Vim (Advanced) Keyboard Shortcuts

Complete Vim (Advanced) keyboard shortcuts reference — 296 shortcuts across 27 categories. Quick reference cheat sheet for Cross-platform.

Left-right motions (17)

Shortcut	Action
h	left (also: CTRL-H, <BS>, or <Left> key)
l	right (also: <Space> or <Right> key)
0	to first character in the line (also: <Home> key)
^	to first non-blank character in the line
$	to the last character in the line (N-1 lines lower) (also: <End> key)
g0	to first character in screen line (differs from "0" when lines wrap)
g^	to first non-blank character in screen line (differs from "^" when lines wrap)
g$	to last character in screen line (differs from "$" when lines wrap)
gm	to middle of the screen line
gM	to middle of the line
bar	to column N (default: 1)
f	to the Nth occurrence of {char} to the right
F	to the Nth occurrence of {char} to the left
t	till before the Nth occurrence of {char} to the right
T	till before the Nth occurrence of {char} to the left
;	repeat the last "f", "F", "t", or "T" N times
,	repeat the last "f", "F", "t", or "T" N times in opposite direction

Up-down motions (10)

Shortcut	Action
k	up N lines (also: CTRL-P and <Up>)
j	down N lines (also: CTRL-J, CTRL-N, <NL>, and <Down>)
-	up N lines, on the first non-blank character
+	down N lines, on the first non-blank character (also: CTRL-M and <CR>)
_	down N-1 lines, on the first non-blank character
G	goto line N (default: last line), on the first non-blank character
gg	goto line N (default: first line), on the first non-blank character
N%	goto line N percentage down in the file; N must be given, otherwise it is the % command
gk	up N screen lines (differs from "k" when line wraps)
gj	down N screen lines (differs from "j" when line wraps)

Text object motions (28)

Shortcut	Action
w	N words forward
W	N blank-separated WORDs forward
e	forward to the end of the Nth word
E	forward to the end of the Nth blank-separated WORD
b	N words backward
B	N blank-separated WORDs backward
ge	backward to the end of the Nth word
gE	backward to the end of the Nth blank-separated WORD
)	N sentences forward
(	N sentences backward
}	N paragraphs forward
{	N paragraphs backward
]]	N sections forward, at start of section
[[	N sections backward, at start of section
][	N sections forward, at end of section
[]	N sections backward, at end of section
[(	N times back to unclosed '
[{	N times back to unclosed '{'
[m	N times back to start of method (for Java)
[M	N times back to end of method (for Java)
])	N times forward to unclosed ')'
]}	N times forward to unclosed '}'
]m	N times forward to start of method (for Java)
]M	N times forward to end of method (for Java)
[#	N times back to unclosed "#if" or "#else"
]#	N times forward to unclosed "#else" or "#endif"
[star	N times back to start of comment "/*"
]star	N times forward to end of comment "*/"

Pattern searches (10)

Shortcut	Action
/<CR>	repeat last search, in the forward direction
?<CR>	repeat last search, in the backward direction
n	repeat last search
N	repeat last search, in opposite direction
star	search forward for the identifier under the cursor
#	search backward for the identifier under the cursor
gstar	like "*", but also find partial matches
g#	like "#", but also find partial matches
gd	goto local declaration of identifier under the cursor
gD	goto global declaration of identifier under the cursor

Various motions (6)

Shortcut	Action
%	find the next brace, bracket, comment, or "#if"/ "#else"/"#endif" in this line and go to its
H	go to the Nth line in the window, on the first non-blank
M	go to the middle line in the window, on the first non-blank
L	go to the Nth line from the bottom, on the first non-blank
go	go to Nth byte in the buffer
:go	go to [off] byte in the buffer

Scrolling (13)

Shortcut	Action
CTRL-E	window N lines downwards (default: 1)
CTRL-D	window N lines Downwards (default: 1/2 window)
CTRL-F	window N pages Forwards (downwards)
CTRL-Y	window N lines upwards (default: 1)
CTRL-U	window N lines Upwards (default: 1/2 window)
CTRL-B	window N pages Backwards (upwards)
z<CR>	redraw, current line at top of window
z.	redraw, current line at center of window
z-	redraw, current line at bottom of window
zh	scroll screen N characters to the right
zl	scroll screen N characters to the left
zH	scroll screen half a screenwidth to the right
zL	scroll screen half a screenwidth to the left

Inserting text (9)

Shortcut	Action
a	append text after the cursor (N times)
A	append text at the end of the line (N times)
i	insert text before the cursor (N times) (also: <Insert>)
I	insert text before the first non-blank in the line (N times)
gI	insert text in column 1 (N times)
o	open a new line below the current line, append text (N times)
O	open a new line above the current line, append text (N times)
v_b_I	insert the same text in front of all the selected lines
v_b_A	append the same text after all the selected lines

Deleting text (12)

Shortcut	Action
x	delete N characters under and after the cursor
<Del>	delete N characters under and after the cursor
X	delete N characters before the cursor
d	delete the text that is moved over with {motion}
v_d	delete the highlighted text
dd	delete N lines
D	delete to the end of the line (and N-1 more lines)
J	join N-1 lines (delete <EOL>s)
v_J	join the highlighted lines
gJ	like "J", but without inserting spaces
v_gJ	like "{visual}J", but without inserting spaces
:d	delete [range] lines [into register x]

Copying and moving text (12)

Shortcut	Action
quote	use register {char} for the next delete, yank, or put
:reg	show the contents of all registers
y	yank the text moved over with {motion} into a register
v_y	yank the highlighted text into a register
yy	yank N lines into a register
Y	yank N lines into a register
p	put a register after the cursor position (N times)
P	put a register before the cursor position (N times)
]p	like p, but adjust indent to current line
[p	like P, but adjust indent to current line
gp	like p, but leave cursor after the new text
gP	like P, but leave cursor after the new text

Changing text (21)

Shortcut	Action
r	replace N characters with {char}
gr	replace N characters without affecting layout
R	enter Replace mode (repeat the entered text N times)
gR	enter virtual Replace mode: Like Replace mode but without affecting layout
c	change the text that is moved over with {motion}
v_c	change the highlighted text
cc	change N lines
S	change N lines
C	change to the end of the line (and N-1 more lines)
s	change N characters
v_b_c	in Visual block mode: Change each of the selected lines with the entered text
v_b_C	in Visual block mode: Change each of the selected lines until end-of-line with the entered text
~	switch case for N characters and advance cursor
v_~	switch case for highlighted text
v_u	make highlighted text lowercase
v_U	make highlighted text uppercase
<	move the lines that are moved over with {motion} one shiftwidth left
<<	move N lines one shiftwidth left
>	move the lines that are moved over with {motion} one shiftwidth right
>>	move N lines one shiftwidth right
gq	format the lines that are moved over with {motion} to 'textwidth' length

Complex changes (2)

Shortcut	Action
==	filter N lines through 'equalprg'
&	Repeat previous ":s" on current line without options

Text objects (only in Visual mode or after an (20)

Shortcut	Action
v_aw	Select "a word"
v_iw	Select "inner word"
v_aW	Select "a WORD"
v_iW	Select "inner WORD"
v_as	Select "a sentence"
v_is	Select "inner sentence"
v_ap	Select "a paragraph"
v_ip	Select "inner paragraph"
v_ab	Select "a block" (from "[(" to "])")
v_ib	Select "inner block" (from "[(" to "])")
v_aB	Select "a Block" (from "[{" to "]}")
v_iB	Select "inner Block" (from "[{" to "]}")
v_a>	Select "a <> block"
v_i>	Select "inner <> block"
v_at	Select "a tag block" (from <aaa> to </aaa>)
v_it	Select "inner tag block" (from <aaa> to </aaa>)
v_a'	Select "a single quoted string"
v_i'	Select "inner single quoted string"
v_a`	Select "a backward quoted string"
v_i`	Select "inner backward quoted string"

Repeating commands (6)

Shortcut	Action
.	repeat last change (with count replaced with N)
q	record typed characters into register {a-z}
@	execute the contents of register {a-z} (N times)
:@	execute the contents of register {a-z} as an Ex command
:@@	repeat previous :@{a-z}
gs	goto Sleep for N seconds

External commands (3)

Shortcut	Action
:shell	start a shell
:!	execute {command} with a shell
K	lookup keyword under the cursor with 'keywordprg' program (default: "man")

Quickfix commands (15)

Shortcut	Action
:cc	display error [nr] (default is the same again)
:cnext	display the next error
:cprevious	display the previous error
:clist	list all errors
:cfile	read errors from the file 'errorfile'
:cgetbuffer	like :cbuffer but don't jump to the first error
:cgetfile	like :cfile but don't jump to the first error
:cgetexpr	like :cexpr but don't jump to the first error
:caddfile	add errors from the error file to the current quickfix list
:caddexpr	add errors from an expression to the current quickfix list
:cbuffer	read errors from text in a buffer
:cexpr	read errors from an expression
:cquit	quit without writing and return error code (to the compiler)
:make	start make, read errors, and jump to first error
:grep	execute 'grepprg' to find matches and jump to the first one

Various commands (13)

Shortcut	Action
CTRL-L	clear and redraw the screen
CTRL-G	show current file name (with path) and cursor position
ga	show ascii value of character under cursor in decimal, hex, and octal
g8	for utf-8 encoding: show byte sequence for character under cursor in hex
g_CTRL-G	show cursor column, line, and character position
CTRL-C	during searches: Interrupt the search
:version	show version information
:mode	set screen mode to N (obsolete)
Q	switch to "Ex" mode
:redir	redirect messages to {file}
:silent	execute {command} silently
:confirm	quit, write, etc., asking about unsaved changes or read-only files
:browse	open/read/write file, using a file selection dialog

Command-line editing (5)

Shortcut	Action
c_CTRL-D	list all names that match the pattern in front of the cursor
c_CTRL-A	insert all names that match pattern in front of cursor
c_CTRL-L	insert longest common part of names that match pattern
c_CTRL-N	after 'wildchar' with multiple matches: go to next match
c_CTRL-P	after 'wildchar' with multiple matches: go to previous match

Starting Vim (5)

Shortcut	Action
-vim	start editing with an empty buffer
-file	start editing one or more files
--	read file from stdin
-tag	edit the file associated with {tag}
-qf	start editing in QuickFix mode, display the first error

Using the argument list argument-list (4)

Shortcut	Action
:args	print the argument list, with the current file in "[]"
:all	open a window for every file in the arg list
:wn	write file and edit next file
:wN	write file and edit previous file

Writing and quitting (14)

Shortcut	Action
:w	write to the current file
:w_f	write to {file}, unless it already exists
:w_a	append to the current file
:w_c	execute {cmd} with [range] lines as standard input
:up	write to current file if modified
:wall	write all changed buffers
:q	quit current buffer, unless changes have been made; Exit Vim when there are no other non-help
:qa	exit Vim, unless changes have been made
:cq	quit without writing and return error code
:wq	write the current file and exit
:xit	like ":wq" but write only when changes have been made
ZZ	same as ":x"
ZQ	same as ":q!"
:stop	suspend Vim or start new shell; if 'aw' option is set and [!] not given write the buffer

Automatic Commands (3)

Shortcut	Action
:rviminfo	read info from viminfo file [file]
:wviminfo	add info to viminfo file [file]
modeline	In the first and last lines of the file (see 'ml' option), {set-arg} is given as an argument

Multi-window commands (30)

Shortcut	Action
CTRL-W_s	split window into two parts
:split_f	split window and edit {file} in one of them
:vsplit	same, but split vertically
:vertical	make {cmd} split vertically
:sfind	split window, find {file} in 'path' and edit it
:terminal	open a terminal window
CTRL-W_]	split window and jump to tag under cursor
CTRL-W_f	split window and edit file name under the cursor
CTRL-W_^	split window and edit alternate file
CTRL-W_n	create new empty window
CTRL-W_q	quit editing and close window
CTRL-W_c	make buffer hidden and close window
CTRL-W_o	make current window only one on the screen
CTRL-W_j	move cursor to window below
CTRL-W_k	move cursor to window above
CTRL-W_CTRL-W	move cursor to window below (wrap)
CTRL-W_W	move cursor to window above (wrap)
CTRL-W_t	move cursor to top window
CTRL-W_b	move cursor to bottom window
CTRL-W_p	move cursor to previous active window
CTRL-W_r	rotate windows downwards
CTRL-W_R	rotate windows upwards
CTRL-W_x	exchange current window with next one
CTRL-W_=	make all windows equal height & width
CTRL-W_-	decrease current window height
CTRL-W_+	increase current window height
CTRL-W__	set current window height (default: very high)
CTRL-W_<	decrease current window width
CTRL-W_>	increase current window width
CTRL-W_bar	set current window width (default: widest possible)

Buffer list commands (6)

Shortcut	Action
:buffers	list all known buffer and file names
:ball	edit all args/buffers
:unhide	edit all loaded buffers
:badd	add file name {fname} to the list
:bunload	unload buffer [N] from memory
:bdelete	unload buffer [N] and delete it from the buffer list

Syntax Highlighting (6)

Shortcut	Action
:syn-on	start using syntax highlighting
:syn-off	stop using syntax highlighting
:syntax	list current syntax items
:syn-clear	clear all syntax info
:highlight	clear all highlight info
:filetype	switch on file type detection, without syntax highlighting

GUI commands (4)

Shortcut	Action
:gui	UNIX: start the GUI
:menu	list all menus
:tmenu	add tooltip to menu {mpath}
:unmenu	remove menu {mpath}

Folding (15)

Shortcut	Action
zf	operator: Define a fold manually
:fold	define a fold for {range} lines
zd	delete one fold under the cursor
zD	delete all folds under the cursor
zo	open one fold under the cursor
zO	open all folds under the cursor
zc	close one fold under the cursor
zC	close all folds under the cursor
zm	fold more: decrease 'foldlevel'
zM	close all folds: make 'foldlevel' zero
zr	reduce folding: increase 'foldlevel'
zR	open all folds: make 'foldlevel' max
zn	fold none: reset 'foldenable'
zN	fold normal set 'foldenable'
zi	invert 'foldenable'

Additional Shortcuts (7)

Shortcut	Action
ci"	Change inside quotes
di{	Delete inside braces
gg=G	Indent all
Ctrl + V	Block visual
:%s/foo/bar/gc	Confirm replace
q[register]	Record macro
@[register]	Play macro