Vim Shortcuts I Actually Use (Daily Cheatsheet)
A practical Vim cheatsheet of motions, edits, search, and file/window commands you’ll use constantly—no trivia, just muscle memory.
Vim Shortcuts I Actually Use (Daily Cheatsheet)
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Table of contents
Vim gets “hard” when you try to memorize everything at once. Don’t. Learn the 20% you’ll use 80% of the time, then layer on power moves when they solve real problems.
This is the cheatsheet I actually rely on.
Mental model (the one thing to remember)
Most Vim actions are:
- operator + motion (example:
d+w→dwdeletes a word) - count + (operator/motion) (example:
3w,2dd)
Common operators:
ddeletecchange (delete then enter insert)yyank (copy)>/<indent / unindent
Modes (minimal)
- Normal: navigate + edit via commands (default)
- Insert: type text (
i,a,o) - Visual: select text (
v,V,Ctrl+v)
When in doubt: press Esc.
Move fast (motions you’ll use constantly)
h j k l: left / down / up / rightw/b: next / previous worde: end of word0/^/$: start of line / first non-space / end of linegg/G: top / bottom of file{/}: previous / next paragraph (blank-line separated)f{char}/t{char}: jump to (or before) a character on the line;: repeat lastf/t
The edits you’ll actually do
x: delete char under cursordd: delete lineD: delete to end of linedw/de/db: delete word (forward / to end / backward)cw: change wordcc: change lineC: change to end of lineci"/ci'/ci(/ci[/ci{: change inside quotes / parentheses / brackets / bracesdi"/di(/ etc: delete inside …yi"/ya(/ etc: yank inside / around …uundo,Ctrl+rredo
Insert mode entry (pick 3 and stick to them)
i: insert before cursora: append after cursoro/O: new line below / above (and enter insert)
Search, replace, and “find the thing”
/text: search forwardn/N: next / previous match*/#: search word under cursor forward / backward:%s/old/new/g: replace all in file:%s/old/new/gc: replace with confirmation:noh: clear search highlight
Visual mode (selection that stays useful)
v: character-wise selectionV: line-wise selectionCtrl+v: block selection (columns)
Then:
yyank selectionddelete selectioncchange selection>/<indent / unindent selection
Copy/paste that won’t surprise you
yy: yank linep/P: paste after / before cursor"+y: yank to system clipboard (if Vim has clipboard support)"+p: paste from system clipboard
Files, buffers, and windows (just enough)
Buffers (open files):
:e file: open file:w: save:q: quit:wq: save + quit:q!: quit without saving
Splits:
:split/:vsplitCtrl+wthenh/j/k/l: move between splitsCtrl+wthen=: equalize split sizes
Two “power moves” that pay off quickly
.: repeat last change (insanely useful)- macros:
q{a}start recording into registera- do the edits
qstop@aplay macro,10@aplay 10 times
Tiny cheatsheet: patterns that scale
These are the patterns that unlock everything:
d+ motion: deletec+ motion: changey+ motion: yankv+ motion + operator: select then act- count + command: repeat
Closing
If you only learn one thing this week, learn operator + motion and commit . to muscle memory. Everything else becomes incremental instead of overwhelming.
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