Vim Cheat Sheet by Mode

Normal Mode (Esc)

Main mode for browsing and editing

N

Key idea. In normal mode you navigate, delete, copy and combine movements with actions. You can always return to this mode with Esc.

Basic movement in the file

h j k lMove the cursor, left, down, up, right.
0 Go to the beginning of the line.
^ Go to the first non-space character.
$ Go to the end of the line.
w Next word start.
b Beginning of previous word.
e End of the current word.
gg Go to the beginning of the file.
G Go to the end of the file.
nG go to line n.

Movement by blocks and screens

{ / }Previous or next paragraph.
%Jump to the pair of parentheses or brackets.
Ctrl + uMedia pantalla arriba.
Ctrl + dMedia pantalla abajo.
Ctrl + b / Ctrl + fFull page up or down.
H Position the cursor at the top of the screen.
M Position cursor in the center of the screen.
L Position the cursor at the bottom of the screen.

Quick edit from normal mode

Basic operatorsd delete, c cambiar, y copy, always combined with a movement.
d{mov} Delete using a movement, for example dw, d$, d0, d3w.
c{mov} Change the text covered by the move and enter insert, for example cw, c$.
y{mov} Copy using a motion, for example yw, y$, yap full paragraph.
dd Delete entire line.
yy Copy entire line.
cc Change entire line and enter insert.
D / C Delete or change from the cursor to the end of the line, equivalent to d$ y c$.
dj / dk Delete current line and the next or the previous one.
dG Delete from the current line to the end of the file.
dgg Delete from the current line to the beginning of the file.
n dd Delete n lines, for example 5dd.
xp Swap two characters, quickly cut and paste.
s Delete character under the cursor and enter insert.
S Delete entire line and enter insert, similar to cc.
r Replace a single character without entering insert.
~ Reverse upper or lower case of the character under the cursor.
gU{mov} / gu{mov} Convert to upper or lower case using a move, for example gUw.
u Undo last action.
Ctrl + r Redo the undone action.
. Repeat the last complete action, key to fast editing.

Copy, paste and indent

yy Copy the entire line.
p Paste after the cursor or line.
P Paste before the cursor or line.
gp Paste and leave the cursor at the end of the pasted text.
J Join the current line with the next one.
>> Increase line indentation.
<< Decrease line indentation.
>{mov} / <{mov} Increase or decrease indentation in the indicated range, e.g. >ap.
= o ={mov} Auto indentation of the line or range, for example =ap.

Search from normal mode

/text Search down.
?text Search up.
n / N Next or previous match.
* Search the word under the down cursor.
# Search the word under the cursor up.

Windows, tabs and buffers

Ctrl + w s Split window horizontally.
Ctrl + w v Split window vertically.
Ctrl + w w Switch to the next window.
Ctrl + w h/j/k/l Moverse entre ventanas.
:tabnew New tab with an empty buffer.
gt / gT Next or previous tab.
:ls List open buffers.
:b n Go to buffer number n.

Insert Mode (i)

To enter text and make direct changes

I

Key idea. Use insert mode only to type text, then return to normal mode with Esc to move and edit without touching the mouse.

Enter insert mode

i Insertar antes del cursor.
a Insert after the cursor.
I Insert at the beginning of the line.
A Insert at the end of the line.
o Create new line below and insert.
O Create new line above and insert.
cc Change entire line and enter insert.
cw Cambiar palabra y entrar en insertar.

Exit insert and useful shortcuts

Esc Return to normal mode.
Ctrl + h Delete previous character.
Ctrl + w Delete previous word.
Ctrl + u Delete until start of line.
Ctrl + r {register} Paste content from a record.
Ctrl + n / Ctrl + p Autocompletar palabras siguientes o anteriores.

Command-line Mode (:)

To save, exit, search, configure.

:

Key idea. From normal mode, press : to open the command line, there you can use any full Vim command, e.g. :w, :q, :help.

Save and exit

:w Save file.
:w nuevo_nombre Save as a new file.
:q Salir si no hay cambios pendientes.
:q! Salir descartando cambios.
:wq o :x Save and exit.
ZZ Save and exit, shortcut from normal mode.
ZQ Exit without saving, shortcut from normal mode.

Global Search and Replace

:%s/viejo/nuevo/g Replace throughout the file.
:%s/viejo/nuevo/gc Replace in entire file with commit.
:s/viejo/nuevo/ Replace only on the current line.
:'<,'>s/viejo/nuevo/g Replace within a visual selection.
:noh Remove search highlighting.

Work with files, buffers and tabs

:e file Edit or open a file.
:bnext / :bprev Next or previous buffer.
:bd Close the current buffer.
:tabnew Create new tab.
:tabclose Close current tab.
:split / :vsplit Split window horizontally or vertically.

Useful configuration options

:set number Show line numbers.
:set relativenumber Relative line numbers.
:set hlsearch Highlight search results.
:set expandtab Convertir tab en espacios.
:set tabstop=4 Visible tab size.
:set shiftwidth=4 Espacios usados al sangrar.
:help tema Open help for a topic, for example :help motion.txt.

Ejemplo compacto de .vimrc

" Recommended basic configuration
set number
set relativenumber
set tabstop=4
set shiftwidth=4
set expandtab
set smartindent
set hlsearch
set incsearch
set clipboard=unnamedplus
set mouse=a

" Useful shortcuts
nnoremap <Space> :nohlsearch<CR>
nnoremap <leader>w :w<CR>

Command line tips

HistoryUse the up and down arrows to step through previous commands.
RangesYou can use ranges, for example :10,20s/old/new/g.
CompletionUse Tab to complete command and file names.
Save as administratorIf you forgot to open the file with sudo and don't have permission to save it, use :w !sudo tee % to save changes without leaving Vim.
Delete lines containing KSWMDelete every line in the file containing KSWM, kswm, etc.: :g/KSWM\c/d

Visual Mode (v)

Select text to copy, delete or modify

V

Key idea. In visual mode select text, then apply a command, e.g. d to delete, y to copy, > to bleed.

Selection types

vSelect by character.
VSelect entire lines.
Ctrl + vSelect a rectangular block of columns.
EscExit Visual mode.
oSwitch the active end of the selection.

Actions on selection

y Copy the selection.
d Clear the selection.
c Change the selection and go to insert.
> / < Increase or decrease indentation.
= Auto indentation of the selection.
gU / gu Convert to upper or lower case.

Block visual, bulk editing

" Insert text at the start of many lines
Ctrl+v      " blockwise Visual mode
j j j       " move down to select multiple lines
I           " insert at the start of the block
#           " type the desired text
Esc         " Vim repeats the change on every selected line

Guided replacement with selection

" In Visual mode, select the range
:'<,'>s/viejo/nuevo/gc
" Replace only within the selection, with confirmation