Below is a comprehensive overview of Vim’s commands, subcommands, and options. Because Vim is extremely feature-rich, no single guide can capture every detail the same way the built-in :help does. However, this aims to serve as a “definitive” high-level reference to help you discover and understand most of Vim’s functionality. For further detail, always refer to Vim’s built-in help (e.g., :help <topic>) or the online Vim documentation.

Table of Contents

1. Vim Modes

Vim has several modes, each with its own set of commands:

  1. Normal Mode
    • Default mode for navigation, text manipulation commands (e.g., dd, yy, p).
    • Press Esc or Ctrl-[ to enter Normal Mode from other modes.
  2. Insert Mode
    • Text insertion and editing, similar to typical text editors.
    • Entered via i, a, o, etc. from Normal Mode.
  3. Visual Mode
    • Selecting and manipulating text.
    • Entered via v (character-wise), V (line-wise), or Ctrl-v (block-wise).
  4. Select Mode
    • Similar to Visual Mode but replaces the selection when you type. (Less commonly used.)
  5. Command-Line (Ex) Mode
    • Entered by typing : (colon), ? or / for search.
    • Execute commands like :w, :q, :s, etc.
  6. Replace Mode
    • Overwrites existing text as you type.
    • Entered with R in Normal Mode.
  7. Operator-Pending Mode
    • Appears after starting an operation (e.g., d, y, >). Awaits a motion command (e.g., w, 2w, }) or text object.

2. Basic Movement and Navigation Commands

Vim provides extensive navigation shortcuts. In Normal Mode:

Command Description
h Move left one character
j Move down one line
k Move up one line
l Move right one character
w Move to next word start
b Move to previous word start
e Move to next word end
0 Move to the beginning of the line
^ Move to the first non-blank character of the line
$ Move to the end of the line
gg Go to the first line of the file
G Go to the last line of the file
:n Go to line n (e.g., :25 goes to line 25)
% Jump to matching bracket/parenthesis
H Move to top of the screen (Home)
M Move to the middle of the screen
L Move to the bottom (Last) of the screen
Ctrl-e Scroll window down (without moving cursor)
Ctrl-y Scroll window up (without moving cursor)
Ctrl-f Page forward
Ctrl-b Page backward
Ctrl-d Half-page down
Ctrl-u Half-page up

Most movement commands can be prefixed with a count (e.g., 5j moves 5 lines down).

3. Editing and Insertion Commands

Entering Insert Mode

Command Description
i Insert before the cursor
a Insert (append) after the cursor
I Insert at the beginning of the line
A Insert (append) at the end of the line
o Open a new line below the current line and enter insert
O Open a new line above the current line and enter insert
gi Insert at the last insert position

Basic Edits (Normal Mode)

Command Description
x Delete the character under the cursor
X Delete the character before the cursor
r<char> Replace a single character under the cursor with <char>
s Delete character under cursor, then start Insert Mode
cc Change (replace) an entire line (equivalent to S)
cw Change (replace) from cursor to the end of the current word
c{motion} Change the text specified by a motion (e.g., c$ to change to end of line)
C Change from cursor to end of line (equivalent to c$)
~ Toggle case of the character under cursor
u Undo (see also Undo/Redo)
Ctrl-r Redo

Deleting (Normal Mode)

Command Description
d{motion} Delete the text specified by the motion (e.g., dw, d2w, dd for line)
dd Delete the current line
D Delete from the cursor to the end of the line (equivalent to d$)

Copying & Pasting (Normal Mode)

Command Description
y{motion} Yank (copy) text specified by a motion (e.g., yw, yy)
yy Yank the current line
p Put (paste) the yanked or deleted text after the cursor
P Put (paste) the yanked or deleted text before the cursor

4. Visual Mode and Selections

  • v: Start character-wise visual selection.
  • V: Start line-wise visual selection.
  • Ctrl-v: Start block-wise visual selection.
  • Use normal motion commands (h/j/k/l/w/b/0/$) to expand or shrink the selection.
  • Once selected, you can apply editing commands:
    • d to delete the selection
    • y to yank the selection
    • > or < to shift (indent/outdent)
    • c to change (replace) the selection, etc.

5. Command-Line Mode (Ex Commands)

You enter Command-Line mode by pressing : in Normal Mode. The Ex commands let you perform file operations, search and replace, run macros, and much more.

Common Ex commands:

Command Description
:w Write (save) the current file
:w filename Write (save as) to filename
:q Quit Vim
:q! Quit without saving changes
:wq Write and quit
:x Same as :wq if the file changed, otherwise just quit
:e filename Edit/open filename in the current buffer
:help topic Display help for topic
:ls or :buffers List all open buffers
:b <n> or :buffer <n> Switch to buffer number <n>
:split <file> Split window horizontally and open <file>
:vsplit <file> Split window vertically and open <file>
:vert help <topic> Open help in a vertical split
:read !cmd Insert the output of external shell command cmd
:write !cmd Send the current buffer (or selection) as input to cmd
:!cmd Run shell command cmd
:cd or :lcd Change directory (global or local to the window)
:colorscheme <name> Change current color scheme
:syntax on/off Enable or disable syntax highlighting

Many Ex commands can take ranges (like :1,10, :%, :'<,'>, etc.) to specify lines or the entire file.

6. Searching and Replacing

  • /pattern: Search forward for pattern. Press n to go to the next match, N for the previous.
  • ?pattern: Search backward for pattern. Press n to go to the next match (still forward in the search sense), N for the previous.
  • \c, \C: Within the pattern, \c can force case-insensitivity, \C can force case-sensitivity (depending on your settings).

Search Options

Setting Description
:set ignorecase Makes searches case-insensitive
:set smartcase If the search pattern has an uppercase letter, match case exactly
:set hlsearch Highlight matches of the last used search
:set incsearch Incrementally highlight matches as you type the search pattern

Replace

You can do search and replace with the Ex command :substitute:

:[range]s/{pattern}/{replacement}/[flags]
  • % range means all lines in the file.
  • g flag (at the end) means replace all occurrences in each line.
  • c flag means confirm each replacement.

Examples:

  • :%s/foo/bar/g
    Replace all foo with bar in the entire file, all occurrences per line.
  • :'<,'>s/foo/bar/gc
    Replace within a visual selection, with confirmation.

7. Window, Buffer, and Tab Management

Buffers

  • Vim manages each open file (or text) as a buffer.
  • A buffer may be displayed in a window or be hidden in the background.

Key commands:

Command Description
:ls or :buffers List all buffers
:b <n> or :buffer <n> Switch to buffer <n>
:bd <n> or :bdelete <n> Close buffer <n> but keep window open
:bw <n> or :bwipeout <n> Wipe out buffer <n> entirely
bn Go to next buffer
bp Go to previous buffer
[count]gt Go to [count]-th tab (if using tabs)

Windows (Splits)

  • Horizontal split: :split or shortcut Ctrl-w s
  • Vertical split: :vsplit or shortcut Ctrl-w v
  • Navigation: Use Ctrl-w + direction key (h/j/k/l) to move among splits.
  • Resizing:
    • Ctrl-w = auto-equalize all split sizes
    • Ctrl-w < or > to shrink or grow horizontally
    • Ctrl-w + or - to grow or shrink vertically

Tabs

  • :tabnew [file]: Open a new tab (optionally with file).
  • :tabedit file: Open file in a new tab.
  • :tabs: List all tabs.
  • gt: Go to the next tab, gT for the previous tab.
  • :tabclose [N]: Close current tab (or tab N).
  • :tabmove [N]: Move current tab to position N (0-based).

8. Registers, Macros, and Undo/Redo

Registers

  • When you yank or delete text, it goes into the unnamed register ("") by default.
  • You can specify a register (named a to z) before a command:
    • "ayy → yank current line into register a.
    • "ap → paste from register a.
  • Some special registers:
    • "* or "+ for system clipboard (depending on build).
    • "_ is the black-hole register (discard).
    • ": last command-line command.
    • "/ last search pattern.

Macros

  • Record a macro: q<register> to start recording to a register, then type your commands, then q again to stop.
  • Execute the macro: @<register>.
  • Repeat the last executed macro: @@.

Example:

  1. qa → start recording into register a.
  2. Type commands, e.g., move down, yank a line, etc.
  3. Press q to stop.
  4. @a → replay those commands.

Undo/Redo

Command Description
u Undo the last change
Ctrl-r Redo the last undone change
:undo N Undo back to a certain undo state (N)
:redo N Redo forward to a certain state (N)
g+ or g- Go to newer or older text state

9. Marks, Jumps, and Positions

Marks let you set bookmarks in a file:

  • m<letter> to set a mark named <letter> at the current cursor position.
  • '<letter> to jump to the start of the line where the mark is set.
  • `<letter> (backtick + letter) to jump to the exact cursor position of the mark.
  • Marks can be lowercase (local to current file) or uppercase (global across files).

Other position-related features:

  • Jumps: Vim keeps a jump list (like a navigation history). Use Ctrl-o to go to older position, Ctrl-i to go to newer position.
  • Change list: Jump among changes with g; (back) and g, (forward).

10. Folding and Outline View

Vim supports folding (collapsing) sections of text:

  • zf{motion}: Create a fold based on a motion (e.g., zf%).
  • zfa}: Create a fold from here to the matching }.
  • zd: Delete the fold under the cursor.
  • zo: Open the fold under the cursor.
  • zc: Close the fold under the cursor.
  • zO: Open all folds at the cursor recursively.
  • zC: Close all folds at the cursor recursively.
  • :set foldmethod=indent/syntax/marker/etc.: Various ways to define folds automatically.

11. Sessions, Views, and Persistent Settings

  • Sessions store the state of all open windows, buffers, and tabs:
    • :mksession session.vim creates a session file.
    • :source session.vim loads it back.
  • Views store window-specific settings (folds, cursor position, etc.):
    • :mkview 1
    • :loadview 1
  • Persisting your settings in .vimrc or init.vim (Neovim).

12. Vim’s Configuration Files (vimrc) and Options

.vimrc (or vim.init)

  • Main configuration file read at startup (unless -u NONE).
  • Typical location: ~/.vimrc or ~/.config/nvim/init.vim (Neovim).
  • Contains Ex commands, set statements, plugin configurations, etc.

Common Settings

You can set options using :set <option>, for example:

Option Description
:set number / :set nonumber Show or hide line numbers
:set relativenumber Show relative line numbers
:set expandtab Insert spaces instead of tabs
:set tabstop=4 Number of spaces a tab counts for (when reading a file)
:set shiftwidth=4 Number of spaces used for each step of (auto)indent
:set softtabstop=4 Number of spaces Vim uses while editing in Insert Mode for a tab
:set autoindent Auto-indent new lines to the same indentation as the current line
:set smartindent Smarter autoindenting for code
:set cursorline Highlight the line under the cursor
:set wrap Wrap long lines at the window boundary (enable/disable)
:set linebreak Break lines at word boundaries (when wrap is on)
:set ruler Show the cursor position at the bottom right
:set showcmd Show partial Normal Mode commands in the last line
:set showmatch Briefly jump to matching bracket when inserting a bracket
:set incsearch Incremental search (highlight as you type)
:set hlsearch Highlight all search matches
:set ignorecase Case-insensitive search (unless uppercase letter is used and smartcase is set)
:set smartcase Case-insensitive unless the pattern contains uppercase
:set wildmenu Enhanced command-line completion
:set history=1000 Number of Ex commands, search patterns stored in history
  • Place these in your .vimrc for automatic loading.

13. Plugin Management Basics

While older Vim setups used plugin managers like Pathogen or Vundle, modern ones often use:

  • vim-plug

    call plug#begin('~/.vim/plugged')
  Plug 'tpope/vim-sensible'
  Plug 'scrooloose/nerdtree'
  ...
call plug#end()

    Then run :PlugInstall.

  • dein.vim
  • packer.nvim (for Neovim)
  • lazy.nvim (for Neovim)

These managers automate downloading and updating plugins from Git repositories.

14. Useful “Hidden Gems”

  1. Command Repetition:
    • . in Normal Mode repeats the last change.
  2. Text Objects:
    • ciw (change inside word), di( (delete inside parentheses), ya" (yank around quotes), etc.
  3. Omni Completion:
    • In Insert Mode, Ctrl-x Ctrl-o triggers context-aware auto-completion (requires :set omnifunc=...).
  4. Increment/Decrement Numbers:
    • Ctrl-a to increment, Ctrl-x to decrement the number under the cursor.
  5. Abbreviations:
    • :iabbrev teh the → automatically correct “teh” to “the” in Insert Mode.
  6. Spell Checking:
    • :set spell spelllang=en_us, then ]s / [s to jump to next/previous misspelling, z= to see suggestions.
  7. Diff Mode:
    • vimdiff file1 file2 or in an existing Vim session: :diffsplit file2.
  8. Global Commands:
    • :global /pattern/ command → run an Ex command on all lines matching pattern.
  9. Filtering:
    • :'<,'>!sort → pipe a visual selection to the sort command, replace with its output.

15. Additional Resources

  • Built-in help:
    • :help
    • :help <topic> (for any command, e.g., :help :substitute, :help text-objects)
    • :help index for an alphabetical index of all help topics.
  • Vim Help Online: A browsable, up-to-date version of the official Vim docs.
  • Vim Tips Wiki: http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Vim_Tips_Wiki (archive of user-contributed tips).
  • Learning resources:
    • vimtutor (a built-in interactive tutorial, run from the terminal).

Conclusion

This guide outlines most of Vim’s primary commands, subcommands, and configuration options—from the basic movements and editing commands to advanced features like macros, folding, and plugin management. However, Vim’s functionality is extensive, and the best way to discover everything is by experimenting with commands and consulting :help for deeper explanations and usage examples.

If you want a truly exhaustive reference, Vim’s help system is the definitive source. The combination of exploring with :help, customizing your .vimrc, and practicing everyday usage will give you the fullest command of Vim’s power. Enjoy your Vim journey!