#-#
#-# Cursor movement
#-#

Command Description

h or ← move cursor left
j or ↓ move cursor down
k or → move cursor up
l or ↑ move cursor right
w jump forwards to the start of a word
W jump forwards to the start of a word (words can contain punctuation)
e jump forwards to the end of a word
E jump forwards to the end of a word (words can contain punctuation)
b jump backwards to the start of a word
B jump backwards to the start of a word (words can contain punctuation)
0 jump to the start of the line
^ jump to the first non-blank character of the line
$ jump to the end of the line
G go to the last line of the document
5G go to line 5

Tip: Prefix a cursor movement command with a number to repeat it.
For example, 4j moves down 4 lines.

#-#
#-# Insert mode - inserting/appending text
#-#

Command Description

i insert before the cursor
I insert at the beginning of the line
a insert (append) after the cursor
A insert (append) at the end of the line
o append (open) a new line below the current line
O append (open) a new line above the current line
ea insert (append) at the end of the word
Esc exit insert mode

#-#
#-# Editing
#-#

Command Description

r replace a single character
J join line below to the current one
cc change (replace) entire line
cw change (replace) to the end of the word
c$ change (replace) to the end of the line
s delete character and substitute text
S delete line and substitute text (same as cc)
xp transpose two letters (delete and paste)
u undo
Ctrl + r redo
. repeat last command

#-#
#-# Marking text (visual mode)
#-#

Command Description

v start visual mode, mark lines, then do a command (like y-yank)
V start linewise visual mode
o move to other end of marked area
Ctrl + v start visual block mode
O move to other corner of block
aw mark a word
ab a block with ()
aB a block with {}
ib inner block with ()
iB inner block with {}
Esc exit visual mode

#-#
#-# Visual commands
#-#

Command Description

     shift text right

< shift text left
y yank (copy) marked text
d delete marked text
~ switch case

#-#
#-# Cut and paste
#-#

Command Description

yy yank (copy) a line
2yy yank (copy) 2 lines
yw yank (copy) word
y$ yank (copy) to end of line
p put (paste) the clipboard after cursor
P put (paste) before cursor
dd delete (cut) a line
2dd delete (cut) 2 lines
dw delete (cut) word
D delete (cut) to the end of the line
d$ delete (cut) to the end of the line
x delete (cut) character

#-#
#-# Search and replace
#-#

Command Description

/pattern search for pattern
?pattern search backward for pattern
n repeat search in same direction
N repeat search in opposite direction
:%s/old/new/g replace all old with new throughout file
:%s/old/new/gc replace all old with new throughout file with confirmations

#-#
#-# Working with multiple files
#-#

Command Description

:e filename edit a file in a new buffer
:bnext or :bn go to the next buffer
:bprev or :bp go to the previous buffer
:bd delete a buffer (close a file)
:sp filename open a file in a new buffer and split window
:vsp filename open a file in a new buffer and vertically split window
Ctrl + w s split window
Ctrl + w w switch windows
Ctrl + w q quit a window
Ctrl + w v split window vertically
Ctrl + w h move cursor to the left window (vertical split)
Ctrl + w l move cursor to the right window (vertical split)
Ctrl + w j move cursor to the window below (horizontal split)
Ctrl + w k move cursor to the window above (horizontal split)

#-#
#-# Tabs
#-#

Command Description

:tabnew or :tabn filename open a file in a new tab
Ctrl + wT move the current split window into its own tab
gt or :tabnext or :tabn move to the next tab
gT or :tabprev or :tabp move to the previous tab
#gt move to tab number #
:tabmove # move current tab to the #th position (indexed from 0)
:tabclose or :tabc close the current tab and all its windows
:tabonly or :tabo close all tabs except for the current one

#-#
#-# Saving and Exiting
#-#

Command Description

:w write (save) the current file, but don’t exit
:w filename write (save) as filename, but don’t exit
:wq write (save) and quit
:q quit (fails if there are unsaved changes)
:q! quit and throw away unsaved changes