VIM-Guide: Essential Commands and Configurations

This repository serves as a quick reference guide for Vim, my favorite editor for focused coding sessions. It includes essential commands and configurations to help you get started with Vim quickly.

Quick Start

For those who want to dive right in, check out the QUICKSTART.md file. It provides a concise reference of essential Vim commands and configurations to get you productive immediately.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Getting Started with .vimrc
• Vim Modes
• Navigation
• Movement Commands
• File Operations
• Editing Operations
• Copy and Paste
• Visual Mode

Introduction

Vim is a highly configurable, efficient text editor built to enable fast text editing. Unlike many text editors, Vim has several modes of operation that make it powerful once you understand how to use them.

This guide covers the essential commands and configurations to help you be productive with Vim quickly.

Getting Started with .vimrc

The .vimrc file is where you configure Vim to suit your preferences. Here's what my basic configuration does:

" Show line numbers and relative line numbers (perfect for fast navigation)
set number relativenumber

" Configure tabs to use 4 spaces
set tabstop=4
set shiftwidth=4
set expandtab

" Enable syntax highlighting
syntax on

" Enable mouse support (if available)
set mouse=a

" Show matching brackets
set showmatch

" Enable incremental search
set incsearch

" Highlight search matches
set hlsearch

" Case insensitive searching
set ignorecase
set smartcase

" Enable auto indent
set autoindent

These settings provide a solid foundation that enhances your Vim experience with:

• Line numbers for easier navigation
• Consistent tab behavior (4 spaces)
• Syntax highlighting for code readability
• Mouse support for easier interaction
• Bracket matching for better code navigation
• Improved search functionality
• Smart indentation

Vim Modes

Vim has different modes for different operations:

Mode	Description	How to Enter
Normal	Default mode for navigation and commands	Press Esc from any other mode
Insert	For inserting/editing text	Press i from Normal mode
Visual	For selecting text	Press v from Normal mode
Command	For entering commands	Type : from Normal mode

Navigation

The fundamental navigation keys in Vim (Normal mode):

Key	Action
h	Move left
j	Move down
k	Move up
l	Move right

Remember: navigate in Normal mode (press Esc to ensure you're in Normal mode).

Movement Commands

Faster movement commands in Normal mode:

Command	Action
w	Jump to the start of the next word
b	Jump to the start of the previous word
e	Jump to the end of the current/next word
0	Jump to the start of the line
$	Jump to the end of the line
gg	Go to the first line of the document
G	Go to the last line of the document
{NUMBER}j	Move down {NUMBER} lines
{NUMBER}k	Move up {NUMBER} lines
a	Insert text after the cursor
A	Insert text at the end of the line

File Operations

Common file operations (Command mode):

Command	Action
:w	Save the file
:q	Quit (fails if unsaved changes)
:q!	Force quit (discards unsaved changes)
:wq or :x	Save and quit
:e {filename}	Open a file for editing

Editing Operations

Basic editing commands (Normal mode):

Command	Action
x	Delete character under cursor
dw	Delete word
dd	Delete entire line
d{NUMBER}d	Delete {NUMBER} lines
u	Undo last action
Ctrl+r	Redo last undone action
r{character}	Replace character under cursor with {character}
cw	Change (replace) word

Copy and Paste

Copy and paste operations (Normal mode):

Command	Action
yy	Yank (copy) current line
y{NUMBER}y	Yank {NUMBER} lines
yw	Yank word
p	Paste after cursor (or below current line)
P	Paste before cursor (or above current line)

Visual Mode

Visual mode allows you to select text before performing operations on it:

Command	Action
v	Enter Visual mode (character-wise)
Shift+v	Enter Visual Line mode (selects entire lines)
Ctrl+v	Enter Visual Block mode (selects rectangular blocks)

After selecting text in Visual mode, you can:

• Press y to copy the selection
• Press d to delete the selection
• Press > to indent or < to outdent

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This guide covers the essentials to get you started with Vim. For more detailed information, check out Vim's built-in help by typing :help in command mode.