Vim Text Editor

What Is Vim?

Vim is a keyboard-driven text editor commonly used in terminals. It uses Normal mode for navigation and commands, Insert mode for typing, and Command-line mode for actions such as saving and quitting.

When in doubt, press Esc to return to Normal mode.

Opening Vim

Open a terminal or command prompt, then use one of these commands:

Command	What It Does
vim	Open Vim with an empty buffer.
vim notes.txt	Open an existing file or create it when you save.
vi notes.txt	Open the system's Vi editor. On many systems this starts Vim, but it may use another Vi implementation.
vim --version	Check whether Vim is installed and view its version.

Use vim when it is available so the behavior matches this guide. If the command is not found, install Vim through your operating system's package manager.

Essential Commands

Key/Command	Description
i	Enter Insert mode and type before the cursor.
a	Enter Insert mode and type after the cursor.
Esc	Leave Insert mode and return to Normal mode.
j or ↓	Move the cursor down one line.
k or ↑	Move the cursor up one line.
h or ←	Move the cursor left one character.
l or →	Move the cursor right one character.
I	Enter Insert mode at the first non-blank character of the line.
A	Enter Insert mode at the end of the line.
r	Replace the character under the cursor.
b	Move to the beginning of the previous word.
w	Move to the beginning of the next word.
0 or $	Move to the beginning or end of the current line.
gg or G	Move to the first or last line of the file.
x	Delete the character under the cursor.
dd	Delete the current line.
D	Delete from the cursor to the end of the line.
yy	Copy the current line.
p	Paste copied or deleted text after the cursor.
u	Undo the last change.
Ctrl+r	Redo the last undone change.
/text	Search forward for text.
n	Move to the next search result.
:w	Save the file.
:wq	Save the file and quit Vim.
:q!	Quit Vim and discard unsaved changes.

Practice Examples

Open a safe practice file with vim practice.txt, then add three short lines:

first line
second line
third line

1. Insert and append: press i to type before the cursor or a to type after it, then press Esc.
2. Navigate: use h, j, k, and l to move around the text.
3. Copy and paste: place the cursor on a line, press yy, then press p.
4. Delete: press dd to remove a line or D to remove everything after the cursor.
5. Undo: press u to reverse the last change.
6. Finish: use :w to save, :wq to save and quit, or :q! to discard the practice changes.