VIM Quick Guide
Whenever I use Vim to edit files on Linux, I need to relearn how to use it. Years ago I found a thread on Stack Overflow with two simple and extremely useful answers that helped me make sense of Vim. So here it is.
Sections
In my search for a tutorial or guide to help me understand how Vim works, I came upon this Stack Overflow thread with excellent answers. My favorite of these are below, but feel free to dive deep at the original link.
Vim Commands
| Key | Effect |
|---|---|
:q | to quit (short for :quit) |
:q! | to quit without saving (short for :quit!) |
:wq | to write and quit |
:wq! | to write and quit even, force write is file has only read permission |
:x | to write and quit (similar to :wq, but only write if there are changes) |
:qa | to quit all (short for :quitall) |
:cq | to quit without saving and make Vim return non-zero error (i.e. - exit with error) |
Making sense of Vi (and Vim)
Pictures are worth a thousand Unix commands and options:
I draw this to my students each semester and they seem to grasp vi afterwards.
Vi is a finite state machine with only three states — COMMAND, INSERT, EX.
Upon starting, vi goes into COMMAND mode, where you can type short, few character commands, blindly. You know what you are doing; this isn’t for amateurs.
When you want to actually edit text, you should go to INSERT mode on key press:
| Key | Effect |
|---|---|
| i | go to INSERT in the place of the cursor |
| Shift + i | go to INSERT mode at the beginning of the line |
| a | append after the cursor |
| Shift + a | append at the end of line |
| o | open a new line below the current line |
| Shift + o | open a new line in the place of the current line |
| Esc | go to COMMAND mode |
Now, exiting. You can exit vi from EX mode:
| Key | Effect |
|---|---|
:q | quit if you haven’t made any modifications, or saved them beforehand |
:q! | ignores any modifications and quit |
:wq | save and quit |
:x | this is equal to wq |
w and x accept a file name parameter. If you started vi with a filename, you need not give it here again. At last, the most important: how can you reach EX mode?
EX mode is for long commands that you can see typing at the bottom line of the screen. From COMMAND mode, you push colon, :, and a colon will appear at the bottom line, where you can type the above commands.
From INSERT mode, you need to push Esc, going to COMMAND mode, and then colon (:) to go to EX mode.
If you are unsure, push Esc and that will bring you to command mode.
So, the robust method, which saves your file and quits, is to hit Esc, type :x, then hit Enter.