
`5G` or `:5`	Go to line 5
`%`	Jump to matching bracket
`{` / `}`	Prev / next empty line (paragraph)
`Ctrl+d` / `Ctrl+u`	Half page down / up
`Ctrl+f` / `Ctrl+b`	Full page down / up
`zz` / `zt` / `zb`	Center / top / bottom current line

Jumps

Key	Action
`Ctrl+o`	Jump back
`Ctrl+i`	Jump forward
`gi`	Go to last insert position
`'.`	Go to last change

Editing

Operators (combine with motion or text object)

Key	Action
`d`	Delete (cut)
`y`	Yank (copy)
`c`	Change (delete + enter insert)
`>` / `<`	Indent / unindent
`=`	Auto-indent
`gU` / `gu`	Uppercase / lowercase

Examples: dw delete word, d$ delete to end of line, yy yank line, cc change line, dd delete line.

Quick Edits

Key	Action
`x`	Delete char under cursor
`X`	Delete char before cursor
`r<char>`	Replace single char
`~`	Toggle case
`J`	Join line below
`p` / `P`	Paste after / before
`.`	Repeat last change
`u`	Undo
`Ctrl+r`	Redo

Text Objects

Use with operators: d, y, c, v, etc.

Object	Meaning
`iw` / `aw`	Inner word / a word (with space)
`is` / `as`	Inner sentence / a sentence
`ip` / `ap`	Inner paragraph / a paragraph
`i"` / `a"`	Inside / around double quotes
`i'` / `a'`	Inside / around single quotes
`i(` / `a(`	Inside / around parentheses
`i{` / `a{`	Inside / around braces
`i[` / `a[`	Inside / around brackets
`it` / `at`	Inside / around HTML/XML tag

Examples: ciw change inner word, da( delete around parens, yi" yank inside quotes.

Search and Replace

Command	Action
`/pattern`	Search forward
`?pattern`	Search backward
`n` / `N`	Next / prev match
`*` / `#`	Search word under cursor fwd / bwd
`:%s/old/new/g`	Replace all in file
`:%s/old/new/gc`	Replace all, confirm each
`:5,10s/old/new/g`	Replace in lines 5-10
`:s/old/new/g`	Replace in current line

Buffers, Windows, Tabs

Buffers

Command	Action
`:ls` or `:buffers`	List buffers
`:b<n>`	Switch to buffer n
`:bn` / `:bp`	Next / prev buffer
`:bd`	Delete (close) buffer
`:e filename`	Open file in buffer

Windows (splits)

Key / Command	Action
`Ctrl+w s` or `:sp`	Horizontal split
`Ctrl+w v` or `:vsp`	Vertical split
`Ctrl+w h/j/k/l`	Move between windows
`Ctrl+w =`	Equal size windows
`Ctrl+w q`	Close window
`:close`	Close current window

Tabs

Command	Action
`:tabnew`	New tab
`gt` / `gT`	Next / prev tab
`:tabclose`	Close tab

Marks

Key	Action
`ma`	Set mark `a` (local)
`mA`	Set mark `A` (global, across files)
`a	Jump to mark `a` (exact position)
`'a`	Jump to mark `a` (line start)
`:marks`	List all marks

Macros

Key	Action
`qa`	Start recording macro into register `a`
`q`	Stop recording
`@a`	Play macro `a`
`@@`	Repeat last macro
`5@a`	Play macro `a` 5 times

File Operations

Command	Action
`:w`	Save
`:w filename`	Save as filename
`:q`	Quit (fail if unsaved)
`:q!`	Force quit without saving
`:wq` or `ZZ`	Save and quit
`ZQ`	Force quit without saving
`:wa`	Save all buffers
`:qa!`	Quit all without saving

Useful :set Options

vim

set number          " line numbers
set relativenumber  " relative line numbers
set ignorecase      " case-insensitive search
set smartcase       " case-sensitive if uppercase in pattern
set hlsearch        " highlight search matches
set incsearch       " incremental search
set expandtab       " spaces instead of tabs
set tabstop=2       " tab width = 2
set shiftwidth=2    " indent width = 2
set wrap            " wrap long lines
set clipboard=unnamedplus  " use system clipboard

Vim Cheatsheet