VIM Cheatsheet

Introduction

This cheatsheet showcases essential VIM commands and practical examples. These commands help you navigate, edit, and manipulate code or configuration files efficiently.

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Navigation Commands

Command	Description	Example Use
w	Jump to the start of the next word	Fast word to word movement
e	Jump to the end of the current word	Edit at the word’s end
b	Jump to the start of the previous word	Navigate backward by words
0	Move to the beginning of the current line	Start editing from the line start
^	Move to the first non whitespace character	Ignore leading spaces
$	Move to the end of the line	Edit at the line end
gg	Jump to the beginning of the file	Quick top of file navigation
G	Jump to the end of the file	Reach the last line
:n	Go to line n	Useful for large files
/pattern	Search forward for pattern	Find specific keywords
?pattern	Search backward for pattern	Locate earlier matches

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Basic Editing Commands

Command	Description	Example Use
x	Delete a single character	Quick typo removal
d	Delete highlighted text	Used with visual or motion commands
dd	Delete the current line	Fast line removal
yy	Yank (copy) the current line	Duplicate lines
p	Paste after the cursor	Insert copied text
P	Paste before the cursor	Insert before
ciw	Change (replace) the current word	Edit specific words
cw	Change from the cursor to the word’s end	Partial word editing
ci<text-object>	Change inside text object (e.g., parentheses)	Useful for nested structures
Ctrl+v	Enter visual block mode	For columnar editing

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Quick Editing Examples

Task	Command Sequence	Description
Delete everything below	Shift+V → Shift+G → d	Deletes all lines from the current one onward
Indent all lines below	Ctrl+v → Shift+G → Shift+I → Type spaces → Esc, Esc	Indents multiple lines
Find and replace	: %s/foo/bar/g	Replace all instances of foo with bar
Comment multiple lines	Shift+V → Select lines → :s/^/#/	Adds a comment symbol to the start of each line
Uncomment multiple lines	:s/^#//	Removes the comment symbol from each line
Duplicate a line	yy → p	Copies and pastes the current line below
Sort lines	Highlight (Shift+V) → :sort	Alphabetizes selected lines
Remove blank lines	:g/^$/d	Deletes all empty lines in the file
Change inside quotes	ci"	Replaces text inside quotation marks
Toggle case of a word	~	Swaps lowercase to uppercase and vice versa
Join multiple lines	Highlight (Shift+V) → J	Combines lines into one
Align equals in configs	Ctrl+v → Highlight → Shift+I → Add spaces → Esc, Esc	Aligns equals signs or other separators
Remove trailing spaces	:%s/\s\+$//e	Cleans up unnecessary whitespace at line ends

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Text Objects and Visual Mode

Command	Description	Example Use
vi<text-object>	Select inside a text object	vi( selects inside parentheses
va<text-object>	Select text object, including delimiters	va{ selects braces and contents
v	Start visual mode for character selection	Highlight portions of text
V	Start visual line mode	Select entire lines
Ctrl+v	Start visual block mode	Columnar selection for block editing

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Registers and Paste

Command	Description	Example Use
"_d	Delete without overwriting clipboard	Safely deletes while keeping copied text
"_x	Delete character without overwriting clipboard	For precise deletions
Remap paste	Add this to your config to avoid overwriting:	nnoremap <leader>p "_dP

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Setting Up NeoVim with vim-plug

Step 1: Install vim-plug

Run the following command:

curl -fLo ~/.local/share/nvim/site/autoload/plug.vim --create-dirs \
    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junegunn/vim-plug/master/plug.vim

Step 2: Configure Plugins

1. Create a configuration file: mkdir -p ~/.config/nvim touch ~/.config/nvim/init.vim
2. Add this to the file:

call plug#begin('~/.local/share/nvim/plugged')

Plug 'ThePrimeagen/vim-be-good'

call plug#end()

set number
set relativenumber
set tabstop=4
set shiftwidth=4
set expandtab
syntax on

3. Save and close (:wq).

Step 3: Install Plugins

Open NeoVim and type:

:PlugInstall

Step 4: Run vim-be-good

Type:

:VimBeGood

What is vim-be-good?

vim-be-good is a game designed for NeoVim users to improve their speed and accuracy with VIM commands. It provides challenges focused on motions, text objects, and editing tasks, helping you build muscle memory while having fun. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced, vim-be-good turns practicing VIM into an engaging experience that makes you faster and more efficient.

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Closing Thoughts

With this cheatsheet, you’ll be able to navigate and edit code or configuration files in VIM at lightning speed. Use the tables as a reference, practice the examples, and explore advanced features like plugins and text objects to customize your workflow. VIM is all about efficiency—master it to make editing fun and productive!