If you want to use vim as you'd use VS Code, just go with VS Code.
Vim works a different way, for a reason, don't try to make it VS Code.
When you’re working don’t try speed all the time, slow down and see if there’s a way to accomplish what you want easier.
- Live in normal mode. Spend as little time as possible in insert mode.
- Avoid using plugins as much as possible.
- Avoid using multi-cursors, learn the built in ways.
- Do not hold down motion keys, it's an anti-pattern.
:version<C-a> # CTRL + a
<CR> # Enter i.e. carret return
<tab> # Tab
<esc> # Escape
<space> # SpaceNOTE: Capital letters = SHIFT + letter
Esc / <C-c> / <C-[> # Normal (commands) █ Thick cursor
i # Insert (editing) │ Thin cursor
v # Visual (selection) (not used often)
V # Visual Line (select lines) (not used often)
<C-v> # Visual block (vertical) mode
o # Switch between start/end of selection to expand.: # Command
. # Repeat last command
u # UNDO
<C-r> # REDO
zz # Recenter screen (NEVER USE, it interferes with ZZ i.e. saving):<command> <tab> # Show available command options (<C-d> also works)
:h <command> # Manual
:set <option> # Set an option
:colorscheme # Pick a colorschemeCommands can be executed over selections with !.
:'<'> ! sort | uniq
# : Command prompt
# '<'> Represent the selection
# ! Tells that a command is to be run
# sort Command for sorting
# | Pipe
# uniq Command for filtering:w # Save
:q # Quit
:wq # Save and quit
:q! # Force quitvim <path> # Open directory inside vim and select a file.
vim <file> # Open file directly.
:e path # Navigate to directory/file. Use TAB and CTRL + d to choose.
:e. # Show directory
:E # Show directory
:Ex # Show directory
:Vex # Show directory in a new window
:jumps # Show navigation history
<C-o> # Navigate back
<C-i> # Navigate forward
<C-^> # Switch between current and last navigation.
<C-g> # Show current file nameAll of these can be used in visual (selection) mode too.
Motions are composable i.e. 5dd and d4j will both delete 5 lines.
j # Down
k # Up
h # Left (not used often)
l # Right (not used often)
w # Jump one word/delimitation.
W # Jump to next whitespace
e # End of word.
b # Back one word.
_ # Jump to first non-whitespace character in line
^ # Beginning of line.
0 # Beginning of line.
$ # End of line.
f + char # Jump to first character in line. F is reversed.
t + char # Jump to before first character in line. T is reversed.
; # Next occurrence of character.
, # Previous occurrence of character.
gg # Beginning of file.
G # End of file.
nG # Jump to line n.
% # Jump between matching tags i.e. ), }, ].
o # Jump between start/end of selection to expand.
<C-d> # Jump down by half page
<C-u> # Jump up by half page
} # Jump to next block/paragraphi # Inserting with cursor on inside i.e prepend.
I # Inserting with cursor at begining of line.
a # Inserting with cursor on outside i.e. append.
A # Inserting with cursor at end of line.
c + motion # Change value in selection ex. cw, c_, ci, ca...
C # Delete after cursor + insert mode
cc # Delete line + insert mode
o # Create new line under cursor + insert mode.
O # Create new line above cursor + insert mode.
x # Delete character.
X # Backspace.
s # Delete single character + insert mode
S # Delete whole line from indent + insert mode
r + char # Change character under cursor without INS mode.
<C-a> # Increment number.
<C-x> # Decrement number.o # Switch between start/end of selection.
* # Search forward for word under cursor
gn # Search forward for word under cursor
\# # Search backward for word under cursor
viw # Select whole word.
viW # Select every character between whitespaces.
vi` # Select everything inside ``.
xi( # Delete everything inside ().
di[ # Cut everything inside [].
ci{ # Delete + insert mode inside {}.
va{ # Select outside {}.
Esc v # visual mode for selection.
<C-v> # block selection i.e. multi-line column, good for commenting.
I + text + esc # Multi line insertion.
'< # Text representation for start of selection.
'> # Text representation for end of selection.Enter visual mode and select text.
right click # Paste from system clipboard (insert mode)
y # Copy (yank) selected.
d # Cut selected.
D # Cut to the right of cursor, same as d$
p # Paste after cursor/line.
P # Paste before cursor/line.
x # Delete selecttion/charcater.
yy # Copy (yank) line in normal mode.
dd # Cut line in normal mode. (Shift + d)
dg # Delete to end of file.
:reg # Register i.e. list of yanks and deletions>> # Add indentation.
<< # Remove indentantion.
<C-t> # Add indentation at start of line (insert mode).
<C-d> # Remove indentation at start of line (insert mode).# Insert mode
:h ins-completion # Manual
<C-n> # Next suggestion
<C-p> # Previous suggestion
<C-x><C-n> # Next suggestion
<C-x><C-p> # Previous suggestion
<Cx><C-f> # Complete path
<Cx><C-l> # Complete line
# Omnicomplete - language specific
<Cx><C-o> # Show suggestions
:set omnifunc=javascriptcomplete#CompleteJS
:set omnifunc=htmlcomplete#CompleteTags
:set omnifunc=csscomplete#CompleteCSSWorks with regex.
n # Next occurrence of string under cursor (Works without searching)
N # Previous occurrence of string under cursor Works without searching
/ + string + Enter # Search for string forwards.
? + string + Enter # Search for string backwards.
grep foo \**/*js # Every single files that ends with `.js`:s/text/replacement # Only first occurence.
:s/text/replacement/g # Every occurence in line.
:%s/text/replacement/g # Every occurence in file.
v + select + : + s/text # Only in selected range.
& # Repeat replace for string under cursor. (n + &)
g& # Repeat replace for allTries to simulate CTRL + d (find duplicate) functionality.
# 1. Go to top of file.
gg
# 2. Search
/foo
# 3. Edit
i / a / c # Edit however you want ex. "cgn" change first from top.
# 4. Jump to next occurence
n
# 5. Repeat last edit
.Another approach
# 1. Change any occurence
i / a / c
# 2. Apply change to all other occurences
:g/foo/norm .
:g/foo/ # Repeat command on every line that has foo.
norm . # Execute the normal mode command . (repeats the last change):grep # External (terminal) search
:vimgrep # Internal (vim) search, add to quickfix list
:vim # Internal (vim) search, add to quickfix list
:vim foo * # Current directory
:vim foo ** # Current directory and subdirectories
:vim foo **/*js # Current directory and subdirectories only in js filesThis is a list with your vimgrep search results.
:vim foo ** # Current directory and subdirectories
:copen # Show current (first) result
# Navigate while inside of window
j # Show next result.
k # Show previous result.
# Navigate while outside of window
:cnext # Show next result. Remap to <C-j>.
:cprev # Show previous result. Remap to <C-k>.
# Previous lists. Up to 10 saved.
:colder # Previous list
:cnewer # Next list
# Perform an action/macro on the list
:cdo command # Run on every match individually in the quickfix list.
:cfdo command # Run on the entire file containing a match in the quickfix list.
:wa # Save changesExample
:vimgrep foo % # Find foo in current file, put results in quickfix list
:copen # Open the quickfix list
:cfdo %s/foo/bar/g # Apply search and replace to every list item<C-v> # Enter visial block mode
jk / } # Go up/down or jump to end of block
I # Insert at beginning of line
// # Add commenting characters
ESC # Apply to all linesReplay keystrokes.
q + char # Start recording, ex. q + a
q # Stop recording
@char # Execute macro, ex. @a
:reg # List of macros.A key value store. Macros are stored here, can be edited.
# \" is an escaped "
\"a # Access register for a
\"b # Access register for b
\"ay # Copy into register a
\"by # Copy into register b
\"ap # Paste from register a
\"bp # Paste from register b
\"+ # System clipboard
\"_ # Void register i.e. dev/null<C-w> # Window commands/mode.
<C-o> # Close all windows
<C-w> w # Cycle through open windows.
<C-w> <C-w>: # Cycle through open windows.
<C-w> s # Split the current window horizontally.
<C-w> v # Split the current window vertically.
<C-w> c # Close the current window.
<C-w> o # Close all other windows except the current one.
<C-w> h # Move to the window on the left.
<C-w> j # Move to the window below.
<C-w> k # Move to the window above.
<C-w> l # Move to the window on the right.
<C-w> q # Quit the current window.
<C-w> = # Make all windows equal size.
<C-w> _ # Maximize the current window height.
<C-w> | # Maximize the current window width.
<C-w> + # Increase the height of the current window.
<C-w> - # Decrease the height of the current window.
<C-w> > # Increase the width of the current window.
<C-w> < # Decrease the width of the current window.:tabe FILEPATH # Open file in new tab
gt # Next tab
gT # Previous tab
:tabn # Next tab
:tabp # Previous tab<C-z> # Suspend vim i.e. show terminal
fg + Enter # Open back vim
:sh # Suspend vim i.e. show terminal
exit # Open back vim! command # Run a command with vim in the background
:term # Open terminal in new window:so % # % refers to the current fileThere are also special directories that auto-source.
BE CAREFUL not to remap important keys.
Always have a leader key i.e. A small pause that lets you execute a shortcut before the keys do their default behavior.
# Setup a show filetree shortcut
let mapleader = " " # Sets <space> as a command activator
nnoremap <leader>tr :Vex<CR> # Pressing space + tr executes :Vex + Enter (filetree)
n # Mode where it works (normal mode)
nore # No recursive execution i.e. prevent remaps activating other remaps
map # Mapping left:right (replace left with right command)Settings are not saved in vim. They need to be persisted in a .vimrc file.
The global .vimrc file is located in /etc/vim/vimrc or etc/vimrc.
You should create a local .vimrc file in the home directory for customizations.
When vim is opened, it will automatically check the current user's home directory for a .vimrc file. All settings specified in this file will override the global settings.
set scrolloff=8 " Screen auto-scrolls to follow you, avoid recentering.
set number " Show line numbers.
set relativenumber " Line numbers are relative to the current line.
set nocompatible " Set compatibility to Vim only.
set visualbell " Use visual bell (no beeping)
set wrap " Word wrap.
set autoindent " Auto-indent new lines
set shiftwidth=4 " Number of auto-indent spaces
set smartindent " Enable smart-indent
set smarttab " Enable smart-tabs
set softtabstop=4 " TAB is 4 spaces.
set expandtab " Converts tabs into spaces.
set tabstop=4 " Converts tabs into spaces.
set t_u7= " Fix buy where vim starts in replace mode.NOTE:
- Configurations can be made inside
vimby using:set number. - Commenting in
.vimrcfiles is done with a single"character (no closing).
You can write your own plugins with Lua or VimL.
A community made plugin manager that uses only github repos specifically made to work with vim.
curl -fLo ~/.vim/autoload/plug.vim --create-dirs \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junegunn/vim-plug/master/plug.vimNeeds a vim reload.
Example for fzf - fuzzy finder plugin.
Add to ~/.vimrc file.
call plug#begin()
Plug 'junegunn/fzf', { 'do': { -> fzf#install() } }
Plug 'junegunn/fzf.vim'
call plug#end():so ~/.vimrc
:PlugInstallnnoremap <C-p> :GFiles<CR> # <C-p> to start fuzzy finder
nnoremap <leader>pf :Files<CR> # SPACE + pf for another wayRemove plugin from ~/.vimrc.
:PlugClean" SETTINGS ========================================================================
filetype plugin on " Detect filetypes and load relevant plugins.
set path+=** " Find searches recursively in subdirectories.
set wildmenu " Show command autocompletion suggestions.
" set cursorcolumn " Show vertical line to locate cursor.
" set cursorline " Show horizontal line to locate cursor.
set scrolloff=8 " Screen auto-scrolls to follow you, avoid recentering.
set number " Show line numbers.
set relativenumber " Line numbers are relative to the current line.
set hlsearch " Highligt searches
set nocompatible " Set compatibility to Vim only.
set visualbell " Use visual bell (no beeping)
set wrap " Word wrap.
set autoindent " Auto-indent new lines
set shiftwidth=4 " Number of auto-indent spaces
set smartindent " Enable smart-indent
set smarttab " Enable smart-tabs
set softtabstop=4 " TAB is 4 spaces.
set expandtab " Converts tabs into spaces.
set tabstop=4 " Converts tabs into spaces.
set t_u7= " Fix buy where vim starts in replace mode.
set completeopt+=menuone " Always show autocompletion
set completeopt+=noselect " Manual selection required
" PLUGINS ========================================================================
call plug#begin()
" Themes
Plug 'tomasiser/vim-code-dark'
" Interface
Plug 'vim-airline/vim-airline'
" Plug 'blueyed/vim-diminactive'
" Syntax hihglighting
Plug 'pangloss/vim-javascript'
Plug 'evanleck/vim-svelte'
" Functionality
" Plug 'lifepillar/vim-mucomplete'
" Plug 'mg979/vim-visual-multi'
" Plug 'junegunn/fzf', { 'do': { -> fzf#install() } }
" Plug 'junegunn/fzf.vim'
" Formatting
" Plug 'prettier/vim-prettier', { 'do': 'yarn install --frozen-lockfile --production' }
call plug#end()
" PLUGIN SETTINGS =======================================================================
" let g:mucomplete#enable_auto_at_startup = 1
colorscheme codedark
" REMAPS ========================================================================
" nnoremap oo o<ESC>
" nnoremap OO O<ESC>
nnoremap <C-j> :cnext<CR>
nnoremap <C-k> :cprev<CR>
noremap <Up> <nop>
noremap <Down> <nop>
noremap <Left> <nop>
noremap <Right> <nop>
" noremap <C-p> :Files<CR>