Master Vim Basics: Essential Modes, Commands, and Tips for Efficient Editing

Background

Vim is a popular, full‑screen text editor widely used for development, compilation, proofreading and other text‑related tasks. It offers powerful features such as auto‑completion, navigation, highlighting and repetition, enabling faster and more efficient editing.

1. Three Modes

Vim operates in three modes:

Command mode : perform delete, copy, paste and other shortcuts.

Insert mode : edit file content.

Command‑line mode : execute commands such as search, save and quit.

2. Three Ways to Open Files

1) Open a specific file

vim /test/a.txt

Tip: type :wq to exit and save.

2) Open a file and move the cursor to a specific line vim +3 /test/a.txt The cursor stops at line 3 (default is the first line).

3) Open a file and highlight a keyword vim +/root /test/a.txt The string root is highlighted upon opening.

3. Command Mode

After opening a file, Vim starts in command mode, allowing cursor movement, copy‑paste, search‑replace and other operations.

Note: In command mode, keystrokes are interpreted as commands, not text input.

3.1 Cursor Movement

Command

Action

h or ←

Move cursor left one character

l or →

Move cursor right one character

k or ↑

Move cursor up one character

j or ↓

Move cursor down one character

0 or Ctrl+6 or Home

Move cursor to beginning of line

Ctrl+4 or End

Move cursor to end of line

Ctrl+f or PgUp

Scroll screen down one page

Ctrl+b or PgDn

Scroll screen up one page

gg

Go to first line of file

G

Go to last line of file

nG

Go to line number n

3.2 Search and Replace

Command

Action

/pattern

Search forward for pattern n

Find next occurrence forward

?pattern

Search backward for pattern N

Find next occurrence backward

:%s/word1/word2/g

Replace all word1 with word2 in the file

:%s/word1/word2/gc

Replace with confirmation

:1,10s/word1/word2/g

Replace word1 with word2 from line 1 to 10

3.3 Copy, Paste, Delete

Command

Action

x

Delete character under cursor

X

Delete character before cursor

dd

Delete (cut) current line

3dd

Delete three lines

yy

Yank (copy) current line

3yy

Yank three lines

p

Paste after cursor line

P

Paste before cursor line

u

Undo last change

Ctrl+r

Redo undone change

.

Repeat last command

Tip: Numeric prefixes repeat commands, e.g., 10j moves down ten lines, 2p pastes two lines, 2dd deletes two lines.

4. Insert Mode

Press i in command mode to enter insert mode (displayed as – INSERT –). Other keys:

Command

Action

i

Enter insert mode at cursor

o

Open a new line below cursor and enter insert mode

R

Enter replace mode (overwrites existing text)

Esc

Exit insert/replace mode back to command mode

When the lower‑left corner shows – INSERT – or – REPLACE –, you are in edit mode; exit with Esc before performing other actions.

5. Command‑Line Mode

Press : to enter command‑line mode.

Command

Action

:w

Save file

:q

Quit Vim

:wq

Save and quit

:q!

Quit without saving

:set nu

Show line numbers

:set nonu

Hide line numbers

:w filename

Save to a new file (Save As)

:2,5 w filename

Save lines 2‑5 to a new file

:r filename

Read file content and insert after cursor

Finally, keep a Vim cheat‑sheet image for quick reference.

Source: Adapted from the public account “入门小站”.