Command Line

Vim Commands Cheat Sheet

Vim is a text editor that runs on the command line. Using Vim you will navigate around the screen with the keyboard instead of a mouse. It has a steep learning curve, but it can greatly improve your productivity once you master it.

Updated 2026-06-19beginners learning Vim and terminal editing

Vim is a powerful and popular text editor that runs on the command line. Using Vim, you navigate around on screen with a keyboard instead of a mouse. It has a steep learning curve, but it can greatly improve your productivity once you master it.

Here are some basic Vim commands to help you get started.

Frequently Used Commands

Command	What It Does
`i`	Insert before the cursor.
`Esc`	Exit insert mode.
`: number`	Show line number.
`/pattern`	Search for pattern.
`n`	Repeat search in same direction.
`$`	Move cursor to end of line.
`GG`	Move cursor to bottom of page.
`gg`	Move cursor to the top of page.
`yy`	Yank, or copy, a line.
`p`	Paste the clipboard after the cursor.
`:q`	Quit. This fails if there are unsaved changes.
`:wq`, `:x`, `ZZ`	Write, or save, and quit.
`:w`	Write, or save, the file, but do not exit.

Commands To Move The Cursor

Command	What It Does
`h`	Move cursor left.
`j`	Move cursor down.
`k`	Move cursor up.
`l`	Move cursor right.
`gj`	Move cursor down in multi-line text.
`gk`	Move cursor up in multi-line text.
`H`	Move to top of screen.
`M`	Move to middle of screen.
`L`	Move to bottom of screen.
`w`	Jump forwards to the start of a word.
`W`	Jump forwards to the start of a word. Words can contain punctuation.
`e`	Jump forwards to the end of a word.
`E`	Jump forwards to the end of a word. Words can contain punctuation.
`b`	Jump backwards to the start of a word.
`B`	Jump backwards to the start of a word. Words can contain punctuation.

Commands For Editing

Command	What It Does
`r`	Replace a single character.
`R`	Replace more than one character until `Esc` is pressed.
`J`	Join the line below to the current one with one space in between.
`gJ`	Join the line below to the current one without a space in between.
`cc`	Change, or replace, the entire line.
`c$`, `C`	Change, or replace, to the end of the line.
`ciw`	Change, or replace, the entire word.
`cw`, `ce`	Change, or replace, to the end of the word.
`s`	Delete character and substitute text.
`S`	Delete line and substitute text. Same as `cc`.
`xp`	Transpose two letters by deleting and pasting.
`u`	Undo.
`U`	Restore, or undo, the last changed line.
`Ctrl + r`	Redo.
`.`	Repeat last command.

Commands For Saving And Exiting

Command	What It Does
`:w`	Write, or save, the file, but do not exit.
`:w !sudo tee %`	Write out the current file using sudo.
`:wq`, `:x`, `ZZ`	Write, or save, and quit.
`:q`	Quit. This fails if there are unsaved changes.
`:q!`, `ZQ`	Quit and throw away unsaved changes.
`:wqa`	Write, or save, and quit on all tabs.

Command For Search And Replace

Command	What It Does
`/pattern`	Search for pattern.
`?pattern`	Search backward for pattern.
`n`	Repeat search in same direction.
`N`	Repeat search in opposite direction.

Commands For Cut And Paste

Command	What It Does
`yy`	Yank, or copy, a line.
`2yy`	Yank, or copy, two lines.
`yw`	Yank, or copy, the characters of the word from the cursor position to the start of the next word.
`yiw`	Yank, or copy, the word under the cursor.
`y$`, `Y`	Yank, or copy, to the end of the line.
`p`	Put, or paste, the clipboard after cursor.
`P`	Put, or paste, before cursor.
`dd`	Delete, or cut, a line.

Visual Commands

Command	What It Does
`>`	Shift text right.
`<`	Shift text left.
`y`	Yank, or copy, marked text.
`d`	Delete marked text.
`~`	Switch case.
`u`	Change marked text to lowercase.
`U`	Change marked text to uppercase.