# Vim commands

Here’s a comprehensive Vim command cheat cheat.

## Cursor movement

`h`

move cursor left

`j`

move cursor down

`k`

move cursor up

`l`

move cursor right

`w`

jump forwards to the start of a word

`W`

jump forwards to the start of a word (words can contain punctuation)

`e`

jump forwards to the end of a word

`E`

jump forwards to the end of a word (words can contain punctuation)

`b`

jump backwards to the start of a word

`B`

jump backwards to the start of a word (words can contain punctuation)

`0`

jump to the start of the line

`^`

jump to the first non-blank character of the line

`$`

jump to the end of the line

`G`

go to the last line of the document

`5G`

go to line 5

## Insert mode - inserting/appending text

`i`

insert before the cursor

`I`

insert at the beginning of the line

`a`

insert (append) after the cursor

`A`

insert (append) at the end of the line

`o`

append (open) a new line below the current line

`O`

append (open) a new line above the current line

`ea`

insert (append) at the end of the word

`Esc`

exit insert mode

## Editing

`r`

replace a single character

`J`

join line below to the current one

`cc`

change (replace) entire line

`cw`

change (replace) to the end of the word

`c$`

change (replace) to the end of the line

`s`

delete character and substitute text

`S`

delete line and substitute text (same as cc)

`xp`

transpose two letters (delete and paste)

`u`

undo

`Ctrl+r`

redo

`.`

repeat last command

## Marking text (visual mode)

`v`

start visual mode, mark lines, then do a command (like y-yank)

`V`

start linewise visual mode

`o`

move to other end of marked area

`Ctrl+v`

start visual block mode

`O`

move to other corner of block

`aw`

mark a word

`ab`

a block with ()

`aB`

a block with 

`ib`

inner block with ()

`iB`

inner block with 

`Esc`

exit visual mode

## Visual commands

`>`

shift text right

`<`

shift text left

`y`

yank (copy) marked text

`d`

delete marked text

`~`

switch case

## Cut and paste

`yy`

yank (copy) a line

`2yy`

yank (copy) 2 lines

`yw`

yank (copy) word

`y$`

yank (copy) to end of line

`p`

put (paste) the clipboard after cursor

`P`

put (paste) before cursor

`dd`

delete (cut) a line

`2dd`

delete (cut) 2 lines

`dw`

delete (cut) word

`D`

delete (cut) to the end of the line

`d$`

delete (cut) to the end of the line

`x`

delete (cut) character

## Exiting

`:w`

write (save) the file, but don't exit

`:wq`

write (save) and quit

`:x`

write (save) and quit

`:q`

quit (fails if there are unsaved changes)

`:q!`

quit and throw away unsaved changes

## Search and replace

`/pattern`

search for pattern

`?pattern`

search backward for pattern

`n`

repeat search in same direction

`N`

repeat search in opposite direction

`:%s/old/new/g`

replace all old with new throughout file

`:%s/old/new/gc`

replace all old with new throughout file with confirmations

## Working with multiple files

`:e filename`

edit a file in a new buffer

`:bnext`
        `:bn`

go to the next buffer

`:bprev`
        `:bp`

go to the previous buffer

`:bd`

delete a buffer (close a file)

`:sp filename`

open a file in a new buffer and split window

`:vsp filename`

open a file in a new buffer and vertically split window

`Ctrl+ws`

split window

`Ctrl+ww`

switch windows

`Ctrl+wq`

quit a window

`Ctrl+wv`

split window vertically

`Ctrl+wh`

move cursor to next buffer (right)

`Ctrl+wl`

move cursor to previous buffer (left)

## Tabs

`:tabnew filename`
        `:tabn filename`

open a file in a new tab

`Ctrl+wt`

move the current split window into its own tab

`gt`
        `:tabnext`
        `:tabn`

move to the next tab

`gT`
        `:tabprev`
        `:tabp`

move to the previous tab

`#gt`

move to tab number #

`:tabmove #`

move current tab to the #th position (indexed from 0)

`:tabclose`
        `:tabc`

close the current tab and all its windows

`:tabonly`
        `:tabo`

close all tabs except for the current one