Master Vim: Essential Modes, Commands, and Tips for Linux Users

Vim Help

Vim includes a comprehensive built‑in help system; after starting Vim type :help to open it.

Vim Modes

Vim operates in several distinct modes, each changing the meaning of typed keys.

Normal mode : default editing mode; commands are entered directly; press Esc to return from any other mode.

Command mode : accessed by typing :, / or ?; commands are executed after pressing Enter.

Insert mode : entered with i, a, o, etc.; typed characters are inserted into the file.

Visual mode : entered with v, V, or Ctrl‑V to select characters, lines, or blocks.

Select mode : similar to typical Windows editors; rarely used on Linux and omitted here.

Normal Mode

Command Mode

Insert Mode

i

– insert at cursor I – insert at line start o – open new line below O – open new line above a – insert after cursor A – append at line end

Basic Editing Workflow

Opening a file

[root@localhost myfolder]# vim file1

The screen shows a black block for the cursor, tildes (~) for empty lines, and a status line with file name, line count, and character count.

Inserting text

Press i to enter Insert mode, type the desired text, then press Esc to return to Normal mode. The status line shows --INSERT-- while in Insert mode.

Moving the cursor

In Normal mode use h (left), j (down), k (up), l (right). Arrow keys work but are slower.

Deleting text

Press x to delete the character under the cursor.

Press dd to delete the current line.

Press u to undo the last change; Ctrl‑R to redo.

Press U to undo all changes on the current line.

Other editing commands

o

– open a new line below and switch to Insert mode. O – open a new line above and switch to Insert mode.

Exiting Vim

ZZ

– save and quit. :q! – quit without saving. :e! – reload the file, discarding changes. :wq or :wq! – write changes and quit.

Jumping to a specific line

33G

– move cursor to line 33. G – move to the last line. gg or 1G – move to the first line.

Searching

/pattern

– search forward for pattern. ?pattern – search backward. n – repeat search in same direction; N – opposite direction.

Set ignorecase with :set ignorecase and disable with :set noignorecase.

Enable highlight with :set hlsearch and disable with :set nohlsearch or :nohlsearch.

Copying and pasting

Delete a line with dd then paste with p.

Use y to yank text into a register, then p to put it. yw – yank a word; y2w – yank two words. yy – yank a whole line; 3yy – yank three lines.

Replacing text

:s/UNIX/linux/

– replace first occurrence of “UNIX” with “linux” on the current line. :s/UNIX/linux/g – replace all occurrences on the current line. :%s/UNIX/linux/g – replace throughout the entire file.

Vim’s Protection Mechanism

If Vim is terminated abruptly, a swap file .file.swp is left behind. On the next start Vim shows a warning like:

E325: Warning
Found swap file ".file.swp"
...

The swap file protects against data loss and concurrent edits. Options include: (E) – edit the file. (R) – recover changes with :recover or vim -r file. (D) – delete the swap file. (Q) – quit without editing.

After recovery, delete the swap file to avoid future warnings. Note that Vim requires appropriate read/write permissions on the file being edited.