Vim Cheatsheet: Commands Quick Reference

A quick reference for Vim commands, organized for server administration work. Bookmark this page.

Modes

Mode	Enter	Purpose	Back to Normal
Normal	`Esc`	Navigate, run commands	Already there
Insert	`i`, `a`, `o`, `I`, `A`, `O`	Type text	`Esc`
Visual	`v` (char), `V` (line), `Ctrl+v` (block)	Select text	`Esc`
Command-line	`:`	Run ex commands	`Enter` or `Esc`

File operations

Command	Action
`:w`	Save
`:q`	Quit (fails with unsaved changes)
`:wq` or `ZZ`	Save and quit
`:q!`	Quit without saving
`:w !sudo tee %`	Save a read-only file (when you forgot sudoedit)
`:e /path/to/file`	Open file
`:saveas /path`	Save as a new file

Character and line

Key	Action
`h` `j` `k` `l`	Left, down, up, right
`0`	Start of line
`$`	End of line
`^`	First non-blank character

Word

Key	Action
`w` / `W`	Next word / WORD
`b` / `B`	Previous word / WORD
`e`	End of word

File

Key	Action
`gg`	First line
`G`	Last line
`42G` or `:42`	Line 42
`Ctrl+d` / `Ctrl+u`	Half page down / up
`Ctrl+f` / `Ctrl+b`	Full page down / up
`%`	Matching bracket

Search

Key	Action
`/pattern`	Search forward
`?pattern`	Search backward
`n` / `N`	Next / previous match
`*`	Search word under cursor (forward)
`#`	Search word under cursor (backward)

Entering insert mode

Key	Action
`i`	Before cursor
`a`	After cursor
`I`	Start of line
`A`	End of line
`o`	New line below
`O`	New line above
`s`	Delete character and insert
`S` or `cc`	Delete line and insert

Editing

Command	Action
`x`	Delete character
`dd`	Delete line
`dw`	Delete word
`d$` or `D`	Delete to end of line
`d0`	Delete to start of line
`cc`	Change line
`cw`	Change word
`ci"`	Change inside quotes
`ci(`	Change inside parentheses
`yy`	Copy line
`yw`	Copy word
`p` / `P`	Paste after / before
`u`	Undo
`Ctrl+r`	Redo
`.`	Repeat last change
`>>` / `<<`	Indent / unindent line
`J`	Join current line with the next

Counts and composition

Vim commands accept a count prefix. Combine operators with motions for precise edits.

Example	Action
`3dd`	Delete 3 lines
`5j`	Move down 5 lines
`d2w`	Delete next 2 words
`4>>`	Indent 4 lines
`y3w`	Copy 3 words
`ct;`	Change text up to `;`
`df"`	Delete through next `"`

Visual mode

Command	Action
`v`	Start character selection
`V`	Start line selection
`Ctrl+v`	Start block selection
`d`	Delete selected
`y`	Copy selected
`>` / `<`	Indent / unindent selected
`:s/^/#/`	Comment selected lines (in visual line mode)
`U` / `u`	Uppercase / lowercase selected

Search and replace

Command	Action
`:s/old/new/`	Replace first on current line
`:s/old/new/g`	Replace all on current line
`:%s/old/new/g`	Replace all in file
`:%s/old/new/gc`	Replace all with confirmation
`:5,10s/old/new/g`	Replace all on lines 5-10

Common regex patterns

Pattern	Matches
`^` / `$`	Start / end of line
`.`	Any character
`\d`	Digit
`\s`	Whitespace
`.*`	Any characters (greedy)
`\v`	"Very magic" mode (less escaping)

Server examples

:%s/listen 80;/listen 443 ssl;/g
:%s/nginx:1.24/nginx:1.27/g
:%s/192\.168\.1\.1/10.0.0.1/g

Buffers

Command	Action
`:e file`	Open in buffer
`:bn` / `:bp`	Next / previous buffer
`:ls`	List buffers
`:b2`	Go to buffer 2
`:bd`	Close buffer

Splits

Command	Action
`:sp file`	Horizontal split
`:vs file`	Vertical split
`Ctrl+w h/j/k/l`	Move between splits
`Ctrl+w =`	Equal split sizes
`Ctrl+w q`	Close split
`Ctrl+w _`	Maximize current split height
`Ctrl+w	`

Tabs

Command	Action
`:tabnew file`	Open in new tab
`gt` / `gT`	Next / previous tab
`:tabclose`	Close tab

.vimrc essentials

Minimal server-tuned configuration:

set nocompatible
set encoding=utf-8
set number relativenumber
syntax on
set expandtab tabstop=2 shiftwidth=2 softtabstop=2
set incsearch hlsearch ignorecase smartcase
set showmatch laststatus=2 showmode
set mouse=a
set pastetoggle=<F2>
set noswapfile
set cursorline
set list listchars=tab:>>·,trail:·
filetype plugin indent on

Server workflow shortcuts

Task	Commands
Edit root-owned file safely	`sudoedit /etc/nginx/nginx.conf`
Paste without cascade indent	`F2`, `i`, paste, `F2`
Jump to error line	`vim +42 file.yml`
Convert tabs to spaces (YAML fix)	`:%s/\t/ /g`
Comment multiple lines	`V`, select, `:s/^/#/`
Uncomment multiple lines	`V`, select, `:s/^#//`
Verify Nginx config after edit	`:!sudo nginx -t`
Reload without leaving Vim	`:!sudo systemctl reload nginx`

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
Cannot type after opening Vim	Press `i` (you are in Normal mode)
Terminal frozen (`Ctrl+s`)	Press `Ctrl+q`
Staircase indentation on paste	Toggle paste mode: `F2` or `:set paste`
File is read-only	Quit, reopen with `sudoedit`
Swap file warning	Choose `(D)elete` if no other session is editing