_____ _ ___ _________ __ |_ _|__ _ __ _ __ ___ (_)_ __ __ _| \ \ / / ____\ \/ / | |/ _ \ '__| '_ ` _ \| | '_ \ / _` | |\ \ / /| _| \ / | | __/ | | | | | | | | | | | (_| | | \ V / | |___ / \ |_|\___|_| |_| |_| |_|_|_| |_|\__,_|_| \_/ |_____/_/\_\
Vim (Vi IMproved) is one of the most established and powerful text editors in the Unix world. It was created in 1991 by Bram Moolenaar as an enhanced version of the vi editor written by Bill Joy in 1976. It comes pre-installed on virtually all Linux and macOS systems, making it extremely valuable to learn. When you SSH into a server, even if no other editor is available, Vim will be there.
Although Vim's learning curve may seem steep, once you grasp the basic commands, your editing speed increases dramatically. Vim enables text editing using only the keyboard without a mouse. Keeping your hands on the keyboard at all times provides both speed and ergonomic advantages in the long run. With thousands of plugins and a powerful configuration system, you can customize Vim to your exact preferences.
Vim's most distinctive feature is its modal architecture. Unlike other editors, Vim has multiple operating modes, and keys have different functions in each mode. Understanding this concept is the most critical step in learning Vim.
When you open Vim, you are in Normal mode. In this mode, keys do not type characters; instead, they function as navigation and editing commands. To return to Normal mode from any other mode, simply press Esc. You should spend most of your time in Normal mode because it is the mode for quickly navigating and manipulating text.
To type text, you need to enter Insert mode. From Normal mode, you can enter Insert mode with any of the following keys:
Used for selecting text. Enter from Normal mode as follows:
Press : in Normal mode to enter Command-line mode. Operations such as saving files, quitting, and search-and-replace are performed in this mode.
# Basic direction keys (in Normal mode)
h → Left (←)
j → Down (↓)
k → Up (↑)
l → Right (→)
# Word-level movement
w → Move to the beginning of the next word
b → Move to the beginning of the previous word
e → Move to the end of the word
# Line-level movement
0 → Move to the beginning of the line
$ → Move to the end of the line
^ → Move to the first non-blank character
# File-level movement
gg → Go to the beginning of the file
G → Go to the end of the file
:n → Go to line n (e.g., :42 goes to line 42)
Ctrl+d → Scroll half page down
Ctrl+u → Scroll half page up# In Command-line mode (:)
:w → Save the file
:q → Quit (if no changes)
:wq → Save and quit
:x → Save and quit (same as :wq)
:q! → Force quit without saving
:w file.txt → Save as a different file name
ZZ → Save and quit in Normal mode (shortcut)# Deleting in Normal mode
x → Delete the character under the cursor
X → Delete the character before the cursor
dd → Delete the entire line
dw → Delete from cursor to end of word
d$ → Delete from cursor to end of line
d0 → Delete from cursor to beginning of line
dG → Delete from cursor to end of file
3dd → Delete 3 lines# Yank (copy)
yy → Copy the entire line
yw → Copy the word
y$ → Copy from cursor to end of line
3yy → Copy 3 lines
# Paste
p → Paste after the cursor
P → Paste before the cursor
# Cut (delete + register)
dd → Cut the line (you can paste with p after deleting)
x → Cut the character# Forward search
/search_text → Press Enter to search
n → Go to next result
N → Go to previous result
# Backward search
?search_text → Search backward
# Search and replace
:%s/old/new/g → Replace all occurrences in the file
:%s/old/new/gc → Ask for confirmation for each replacement
:10,20s/old/new/g → Replace between lines 10 and 20# In Normal mode
u → Undo the last action
Ctrl+r → Redo the undone action
. → Repeat the last editing commandYou can customize Vim's behavior by editing the .vimrc file in your home directory. Here are useful settings to get started:
" ~/.vimrc - Basic configuration
" Show line numbers
set number
" Relative line numbers
set relativenumber
" Syntax highlighting
syntax on
" Case-insensitive search
set ignorecase
set smartcase
" Highlight search results
set hlsearch
set incsearch
" Tab settings (4 spaces)
set tabstop=4
set shiftwidth=4
set expandtab
" Automatic indentation
set autoindent
set smartindent
" Highlight the cursor line
set cursorline
" Make backspace work properly
set backspace=indent,eol,start
" Always show the status bar
set laststatus=2vimtutor in the terminal to start an interactive Vim tutorial. It takes about 30 minutes and teaches the basics.. key repeats the last editing command and saves incredible amounts of time.Esc a few times and type :q! to always be able to exit.Although Vim may seem complex at first glance, it is a powerful editor that multiplies your text editing speed once you master the basics. With its modal architecture, keyboard-centric navigation, and powerful command set, Vim is an indispensable tool for professional developers and system administrators. When you can comfortably switch between Normal mode, Insert mode, and Command-line mode, you will discover the true power of Vim. Be patient, practice a little every day, and over time Vim will become your most productive editing environment.