If you want to use vim as you'd use VS Code, just go with VS Code.
Vim works a different way, for a reason, don't try to make it VS Code.
When you’re working don’t try speed all the time, slow down and see if there’s a way to accomplish what you want easier.
- Live in normal mode. Spend as little time as possible in insert mode.
- Avoid using plugins as much as possible.
- Avoid using multi-cursors, learn the built in ways.
- Do not hold down motion keys, it's an anti-pattern.
:version<C-a> # CTRL + a
<CR> # Enter i.e. carret return
<tab> # Tab
<esc> # Escape
<space> # Space / LeaderNOTE: Capital letters = SHIFT + letter
Esc / <C-c> / <C-[> # Normal (commands) █ Thick cursor
i # Insert (editing) │ Thin cursor
v # Visual (selection) (not used often)
V # Visual Line (select lines) (not used often)
<C-v> # Visual block (vertical) mode
o # Switch between start/end of selection to expand.: # Command
. # Repeat last command
u # UNDO
<C-r> # REDO
zz # Recenter screen (NEVER USE, it interferes with ZZ i.e. saving):<command> <tab> # Show available command options (<C-d> also works)
:h <command> # Manual
:set <option> # Set an option
:colorscheme # Pick a colorschemeCommands can be executed over selections with !.
:'<'> ! sort | uniq
# : Command prompt
# '<'> Represent the selection
# ! Tells that a command is to be run
# sort Command for sorting
# | Pipe
# uniq Command for filtering:w # Save
:q # Quit
:wq # Save and quit
:q! # Force quitvim <path> # Open directory inside vim and select a file.
vim <file> # Open file directly.
:e <path> # Navigate to directory/file. Use TAB and CTRL + d to choose.
:find <path> # Navigate to directory/file.
:e. # Show directory
:E # Show directory
:Ex # Show directory
:Lex # Show directory in a side window
:Vex # Show directory in a new window
:jumps # Show navigation history
<C-o> # Navigate back
<C-i> # Navigate forward
<C-^> # Switch between current and last navigation.
<C-g> # Show current file nameCommand autocompletion.
:set wildmenu # Turns the feature on.
:e string # Search in current directory.
:e **/*string # Search recursively from root.
<tab> # Show wildmenu. Go forward.
<s-tab> # Go backward.
<c-d> # Print ALL suggestions.
<Left> / <Right> # Traverse options.
<Down> / <Up> # Drill out/down directories.
:set wildoptions=pum # Makes the menu vertical. Traversal is reversed.
:set wildignore+=**/node_modules/**,**/.git/** # Ignore directories
:set wildignorecase # Case insensitiveWldignore is only applied after the search.
When using **/*, it means:
**- Look inside all directories from where I am./*- Look for all files (and directories) within the directories found by**.
find search the 'path' in vim. Whereas :edit only takes the current working directory as the root.
:edit is restricted by default to the working directory: if you need to edit a file that is not under your working directory you will have to provide its absolute path or a path relative to the working directory. Also, you need to provide the necessary globs.
:find is superficially very similar to :edit but the (big) difference is that it finds files in the directories specified in the path option. path is what makes :find a lot more interesting than :edit.
With set path=,, you essentially get the same behavior as :e foo.
With set path=** you essentially get the same behavior as :e **/foo except you don't have to use any glob.
With set path=.,** you also get access to files in the same directory as the current file.
With set path=.,**,/path/to/some/central/vendor/directory you also get access to files from that directory… and so on.
All of these can be used in visual (selection) mode too.
Motions are composable i.e. 5dd and d4j will both delete 5 lines.
j # Down
k # Up
h # Left (not used often)
l # Right (not used often)
w # Jump one word/delimitation.
W # Jump to next whitespace
e # End of word.
b # Back one word.
_ # Jump to first non-whitespace character in line
^ # Beginning of line.
0 # Beginning of line.
$ # End of line.
f + char # Jump to first character in line. F is reversed.
t + char # Jump to before first character in line. T is reversed.
; # Next occurrence of character.
, # Previous occurrence of character.
gg # Beginning of file.
G # End of file.
nG # Jump to line n.
% # Jump between matching tags i.e. ), }, ].
o # Jump between start/end of selection to expand.
<C-d> # Jump down by half page
<C-u> # Jump up by half page
} # Jump to next block/paragraphi # Inserting with cursor on inside i.e prepend.
I # Inserting with cursor at begining of line.
a # Inserting with cursor on outside i.e. append.
A # Inserting with cursor at end of line.
c + motion # Change value in selection ex. cw, c_, ci, ca...
C # Delete after cursor + insert mode
cc # Delete line + insert mode
o # Create new line under cursor + insert mode.
O # Create new line above cursor + insert mode.
x # Delete character.
X # Backspace.
s # Delete single character + insert mode
S # Delete whole line from indent + insert mode
r + char # Change character under cursor without INS mode.
<C-a> # Increment number.
<C-x> # Decrement number.o # Switch between start/end of selection.
* # Search forward for word under cursor
gn # Search forward for word under cursor
\# # Search backward for word under cursor
viw # Select whole word.
viW # Select every character between whitespaces.
vi` # Select everything inside ``.
xi( # Delete everything inside ().
di[ # Cut everything inside [].
ci{ # Delete + insert mode inside {}.
va{ # Select outside {}.
Esc v # visual mode for selection.
<C-v> # block selection i.e. multi-line column, good for commenting.
I + text + esc # Multi line insertion.
'< # Text representation for start of selection.
'> # Text representation for end of selection.Enter visual mode and select text.
right click # Paste from system clipboard (insert mode)
:set paste + <S-i> # Formatted paste
y # Copy (yank) selected.
d # Cut selected.
D # Cut to the right of cursor, same as d$
p # Paste after cursor/line.
P # Paste before cursor/line.
x # Delete selecttion/charcater.
yy # Copy (yank) line in normal mode.
dd # Cut line in normal mode. (Shift + d)
dg # Delete to end of file.
:reg # Register i.e. list of yanks and deletions>> # Add indentation.
<< # Remove indentantion.
<C-t> # Add indentation at start of line (insert mode).
<C-d> # Remove indentation at start of line (insert mode).# Insert mode
:h ins-completion # Manual
<C-n> # Next suggestion
<C-p> # Previous suggestion
<C-x><C-n> # Next suggestion
<C-x><C-p> # Previous suggestion
<Cx><C-f> # Complete path
<Cx><C-l> # Complete line
# Omnicomplete - language specific
<Cx><C-o> # Show suggestions
:set omnifunc=javascriptcomplete#CompleteJS
:set omnifunc=htmlcomplete#CompleteTags
:set omnifunc=csscomplete#CompleteCSSWorks with regex.
n # Next occurrence of string under cursor (Works without searching)
N # Previous occurrence of string under cursor Works without searching
/ + string + Enter # Search for string forwards.
? + string + Enter # Search for string backwards.
grep foo \**/*js # Every single files that ends with `.js`:s/text/replacement # Only first occurence.
:s/text/replacement/g # Every occurence in line.
:%s/text/replacement/g # Every occurence in file.
v + select + : + s/text # Only in selected range.
& # Repeat replace for string under cursor. (n + &)
g& # Repeat replace for allTries to simulate CTRL + d (find duplicate) functionality.
# 1. Go to top of file.
gg
# 2. Search
/foo
# 3. Edit
i / a / c # Edit however you want ex. "cgn" change first from top.
# 4. Jump to next occurence
n
# 5. Repeat last edit
.Another approach
# 1. Change any occurence
i / a / c
# 2. Apply change to all other occurences
:g/foo/norm .
:g/foo/ # Repeat command on every line that has foo.
norm . # Execute the normal mode command . (repeats the last change)Search for text inside of currently open file, or specified files.
:grep # External (terminal) search
:vimgrep # Internal (vim) search, add to quickfix list
:vim # Internal (vim) search, add to quickfix list
:vim foo # Current file, first occurence.
:vim /foo/г # Current file, every occurence.
:vim foo * # Current directory
:vim foo ** # Current directory and subdirectories
:vim foo **/* # Current directory and subdirectories
:vim foo **/*js # Current directory and subdirectories only in js files
:vimgrep /foo/g ~/bar.js ~/baz.js # Every foo in these filesThis is a list with your vimgrep search results.
:vim foo ** # Current directory and subdirectories
:copen # Show current (first) result
# Navigate while inside of window
j # Show next result.
k # Show previous result.
# Navigate while outside of window
:cnext # Show next result. Remap to <C-j>.
:cprev # Show previous result. Remap to <C-k>.
# Previous lists. Up to 10 saved.
:colder # Previous list
:cnewer # Next list
# Perform an action/macro on the list
:cdo command # Run on every match individually in the quickfix list.
:cfdo command # Run on the entire file containing a match in the quickfix list.
:wa # Save changesExample
:vimgrep foo % # Find foo in current file, put results in quickfix list
:copen # Open the quickfix list
:cfdo %s/foo/bar/g # Apply search and replace to every list item<C-v> # Enter visial block mode
jk / } # Go up/down or jump to end of block
I # Insert at beginning of line
// # Add commenting characters
ESC # Apply to all linesReplay keystrokes.
q + char # Start recording, ex. q + a
q # Stop recording
@char # Execute macro, ex. @a
:reg # List of macros.A key value store. Macros are stored here, can be edited.
# \" is an escaped "
\"a # Access register for a
\"b # Access register for b
\"ay # Copy into register a
\"by # Copy into register b
\"ap # Paste from register a
\"bp # Paste from register b
\"+ # System clipboard
\"_ # Void register i.e. dev/null<C-w> # Window commands/mode.
<C-o> # Close all windows
<C-w> w # Cycle through open windows.
<C-w> <C-w>: # Cycle through open windows.
<C-w> s # Split the current window horizontally.
<C-w> v # Split the current window vertically.
<C-w> c # Close the current window.
<C-w> o # Close all other windows except the current one.
<C-w> h # Move to the window on the left.
<C-w> j # Move to the window below.
<C-w> k # Move to the window above.
<C-w> l # Move to the window on the right.
<C-w> q # Quit the current window.
<C-w> = # Make all windows equal size.
<C-w> _ # Maximize the current window height.
<C-w> | # Maximize the current window width.
<C-w> + # Increase the height of the current window.
<C-w> - # Decrease the height of the current window.
<C-w> > # Increase the width of the current window.
<C-w> < # Decrease the width of the current window.:tabe FILEPATH # Open file in new tab
gt # Next tab
gT # Previous tab
:tabn # Next tab
:tabp # Previous tab<C-z> # Suspend vim i.e. show terminal
fg + Enter # Open back vim
:sh # Suspend vim i.e. show terminal
exit # Open back vim! command # Run a command with vim in the background
:term # Open terminal in new window:so % # % refers to the current fileThere are also special directories that auto-source.
BE CAREFUL not to remap important keys.
Always have a leader key i.e. A small pause that lets you execute a shortcut before the keys do their default behavior.
# Setup a show filetree shortcut
let mapleader = " " # Sets <space> as a command activator
nnoremap <leader>tr :Vex<CR> # Pressing space + tr executes :Vex + Enter (filetree)
n # Mode where it works (normal mode)
nore # No recursive execution i.e. prevent remaps activating other remaps
map # Mapping left:right (replace left with right command)Settings are not saved in vim. They need to be persisted in a .vimrc file.
The global .vimrc file is located in /etc/vim/vimrc or etc/vimrc.
You should create a local .vimrc file in the home directory for customizations.
When vim is opened, it will automatically check the current user's home directory for a .vimrc file. All settings specified in this file will override the global settings.
set scrolloff=8 " Screen auto-scrolls to follow you, avoid recentering.
set number " Show line numbers.
set relativenumber " Line numbers are relative to the current line.
set nocompatible " Set compatibility to Vim only.
set visualbell " Use visual bell (no beeping)
set wrap " Word wrap.
set autoindent " Auto-indent new lines
set shiftwidth=4 " Number of auto-indent spaces
set smartindent " Enable smart-indent
set smarttab " Enable smart-tabs
set softtabstop=4 " TAB is 4 spaces.
set expandtab " Converts tabs into spaces.
set tabstop=4 " Converts tabs into spaces.
set t_u7= " Fix where vim starts in replace mode.NOTE:
- Configurations can be made inside
vimby using:set number. - Commenting in
.vimrcfiles is done with a single"character (no closing).
You can write your own plugins with Lua or VimL.
A community made plugin manager that uses only github repos specifically made to work with vim.
curl -fLo ~/.vim/autoload/plug.vim --create-dirs \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junegunn/vim-plug/master/plug.vimNeeds a vim reload.
Example for fzf - fuzzy finder plugin.
Add to ~/.vimrc file.
call plug#begin()
Plug 'junegunn/fzf', { 'do': { -> fzf#install() } }
Plug 'junegunn/fzf.vim'
call plug#end():so ~/.vimrc
:PlugInstallnnoremap <C-p> :GFiles<CR> # <C-p> to start fuzzy finder
nnoremap <leader>pf :Files<CR> # SPACE + pf for another wayRemove plugin from ~/.vimrc.
:PlugClean" SETTINGS ========================================================================
set nocompatible " Set compatibility to Vim only.
set path+=** " Find searches recursively in subdirectories.
set wildmenu " Show command autocompletion suggestions.
set wildoptions=pum " Vertical wildmenu
set wildignorecase " Case insensitive
set wildignore+=**/node_modules/**,**/.git/** " Ignore directories
set scrolloff=8 " Screen auto-scrolls to follow you, avoid recentering.
set number " Show line numbers.
set relativenumber " Line numbers are relative to the current line.
set hlsearch " Highligt searches
set visualbell " Use visual bell (no beeping)
set wrap " Word wrap.
set autoindent " Auto-indent new lines
set shiftwidth=4 " Number of auto-indent spaces
set smartindent " Enable smart-indent
set smarttab " Enable smart-tabs
set softtabstop=4 " TAB is 4 spaces.
set expandtab " Converts tabs into spaces.
set tabstop=4 " Converts tabs into spaces.
set t_u7= " Fix buy where vim starts in replace mode.
set completeopt+=menuone " Always show autocompletion
set completeopt+=noselect " Manual selection required
filetype plugin on " Detect filetypes and load relevant plugins.
" set cursorcolumn " Show vertical line to locate cursor.
" set cursorline " Show horizontal line to locate cursor.
" PLUGINS ========================================================================
call plug#begin()
" Themes
Plug 'tomasiser/vim-code-dark'
" Interface
Plug 'vim-airline/vim-airline'
" Plug 'blueyed/vim-diminactive'
" Syntax hihglighting
Plug 'pangloss/vim-javascript'
Plug 'evanleck/vim-svelte'
" Functionality
" Plug 'lifepillar/vim-mucomplete'
" Plug 'mg979/vim-visual-multi'
" Plug 'junegunn/fzf', { 'do': { -> fzf#install() } }
" Plug 'junegunn/fzf.vim'
" Formatting
" Plug 'prettier/vim-prettier', { 'do': 'yarn install --frozen-lockfile --production' }
call plug#end()
" PLUGIN SETTINGS =======================================================================
" let g:mucomplete#enable_auto_at_startup = 1
colorscheme codedark
" REMAPS ========================================================================
" nnoremap oo o<ESC>
" nnoremap OO O<ESC>
nnoremap <C-j> :cnext<CR>
nnoremap <C-k> :cprev<CR>
noremap <Up> <nop>
noremap <Down> <nop>
noremap <Left> <nop>
noremap <Right> <nop>
" noremap <C-p> :Files<CR>