This guide helps anyone open a file in Vim, edit it, save, and exit.
Know how to exit Vim
Modes Vim has 4 main modes:
Normal – move, delete, undo, redo Insert – type text Visual – select text Command – type : commands like save or quit checkout Commands Basic Commands To edit a file, go to insert mode by pressing i or a, then start typing. Once done typing, press Esc to go back to normal mode. To save the file, type :w (: goes to command mode, w means write). To quit, type :q (q means quit). To save and quit at the same time, type :wq. To force quit without saving, type :q!. To go back to normal mode from any mode, just press Esc. It always works. To select text, press v for letters or V for the whole line. To undo, press u (like Ctrl+Z), and to redo, press Ctrl + r. Vim Commands Table (Logical Order) Keymap Mode What it does i Insert Start typing a Insert Start typing after text Esc Any Back to normal mode h Normal Move left j Normal Move down k Normal Move up l Normal Move right v Normal Select letters V Normal Select whole line d Normal Delete selection dw Normal Delete a word gg Normal Go to top of file { Normal Jump backward paragraph } Normal Jump forward paragraph u Normal Undo last change Ctrl + r Normal Redo change :w Command Save file :q Command Quit :wq Command Save and quit :q! Command Quit without saving Fast Navigation Horizontal Motion The Speed choice