100 Vim commands every programmer should know

Posted by Jean-Baptiste Jung on Jun 30, 2008 | 92 comments

Since the 70’s, Vi is one of the programmer’s best friend. Nevermind you’re new to Vi or not, here’s a big list of 100 useful commands, organized by topic, which will make your coder life better.

Author : Jean-Baptiste Jung

Jean is a 27 years old self-taught web developer and WordPress specialist who lives in Wallonia, the French speaking part of Belgium. In addition to Cats Who Code, he also blogs about WordPress at WpRecipes and about Photoshop at PsdVibe.

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Search

/word	Search “word” from top to bottom
?word	Search “word” from bottom to top
/jo[ha]n	Search “john” or “joan”
/\< the	Search “the”, “theatre” or “then”
/the\>	Search “the” or “breathe”
/\< the\>	Search “the”
/\< ….\>	Search all words of 4 letters
/\/	Search “fred” but not “alfred” or “frederick”
/fred\\|joe	Search “fred” or “joe”
/\<\d\d\d\d\>	Search exactly 4 digits
/^\n\{3}	Find 3 empty lines
:bufdo /searchstr/	Search in all open files

Replace

:%s/old/new/g	Replace all occurences of “old” by “new” in file
:%s/old/new/gw	Replace all occurences with confirmation
:2,35s/old/new/g	Replace all occurences between lines 2 and 35
:5,$s/old/new/g	Replace all occurences from line 5 to EOF
:%s/^/hello/g	Replace the begining of each line by “hello”
:%s/$/Harry/g	Replace the end of each line by “Harry”
:%s/onward/forward/gi	Replace “onward” by “forward” , case unsensitive
:%s/ *$//g	Delete all white spaces
:g/string/d	Delete all lines containing “string”
:v/string/d	Delete all lines containing which didn't contain “string”
:s/Bill/Steve/	Replace the first occurence of “Bill” by “Steve” in current line
:s/Bill/Steve/g	Replace “Bill” by “Steve” in current line
:%s/Bill/Steve/g	Replace “Bill” by “Steve” in all the file
:%s/\r//g	Delete DOS carriage returns (^M)
:%s/\r/\r/g	Transform DOS carriage returns in returns
:%s#<[^>]\+>##g	Delete HTML tags but keeps text
:%s/^$.*$\n\1$/\1/	Delete lines which appears twice
Ctrl+a	Increment number under the cursor
Ctrl+x	Decrement number under cursor
ggVGg?	Change text to Rot13

Case

Vu	Lowercase line
VU	Uppercase line
g~~	Invert case
vEU	Switch word to uppercase
vE~	Modify word case
ggguG	Set all text to lowercase
:set ignorecase	Ignore case in searches
:set smartcase	Ignore case in searches excepted if an uppercase letter is used
:%s/\<./\u&/g	Sets first letter of each word to uppercase
:%s/\<./\l&/g	Sets first letter of each word to lowercase
:%s/.*/\u&	Sets first letter of each line to uppercase
:%s/.*/\l&	Sets first letter of each line to lowercase

Read/Write files

:1,10 w outfile	Saves lines 1 to 10 in outfile
:1,10 w >> outfile	Appends lines 1 to 10 to outfile
:r infile	Insert the content of infile
:23r infile	Insert the content of infile under line 23

File explorer

:e .	Open integrated file explorer
:Sex	Split window and open integrated file explorer
:browse e	Graphical file explorer
:ls	List buffers
:cd ..	Move to parent directory
:args	List files
:args *.php	Open file list
:grep expression *.php	Returns a list of .php files contening expression
gf	Open file name under cursor

Interact with Unix

:!pwd	Execute the “pwd” unix command, then returns to Vi
!!pwd	Execute the “pwd” unix command and insert output in file
:sh	Temporary returns to Unix
$exit	Retourns to Vi

Alignment

:%!fmt	Align all lines
!}fmt	Align all lines at the current position
5!!fmt	Align the next 5 lines

Tabs

:tabnew	Creates a new tab
gt	Show next tab
:tabfirst	Show first tab
:tablast	Show last tab
:tabm n(position)	Rearrange tabs
:tabdo %s/foo/bar/g	Execute a command in all tabs
:tab ball	Puts all open files in tabs

Window spliting

:e filename	Edit filename in current window
:split filename	Split the window and open filename
ctrl-w up arrow	Puts cursor in top window
ctrl-w ctrl-w	Puts cursor in next window
ctrl-w_	Maximise current window
ctrl-w=	Gives the same size to all windows
10 ctrl-w+	Add 10 lines to current window
:vsplit file	Split window vertically
:sview file	Same as :split in readonly mode
:hide	Close current window
:only	Close all windows, excepted current
:b 2	Open #2 in this window

Auto-completion

Ctrl+n Ctrl+p (in insert mode)	Complete word
Ctrl+x Ctrl+l	Complete line
:set dictionary=dict	Define dict as a dictionnary
Ctrl+x Ctrl+k	Complete with dictionnary

Marks

mk	Marks current position as k
‘k	Moves cursor to mark k
d’k	Delete all until mark k

Abbreviations

:ab mail mail@provider.org

Define mail as abbreviation of mail@provider.org

Text indent

:set autoindent	Turn on auto-indent
:set smartindent	Turn on intelligent auto-indent
:set shiftwidth=4	Defines 4 spaces as indent size
ctrl-t, ctrl-d	Indent/un-indent in insert mode
>>	Indent
<<	Un-indent

Syntax highlighting

:syntax on	Turn on syntax highlighting
:syntax off	Turn off syntax highlighting
:set syntax=perl	Force syntax highlighting

92 reactions

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1 - YRU2L8 on Jun 30, 2008, 10:10 pm:

/\/ Search “fred” but not “alfred” or “frederick” — huh?

Search exactly 4 numbers — digits
2 - jbj on Jun 30, 2008, 10:20 pm:

Thanks for correcting my mistakes!
3 - Sander on Jun 30, 2008, 11:58 pm:

Excellent! A very useful list. Thanks a lot.
4 - MarkL on Jul 1, 2008, 12:08 am:

I see a typo: Alignement >> Alignment
5 - jbj on Jul 1, 2008, 12:14 am:

Corrected. Thanks, Mark!
6 - Jon Keating on Jul 1, 2008, 2:39 am:

In search…

/\/ Search “fred” but not “alfred” or “frederick”

There is no text here to indiciate a search for fred.

In replace…

:%s/old/new/gw Replace all occurences with confirmation

There is no w flag, I believe you mean c. See help :s_flags

In interact with unix…

I think CTRL-Z and the fg command work better than :sh and exit. At least they are much easier to type.

In text indenting…

<< Desindent … I believe “Un-indent” would be a better word. Or in fact, it is not indenting, it is shifting.

Didn’t check all, but those are what stood out.

Jon
7 - Billco on Jul 1, 2008, 6:49 am:

Most important command ever:

:q!
cd /usr/ports/editors/nano
make install

I really don’t understand why people still use VI. At least Emacs has its own operating system
8 - Russia on Jul 1, 2008, 7:41 am:

Stupid american
9 - jbj on Jul 1, 2008, 8:19 am:

@Jon Keating: Thanks
@Russia: I may be stupid, but a sure thing is that I’m not American: I live in Belgium and come from France
10 - Naveed on Jul 1, 2008, 9:47 am:

Great list. Here is one of my favorite tricks:

map j
map k
map gt
map gT

This will let you switch between tabs and windows by using a combination of the control key and h,j,k, and l. For example, to move to the top window, you can press ctrl-k. To move to the tab on the right, you can press ctrl-l.
11 - Naveed on Jul 1, 2008, 9:49 am:

Ignore my previous comment, since it seems like the comment system mangled up my text because it had less-than and greater-than characters in it.
12 - jbj on Jul 1, 2008, 9:59 am:

@Naveed: Yeah, sadly Wordpress comments system always break code and/or commands. I didn’t knew the tips you submitted, so I’m going to check it out.
13 - Anon on Jul 1, 2008, 10:51 am:

Interesting list but how can you not mention the awesome * or some of the tips on http://www.vim.org/tips/tip.php?tip_id=305 ? : )
14 - jbj on Jul 1, 2008, 11:11 am:

@Anon: The vim.org tips are indeed very helpful, but for this list, I didn’t wanted to re-use 75% of these tips. Though, I should have gave the link just as you did. Thanks!
15 - Pádraig Brady on Jul 1, 2008, 12:44 pm:

Here’s the list I created when learning vim:

http://www.pixelbeat.org/vim.tips.html
16 - jbj on Jul 1, 2008, 12:49 pm:

Nice list Pádraig, thanks for sharing!
17 - Aaron on Jul 1, 2008, 3:53 pm:

@Bill - Nano over VIM?

I love VIM, mostly because of the syntax highlighting on the myriad of different file types as they are being edited, I can quickly spot any syntax typos I may have fat-fingered in.

Thanks for sharing this. =]
18 - dummy on Jul 1, 2008, 4:12 pm:

I liked the :Sex part. You’ll want if you’re trying to peek at some other files.
19 - Jan Slupski on Jul 1, 2008, 4:16 pm:

s/Delete \zsall\ze white spaces/trailing/
20 - carl on Jul 1, 2008, 4:36 pm:

what no mention of dot? (repeats the last edit you made)
It’s actually one of my favourite commands.
21 - web design on Jul 1, 2008, 4:37 pm:

I love it. > :Sex Split window and open integrated file explorer
22 - jbj on Jul 1, 2008, 4:45 pm:

@carl: I didn’t know that one! thanks for sharing.
23 - stephen on Jul 1, 2008, 5:10 pm:

Really love the t + char pattern

For instance
“hi I am foo line” with the cursor on the first “, c+t+” gives you
“” and leaves you in insert mode between the “”
24 - Jan Slupski on Jul 1, 2008, 5:56 pm:

I would probably add next dozen of my favorites, but at least some esp. useful for programmers:
% - jump to matching parenthesis
=% - indent the code between parenthesis
[[ - jump to function start
[{ - jump to block start
* - search the word under cursor
:new abc.txt - edit abc.txt in new window
25 - jbj on Jul 1, 2008, 6:15 pm:

@Jan: Great ones! I should think about creating a second list with all commands submitted by readers
26 - Raffy on Jul 1, 2008, 6:21 pm:

I have some more things that you might find useful on my VIM site.
27 - sileNT on Jul 1, 2008, 7:24 pm:

And what does:

:emacs

do?
28 - jbj on Jul 1, 2008, 7:40 pm:

@Raffy: Excellent website! I haven’t the time to check it all, but I really liked what I saw.
29 - Reid on Jul 1, 2008, 8:51 pm:

ggguG is wrong, that makes the file lowercase. gggUG makes the file uppercase. However, why you should know this command combo over the separate commands gg, gu/U, and G, I don’t know.
30 - Erewhon on Jul 1, 2008, 9:04 pm:

Great list. Thanks. [:wq]
31 - jbj on Jul 1, 2008, 9:05 pm:

@Reid: You’re right. Sorry for the mistake! I just corrected it, thanks for telling me.
32 - Alex on Jul 2, 2008, 3:54 am:

gg=G — indent all lines in the file
shift-v curlybracket control-v shift i # escape — adds #’s in front of all of the lines in that chunk of code
let @a=@* — copies the contents of register a to the systemwide paste bin
bufdo %s/something/somethingelse/g — changes “something” to “somethingelse” in all the open buffers
:tabnew — opens a new tab

– Vim rocks.
33 - bobbydigital on Jul 2, 2008, 7:14 am:

I find :Hex more useful than :Sex, even though I like sex :p
34 - fiedor on Jul 2, 2008, 10:33 am:

:%s/\r/\r/g Transform DOS carriage returns in returns

doesn’t miss anything here? It simply replaces all x0d with x0d …
35 - shoban on Jul 3, 2008, 8:49 am:

Excellent list.. I have used vi.. but never realised it had so many commands.
36 - jbj on Jul 3, 2008, 9:13 am:

Thanks, shoban. Vi have much more commands than only theses ones
37 - Bernhard on Jul 3, 2008, 4:27 pm:

The pattern to get rid of d part of DOS line-feeds in an entire document is
:%s/^M//g
Where you must input the “^M” pattern by holding down Ctrl while typing “vm”

If you often exchange text files with Macs then this replacement comes in handy
:%s/^M/\r/g
38 - jbj on Jul 3, 2008, 4:50 pm:

@Bernhard: Thank you for theses useful contributions!
39 - Kiril Minanov on Jul 5, 2008, 9:22 pm:

Very nice

I would add “set wrap” and “set nowrap” commands. With those commands you can enable and disable text wrapping on vi editor

Great work man
40 - barf on Jul 5, 2008, 10:08 pm:

and what about copy/paste?
41 - jbj on Jul 5, 2008, 10:11 pm:

Kiril, I’m glad you liked the list! And thanks for submiting more commands!
42 - jbj on Jul 6, 2008, 12:22 am:

@barf: You’re right, I should have inclued at least basic copy/paste functions (y and p)
43 - shopping cart on Jul 15, 2008, 2:27 pm:

Hi,

That is really a very useful list.
Thanks for the list.
44 - L'ineptocide on Jul 30, 2008, 9:26 am:

Thanks, that’s pretty usefull.

But actually:

ctrl-w_ maximize vertically and
ctrl-w| maximize horizontally.
45 - Apurv on Aug 1, 2008, 8:13 am:

Wonderful list I must say specially the Explorer commands.
I have been using vi for a long time but didn’t know.
Thanks a lot.
46 - Steve on Aug 13, 2008, 4:09 pm:

I have posted a customize vim guide which can be found here Customizing Vim . It goes the next step beyond usage, which is customizing VIM for a better experience.
47 - aXine~D on Aug 26, 2008, 5:31 pm:

vim is the best editor I’ve ever used. Thanks for this really usefull list.
48 - Jamie Souef on Aug 30, 2008, 7:34 am:

i can’t stand vi.. but one of the servers i manage doesn’t have anything else on it so it’s all i can use. Thanks for the list, would you mind if i re-blogged this over at my blog? (linking to the source natural)
49 - jbj on Aug 30, 2008, 8:34 am:

@Jamie: No problem!
50 - sudha on Sep 1, 2008, 8:16 am:

Great BLog. I am taking a print of this. Thanks 4 sharing it on web.
51 - Suganthi on Sep 5, 2008, 8:16 am:

Very useful. It will come handy when searching for Commands
52 - CTS on Oct 8, 2008, 8:41 pm:

Thanks for my new bookmark!

One of the best commands is certainly ggVGg?
53 - debil on Nov 2, 2008, 11:19 am:

Good list. BTW, you can rot13 whole buffer also with “ggg?G”. No need for V, one step less
54 - debil on Nov 2, 2008, 11:55 am:

Digraphs are a great feature in Vim. To type a special character, hit ctrl-k in insert mode and type two-character code. Check out the list of availale characters with :digraphs.
55 - Web Development India on Dec 23, 2008, 11:02 am:

Thank you very much for sharing this information. very interesting article for programmers specially for beginners.
56 - www.redips.net on Jan 5, 2009, 12:34 pm:

This was very useful. I searched for command to convert text to lower case and I found it here. You can also set all text to the upper case with gggUG.
Cheers!
57 - bisnis online on Jan 23, 2009, 2:04 am:

Great list, gotta bookmark this. I often forget some of these commands
58 - Tim on Jan 28, 2009, 3:13 pm:

Very helpful. Thanks!
59 - Jake Achée on Feb 1, 2009, 3:04 pm:

Let me be the next to say: this is a very nice list. I love vi (and vim, too) and there were several tricks that I didn’t know about on the list.

Thanks for posting.

(I came in via Hacker News)
60 - alexandru on Feb 1, 2009, 6:08 pm:

every once in a while I see a cheat sheet of vi(m) commands. unfortunately most of them forget to teach the basics: motion.

for example:
ggguG is not a random key combination (as begginers tend to believe), its gg (goes to begin of file), gu changes to lowercase, G goes to end of file.

so long,
alexandru
61 - Basque on Feb 1, 2009, 11:15 pm:

I’m almost newbie in the church of Vim and I’m enjoining it by learning new things every day.

Nice post. Thanks.
62 - Pascal on Feb 1, 2009, 11:41 pm:

Thank you so much for this command list. It’s very helpful!

Regards,
Pascal
63 - Search Engine Optimization Canada on Feb 6, 2009, 8:56 am:

This will let you switch between tabs and windows by using a combination of the control key and h,j,k, and l. For example, to move to the top window, you can press ctrl-k. To move to the tab on the right, you can press ctrl-l.
64 - Kedar Mhaswade on Feb 10, 2009, 8:02 pm:

Since the 70’s, Vi is one of the programmer’s best friends, not friend.
65 - Essential HTML Tags on Feb 14, 2009, 11:54 am:

Hmmm…. I’m learning these tags and the whole article as well as the comments associated with it were very informative. Thanks!
66 - grgfg on Feb 19, 2009, 4:54 pm:

Vim is sh it.
How many command u MUST know for ONLY editing?
Commands like: “%$#%$#% 4354 543543543543 54rt5^%$^%$^$ ^%$” for change some words?!
BULLSHIT!
67 - منتديات لحظة on Feb 28, 2009, 3:02 pm:

I’m almost newbie in the church of Vim and I’m enjoining it by learning new things every day.
68 - Bodybuilding products on Mar 2, 2009, 11:21 pm:

I graduated with a B.S degree in computer science. Used to do all my programming from telnet at home instead of sitting all day sweating it in the labs. These commands are all very useful and eliminate the need for a GUI interface. Thanks for the great list.
69 - We programmers on Mar 5, 2009, 8:51 am:

Great list. i print it. Really useful for programmers.
Thanks for sharing this information
70 - Danilo De Martin on Mar 8, 2009, 11:50 am:

:%s/old/new/gw Replace all occurences with confirmation

I think the right way is :%s/old/new/gc

Great list. Thanks Jean-Baptiste.

Danilo De Martin