R.J.'s Vim Cheat Sheet

This is a WIP document of the tricks I use in Vim the most.

Opening files in Vim

• vim .: Open current directory in a file tree explorer.
  • Enter: To open a folder or file, navigate to it and press Enter.
  • t: Open a file in a new tab.
  • p: Preview a file in a vertical window.
  • R: Rename file/directory.
  • :b#: Command to go back to tree.
• vim <file>: Open a single file.
• vim -O <file> <file...>: Open files in vertical windows.
• vim -o <file> <file...>: Open files in horizontal windows.
• :tabedit <file>: Open a file in a new tab.
• :split <filename>, :vsplit <filename>: Open a file in a horizontal or vertically split window.

Tabs

• gt, gT, <tab numbe>gt: Next tab, previous tab, go to tab number.
• If you have set mouse=a in your ~/.vimrc file, you can select a tab by clicking on it.

Windows

• ctrl+w and then arrow direction of window to switch to.
• resize <number of lines>: Resize window to number of lines.
• vertical resize <number of columns: Resize window to number of columns.
• If you have set mouse=a in your ~/.vimrc file, you can select a window by clicking on it.

Vim modes

• Esc: Standard mode.
  • $, 0: Go to beginning of line, end of line.
  • ctrl+f, ctrl+b: Forward and back pages.
  • e, b: next word and back word.
  • dd: Cut line.
  • yy: Copy line, AKA yank line.
  • p: Paste.
  • h, j, k, l: Left, Up, Down, Right. Great for keeping your hands on the home row. Also can be used when changing windows, and navigating file tree.
  • <<, >>: Indent.
  • .: Do that operation again. Useful for repeating indents.
  • r<key>: Replace character under cursor with .
  • o: Create new line below cursor and start Insert mode.
  • A: Go to end of line cursor is on and start Insert mode.
• v: Visual mode, AKA select mode.

  • Use navigation keys on home row, word skips, arrow keys, etc. to expand selection. If you have set mouse=a in your ~/.vimrc file, you can select text by click and dragging.

  • y: Copy.

  • d: Delete.

• / Search mode.
  • /foo + Enter: Search mode for foo
  • n: Next occurrence of foo.
  • b: Previous occurrence of foo.
• :: Command mode.
  • w: Write changes to disk.
  • q: Quit vim.
  • wq: Write and quit.
  • 33: Go to line number 33.
  • 98765: Go to end.
  • !: See the command line.
    • !sudo make-me-a-sandwich: Run sudo make-me-a-sandwich on the command line. This is not really a command. I'm just pointing out that you can run any command on the command line from vim. Handy for when you need to do something like compile or restart a service after you make a change.
  • %s/<find this>/<replace with this>/g: Find and replace. Make sure to escape forward slashes if your strings have them. Don't forget the g on the end or it will only replace one occurrences of that thing on every line as opposed to all occurences on all lines.

Vim settings in ~/.vimrc

Your ~/.vimrc file is a set of commands to run every time Vim opens. Mine enables better handling of indentation when pasting from your system's clipboard, support for using a mouse, better indentation formatting, showing line numbers, and enabling formatting of text. See it here. Make it your own by running curl https://gist.githubusercontent.com/rjsteinert/87c3dfdd96692d97ea3a88fd3f1bc867/raw/.vimrc > ~/.vimrc.

Tips

• Map caps lock to Esc to keep your fingers on the home row. https://pqrs.org/osx/karabiner/seil.html.en
• Install nerdtree to make the file explorer formatted as an expandable tree. https://github.com/scrooloose/nerdtree
• Interactive Vim training is worth the time. http://www.openvim.com/
• Remember, if there is anything you are doing that feels awkward there is a vim command to solve that problem. For example, going to the end of a line and starting insert mode is awkward without A.
• Another good vim cheatsheet