Master Vim’s Three Modes and Essential Commands for Efficient Editing

Vim’s Three Modes

1. Command mode

When Vim starts you are in command mode, where you can move the cursor, delete, copy and paste text. Common commands include:

i   : switch to Insert mode<br/>x   : delete character under cursor<br/>:   : enter Ex command line<br/>dd  : delete current line<br/>yy  : yank (copy) current line<br/>:w  : write file<br/>:q  : quit Vim<br/>:e! : reload file discarding changes

2. Insert mode

Press i in command mode to enter Insert mode and type freely. Press Esc to return to command mode.

3. Ex (extended) command mode

Press : in command mode to enter the command‑line. Frequently used commands:

w   : write file<br/>q   : quit Vim<br/>wq  : write and quit<br>q!  : force quit without saving<br>x   : write and quit<br>X   : encrypt<br>5,10r file.txt : read file.txt into lines 5‑10<br>r!command   : execute command and read its output

Address Ranges and Operations

Examples of address specifications:

#          : specific line number<br/>#,#      : range from line # to line #<br/>#,+#      : from line # to line #+<br/>.          : current line<br/>.,$-1     : current line to second‑last line<br/>%          : whole file<br/>d          : delete (e.g., 3,5d)<br/>y          : yank (e.g., 3,7y) then p or P to paste<br/>r          : read (e.g., 3r)

Search and Replace

Search pattern:

/pattern/          : find pattern<br/>/pat1/,/pat2/      : range from pat1 to pat2<br/>#,/pat/            : from line # to pat<br/>/pat/,$           : from pat to end of file

Substitution:

s/find/replace/flags   (flags: i – ignore case, g – global, gc – confirm each)

Vim Settings

Common options (use set):

nu          : show line numbers<br/>nonu        : hide line numbers<br/>ic          : ignore case<br/>noic        : case‑sensitive<br/>ai          : auto‑indent<br/>noai        : disable auto‑indent<br/>paste       : enable paste mode<br/>nopaste     : disable paste mode<br/>list        : show invisible characters<br/>nolist      : hide them<br/>hlsearch    : highlight search results<br/>nohlsearch  : disable highlighting<br/>syntax on   : enable syntax highlighting<br/>syntax off  : disable syntax highlighting<br/>fileformat=dos : use Windows line endings<br/>fileformat=unix : use Unix line endings<br/>et          : expand tabs to spaces<br/>noet        : keep tabs<br/>ts=4        : set tabstop to 4 spaces<br/>shiftwidth=4: set indentation width<br/>textwidth=80: wrap lines at 80 columns<br/>cul         : highlight current line<br/>nocul       : disable current line highlight<br/>key=passwd  : set encryption key

File‑Opening Options

+#          : open file with cursor at line #<br/>+/#PATTERN : open file with cursor at first match of PATTERN<br/>-b file    : open file in binary mode<br/>-d file1 file2 : diff two files<br/>-m file    : open read‑only<br/>-e file    : start in Ex mode

Command‑Mode Navigation

Cursor movement

h : left<br/>j : down<br/>k : up<br/>l : right

Word movement

b : back to beginning of previous word<br/>w : forward to beginning of next word<br/>e : end of current/next word

Line movement

0 : beginning of line<br/>$ : end of line<br/>gg: top of file<br/>G : bottom of file

Screen movement

Ctrl+f : page down<br/>Ctrl+b : page up<br/>Ctrl+d : half‑page down<br/>Ctrl+u : half‑page up

Editing Commands

Character editing

rx   : replace character under cursor with x<br/>x    : delete character under cursor<br/>X    : delete character before cursor<br/>dw   : delete word forward<br/>db   : delete word backward<br/>d$   : delete to end of line

Change commands

cw   : change word<br/>c$   : change to end of line and enter Insert mode

Copy & paste

yy   : yank line<br/>p    : paste after cursor<br/>P    : paste before cursor

Undo/redo

u    : undo<br/>Ctrl+r: redo

Visual Mode

Enter visual selections:

v   : characterwise visual mode<br/>V   : linewise visual mode<br/>Ctrl+v : blockwise visual mode

While in visual mode you can move the cursor, then use y to yank, d to delete, or p / P to paste.

Window Management

:split   : horizontal split<br/>:vsplit  : vertical split<br/>Ctrl+w w : cycle focus<br/>:q       : close window<br/>:only    : close other windows<br/>Ctrl+w + / - : adjust height<br/>Ctrl+w > / < : adjust width<br/>:set scrollbind : sync scrolling<br/>:set noscrollbind : stop sync<br/>Ctrl+w r : toggle layout<br/>:tabedit : new tab<br/>:tabclose: close tab