If a file is read-only and can't be changed, use sudo vim file to open it as root.
ESC or CTRL + [ - Command (Default)
i - Insert (Editing)
v - Visual (Like Command, but with selection)
: - Commands.
. - Repeat previous command.
u - UNDO.
CTRL + r - REDO.
c + movement - Change up to movement.
command + i + character - Do a command inside characters.
vi" - Select everything inside "".
xi( - Delete everything inside ().
ci{ - Change (Delete and enter insert mode) inside {}.
:w - Save
:q - Quit
:wq - Save & Quit
:q! - Cancel & Quit
:tabe FILEPATH - Open file in new tab
:tabn - Next tab
:tabp - Previous tab
esc + v - visual mode for selection.
ctrl + v - block selection i.e. multi-line column, good for commenting. shift + i then text then esc for multi line insertion.
Enter visual mode and select text.
y - Copy (yank) selected.
d - Cut selected.
p - Paste after cursor.
x - Delete selected.
These can be combined with movements. Ex. x2e is delete next 2 words.
yy - Copy (yank) line in normal mode.
dd - Cut line in normal mode.
All of these can be used in visual mode for selection.
j - Down
k - Up
h - Left
l - Right
w - Forward one word.
b - Back one word.
e - End of word.
Adding a number before a command, will repeat it n times. Ex. 3h will go up 3 lines, 5dd will detele 5 lines.
0 - Beginning of line.
$ - End of line.
% - Jump to matching tag i.e. ), }, ].
f + character - Jump to next character.
t + character - Jump before next character.
* - Next occurrence of word under cursor.
# - Previous occurrence of word under cursor.
gg - Beginning of file.
G - End of file.
nG - Jump to line n.
/ + string + Enter = Search for string forwards.
? + string + Enter = Search for string backwards.
n - Next occurrence.
N - Previous occurrence.
:%s/text/replacement/g - Replace text on every line.
:s/text/replacement/g - Replace text on current line.
o - Create new line under cursor and enter INS mode.
O - Create new line above cursor and enter INS mode.
x - Delete character.
X - Backspace.
r + new character - Change character under cursor without INS mode.
n times + i + string + ESC = Multiple inserts.
Ex. 5ifoo + ESC will result in foofoofoofoofoo.
The global .vimrc file is located in /etc/vim/vimrc or etc/vimrc.
Create a .vimrc file in the home directory for customizations.
When vim is opened, it will automatically check the current user’s home directory for a .vimrc file. All settings specified in this file will override the global settings.
Configurations can be made inside vim by using :set number.
set nocompatible # Set compatibility to Vim only.
set number # Show line numbers.
set visualbell # Use visual bell (no beeping)
set wrap # Word wrap.
set autoindent # Auto-indent new lines
set shiftwidth=4 # Number of auto-indent spaces
set smartindent # Enable smart-indent
set smarttab # Enable smart-tabs
set softtabstop=4 # TAB is 4 spaces.