Essential vi/vim Editor Commands: A Quick Reference Guide

Introduction to vi/vim

vi is a classic text editor in Unix/Linux systems, with its enhanced version vim (Vi IMproved) being more commonly used today. The following commands apply to both vi and vim.

Starting vi/vim

Opening Files

• vi filename: Open or create a file, cursor at first line.
• vi +n filename: Open file, cursor at line n.
• vi + filename: Open file, cursor at last line.
• vi +/pattern filename: Open file, cursor at first match of pattern.
• vi -r filename: Recover a crashed file.
• vi file1 file2 …: Open multiple files; use :n for next, :N for previous.

Moving the Cursor

Basic Movement

• h or ←: Left one character.
• l or →: Right one character.
• k or ↑: Up one line.
• j or ↓: Down one line.
• 0: Move to line start.
• ^: Move to first non-blank character.
• $: Move to line end.

Word Movement

• w or W: Next word start.
• b or B: Previous word start.
• e or E: Current/next word end.

Line Movement

• gg: First line of file.
• G: Last line of file.
• nG or :n: Go to line n.
• n+: Move down n lines.
• n-: Move up n lines.

Screen Movement

• H: Top of screen.
• M: Middle of screen.
• L: Bottom of screen.

Scrolling

• Ctrl + f: Scroll forward one screen.
• Ctrl + b: Scroll backward one screen.
• Ctrl + d: Scroll forward half screen.
• Ctrl + u: Scroll backward half screen.
• zz: Center current line on screen.

Inserting and Replacing Text

Enter Insert Mode

• i: Insert before cursor.
• I: Insert at line beginning.
• a: Insert after cursor.
• A: Insert at line end.
• o: Open new line below.
• O: Open new line above.

Replace and Change

• r: Replace single character.
• R: Enter replace mode (continuous).
• s: Delete character and insert.
• S or cc: Delete line and insert.
• cw: Change to end of word.

Deleting Text

• x: Delete character under cursor.
• X: Delete character before cursor.
• dd: Delete current line.
• ndd: Delete n lines.
• dw: Delete to next word start.
• d$ or D: Delete to line end.
• d0: Delete to line start.

Search and Replace

Search

• /pattern: Search forward for pattern.
• ?pattern: Search backward for pattern.
• n: Repeat search same direction.
• N: Repeat search opposite direction.

Replace (Command Mode)

• :s/old/new/: Replace first 'old' on line.
• :s/old/new/g: Replace all 'old' on line.
• :%s/old/new/g: Replace all 'old' in file.
• :n1,n2s/old/new/g: Replace between lines n1 and n2.

Copy, Paste, and Undo

• yy: Yank (copy) current line.
• nyy: Yank n lines.
• p: Paste after cursor.
• P: Paste before cursor.
• u: Undo last change.
• Ctrl + r: Redo last undo.

File Operations and Exiting

• :w: Write (save) file.
• :w filename: Save as filename.
• :q: Quit (if saved).
• :q!: Quit without saving.
• :wq or :x or ZZ: Save and quit.
• :e filename: Edit another file.

Other Useful Commands

• :set number or :set nu: Show line numbers.
• :set nonumber or :set nonu: Hide line numbers.
• :set ignorecase or :set ic: Ignore case in search.
• :!command: Execute shell command.
• :r filename: Insert file contents.
• :r !command: Insert command output.

Tip: vi has three basic modes: Normal, Insert, and Command. Most operations occur in Normal mode. Press i to enter Insert mode, Esc to return to Normal mode, and : in Normal mode to enter Command mode. Beginners should first master basic cursor movement, insertion, saving, and quitting.