Vim Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

A reference for Vim modal editing covering movement, editing commands, search and replace, and buffer management.

2 PagesIntermediateJan 28, 2026

Modes

Vim's core editing modes and how to switch between them.

Normal mode- Default mode for navigation and commands; press `Esc` to return to it
Insert mode- `i` insert before cursor, `a` after cursor, `o` open new line below
Visual mode- `v` character-wise, `V` line-wise, `Ctrl-v` block-wise selection
Command-line mode- `:` enters commands like `:w`, `:q`, `:%s/foo/bar/g`
Replace mode- `R` overtypes existing characters instead of inserting

Movement

Cursor navigation commands in normal mode.

bash

h j k l        # left, down, up, rightw / b          # next word start / previous word starte              # end of word0 / $          # start / end of line^              # first non-blank charactergg / G         # top / bottom of file{n}G           # go to line n%              # jump to matching bracketCtrl-d / Ctrl-u # half page down / up

Editing

Common editing commands and operators.

bash

x              # delete character under cursordd             # delete (cut) current lineyy             # yank (copy) current linep / P          # paste after / before cursoru / Ctrl-r     # undo / redocw             # change to end of wordd$             # delete to end of line>> / <<        # indent / unindent line.              # repeat last change

Search & Replace

Finding and substituting text.

bash

/pattern       # search forward?pattern       # search backwardn / N          # repeat search same / opposite direction:%s/old/new/g  # replace all occurrences in file:%s/old/new/gc # replace with confirmation*              # search word under cursor forward

Files & Buffers

Saving, quitting, and managing multiple files.

:w- Write (save) the current file
:q / :q!- Quit / quit without saving
:wq or :x- Save and quit
:e filename- Open another file for editing
:bn / :bp- Switch to next / previous buffer
:sp / :vsp- Split window horizontally / vertically

Pro Tip

Combine an operator with a text object for precise edits, e.g. `di"` deletes inside quotes and `ci(` changes inside parentheses — far faster than manually selecting text.

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