Master Essential vi Shortcuts to Boost Your Linux Productivity

vi Overview

vi is the standard full‑screen text editor on all Unix and Linux platforms. Vim is a fully compatible, feature‑rich enhancement of vi.

vi operates in three distinct modes:

Command mode : cursor movement, text deletion, copying, and switching to other modes.

Insert mode : text entry; press ESC to return to command mode.

Last‑line mode : used for saving, quitting, searching, and other ex‑commands.

Basic vi Operations

Enter vi with a file name: vi myfile Switch to insert mode: i – insert before the cursor a – append after the cursor o – open a new line below the current line

Return to command mode with ESC.

Save and quit commands (entered in last‑line mode): :w filename – write to

filename

:wq

– write and quit :q! – quit without saving

Cursor Movement

h

, j, k, l – left, down, up, right Ctrl+b – page up Ctrl+f – page down Ctrl+u – half‑page up Ctrl+d – half‑page down ^ – beginning of line w – next word start e – next word end b – previous word start #l – move to column # on the current line (e.g., 1l, 23l)

Navigation

:set nu

– show line numbers :set nonu – hide line numbers 0 – beginning of line $ – end of line H – top of screen M – middle of screen L – bottom of screen gg – first line of file G – last line of file n – move forward n characters n<Enter> – move down n lines nG – go to line

n

Deletion

x

– delete character under cursor #x – delete # characters forward (e.g., 6x) X – delete character before cursor #X – delete # characters backward dd – delete current line #dd – delete # lines starting from current line

Copying

yw

– yank from cursor to end of word #yw – yank # words yy – yank current line #yy – yank # lines starting from current line p – paste after cursor (must follow a yank command)

Search

/str

– search forward for

str

n

– repeat forward search ?str – search backward for

str

N

– repeat backward search * – search forward for the word under the cursor # – search backward for the word under the cursor

Undo/Redo

u

– undo Ctrl+r – redo . – repeat the last change

Saving and Quitting

:w

– write file :w! – force write :q – quit :q! – force quit without saving :wq – write and quit :wq! – force write and quit