Vim cheatsheet

Here is a curated list of essential, real-world Vim commands. This list avoids esoteric tips and focuses on the core commands that form the daily workflow of developers, DevOps engineers, and sysadmins.

Navigation (The Foundation)

You can’t fix a server config or refactor code if you can’t move around efficiently.

• h j k l - Basic movement (left, down, up, right). Muscle memory for this is non-negotiable.
• w - Move forward one word (punctuation considered words).
• b - Move backward one word.
• W - Move forward one WORD (ignores punctuation).
• B - Move backward one WORD.
• 0 - Move to the very beginning of the line.
• ^ - Move to the first non-blank character of the line.
• $ - Move to the end of the line.
• gg - Go to the first line of the file.
• G - Go to the last line of the file.
• [Line Number]G - Go to a specific line number (e.g., 50G goes to line 50). Essential for reading log files and compiler errors.
• Ctrl + f - Page Forward (Page Down).
• Ctrl + b - Page Backward (Page Up).
• % - Jump to the matching brace/bracket/parenthesis ({ } [ ] ( )). Incredibly useful for code blocks and conditionals.

Editing & Text Manipulation

This is where Vim’s power becomes obvious for quick edits.

• i - Enter Insert mode at the cursor.
• a - Enter Insert mode after the cursor.
• A - Enter Insert mode at the end of the line.
• o - Open a new line below the current line and enter Insert mode.
• O - Open a new line above the current line and enter Insert mode.
• r - Replace a single character under the cursor (e.g., r[char]).
• x - Delete the character under the cursor (like Delete key).
• dd - Delete (cut) the current line.
• yy - Yank (copy) the current line.
• p - Paste the yanked/deleted text after the cursor.
• P - Paste the yanked/deleted text before the cursor.
• u - Undo the last change.
• Ctrl + r - Redo.
• . - Repeat the last command. This is a massive productivity booster.

Powerful Editing (Combining Motion)

This is the “Verb + Noun” philosophy that makes Vim legendary.

• d[motion] - Delete text defined by a motion.
  • dw - Delete from cursor to start of next word.
  • d$ or D - Delete from cursor to end of line.
  • d^ - Delete from cursor to first non-blank of line.
  • dt[char] - Delete until the specified character (e.g., dt" deletes until the next quote).
  • dd - Delete the entire line (a special case of d[motion]).
• c[motion] - Change (delete and enter Insert mode) text defined by a motion.
  • cw - Change word. This is used constantly for renaming variables.
  • c$ - Change to the end of the line.
  • cc - Change the entire line.
• y[motion] - Yank (copy) text defined by a motion.
  • yw - Yank word.
  • y$ - Yank to end of line.
  • yy - Yank the entire line.

Searching and Replacing (The Sysadmin’s Best Friend)

Crucial for analyzing logs, debugging configs, and refactoring code.

• /[pattern] - Search forward for a pattern (e.g., /error).
• ?[pattern] - Search backward for a pattern.
• n - Repeat the last search in the same direction.
• N - Repeat the last search in the opposite direction.
• * - Search for the word under the cursor (forward). Perfect for finding all uses of a variable/function.
• # - Search for the word under the cursor (backward).
• :%s/old/new/g - Global search and replace in the entire file. The workhorse command.
  • :%s/old/new/gc - Same, but with a confirmation for each replace. Always use this first to be safe!
  • :s/old/new/g - Search and replace only in the current line.

File and Window Management

Essential for working with multiple files, which is a daily task.

• :e [file] - Edit a file (e.g., :e /etc/hosts). You can use tab completion.
• :w - Write (save) the file.
• :q - Quit.
• :q! - Quit without saving (force quit).
• :wq or ZZ - Write and quit.
• :vsp [file] - Open a file in a vertical split.
• :sp [file] - Open a file in a horizontal split.
• Ctrl + w + w - Switch between open windows/splits.
• :ls - List all open buffers (files).

Visual Mode (For Selecting Blocks of Text)

• v - Enter character-wise Visual mode.
• V - Enter line-wise Visual mode.
• Ctrl + v - Enter block-wise Visual mode. Extremely useful for commenting out multiple lines or editing columns of text.
• Once in Visual mode, use navigation keys (j, k, w, $) to select text, then apply a command:
  • d - Delete the selection.
  • y - Yank the selection.
  • : - Apply a command to the selection (e.g., :'<,'>s/foo/bar/g to replace only in the selected lines).

Real-World Scenarios

1. Quick Log Analysis: vim /var/log/syslog. You see an error on line 1050. 1050G to jump right to it. Search for all occurrences of “timeout”: /timeout then press n to cycle through them.
2. Editing a Config: You need to change a port number in nginx.conf. Find the line with /listen. Use cw to delete the old number and type the new one. Save and quit with :wq.
3. Refactoring a Variable: You need to rename a function parameter from user_id to accountId. Put your cursor on user_id and press * to find all instances. At each one, press cw, type accountId, and press Esc. Then press n to go to the next occurrence and . to repeat the change.
4. Commenting out a Block: You need to disable a section of a Python script. Move to the top of the block, press Ctrl + v, use j to select down, then press I (capital I), type #, and press Esc. The # will appear on every selected line.

Master these commands, and you will be significantly more efficient in any text-editing task on a server or your local machine. This is the core Vim that professionals use every day.