Vim keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet

Printable cheat sheet covering all 270 Vim 9 keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys, organized by category. Export as PDF or print directly.

All shortcuts

H — Move cursor left
J — Move cursor down
K — Move cursor up
L — Move cursor right
W — Move to start of next word
Shift+W — Move to start of next WORD (whitespace-delimited)
B — Move to start of previous word
Shift+B — Move to start of previous WORD (whitespace-delimited)
E — Move to end of word
Shift+E — Move to end of WORD (whitespace-delimited)
0 — Move to start of line
Shift+6 — Move to first non-blank character of line (^)
Shift+4 — Move to end of line ($)
G — Go to first line of file
Shift+G — Go to last line of file
Ctrl+F — Page down (full screen)
Ctrl+B — Page up (full screen)
Ctrl+D — Scroll half page down
Ctrl+U — Scroll half page up
F — Find character forward on line
Shift+F — Find character backward on line
T — Move to before character forward on line
Shift+T — Move to after character backward on line
Semicolon — Repeat last f/F/t/T forward
Comma — Repeat last f/F/t/T backward
Shift+5 — Jump to matching bracket (%)
Shift+H — Move to top of screen
Shift+M — Move to middle of screen
Shift+L — Move to bottom of screen
Shift+BracketRight — Move to next paragraph (})
Shift+BracketLeft — Move to previous paragraph ({)
Shift+9 — Move to start of previous sentence
Shift+0 — Move to start of next sentence
ArrowLeft — Move cursor left
ArrowDown — Move cursor down
ArrowUp — Move cursor up
ArrowRight — Move cursor right
Ctrl+Y — Scroll screen up one line
Ctrl+E — Scroll screen down one line
Shift+Backslash — Go to column (|)
Shift+Equal — Move to first non-blank of next line (+)
Minus — Move to first non-blank of previous line
D — Delete (operator, awaits motion)
C — Change (operator, awaits motion)
Y — Yank/copy (operator, awaits motion)
P — Paste after cursor
Shift+P — Paste before cursor
X — Delete character under cursor
Shift+X — Delete character before cursor
R — Replace character under cursor
Shift+R — Enter Replace mode
Shift+Backquote — Toggle case of character (~)
Shift+Period — Indent line right (>>)
Shift+Comma — Indent line left (<<)
Equal — Auto-indent line (==)
S — Substitute character (delete and enter insert mode)
Shift+S — Substitute entire line (change whole line)
Shift+C — Change from cursor to end of line
Shift+D — Delete from cursor to end of line
Shift+Y — Yank from cursor to end of line
I — Insert before cursor
Shift+I — Insert at beginning of line
A — Append after cursor
Shift+A — Append at end of line
O — Open new line below and enter insert mode
Shift+O — Open new line above and enter insert mode
D — Delete entire line
Y — Yank (copy) entire line
C — Change entire line
Shift+J — Join current line with next line
U — Undo last change
Ctrl+R — Redo last undone change
Period — Repeat last change
Shift+U — Undo all changes on current line
Ctrl+K — Insert digraph (special character)
Ctrl+A — Increment number under cursor
Ctrl+X — Decrement number under cursor
G — Join lines without inserting space
Slash — Search forward
Shift+Slash — Search backward (?)
N — Repeat search in same direction
Shift+N — Repeat search in opposite direction
Shift+8 — Search word under cursor forward (*)
Shift+3 — Search word under cursor backward (#)
G — Search partial word under cursor forward (g*)
G — Search partial word under cursor backward (g#)
Shift+Semicolon — Clear search highlighting (:nohl)
Shift+Semicolon — Save file (:w)
Shift+Semicolon — Quit (:q)
Shift+Semicolon — Save and quit (:wq)
Shift+Semicolon — Force quit without saving (:q!)
Shift+Z — Save and quit (ZZ)
Shift+Z — Quit without saving (ZQ)
Shift+Semicolon — Save all open buffers (:wa)
Shift+Semicolon — Open file for editing (:e)
Shift+Semicolon — Go to next buffer (:bn)
Shift+Semicolon — Go to previous buffer (:bp)
Shift+Semicolon — Delete/close current buffer (:bd)
Shift+Semicolon — List all buffers (:ls)
Shift+Semicolon — Save all and quit (:wqa)
Ctrl+G — Show file info (name, lines, position)
Ctrl+W — Split window horizontally
Ctrl+W — Split window vertically
Ctrl+W — Cycle between windows
Ctrl+W — Move to window on the left
Ctrl+W — Move to window below
Ctrl+W — Move to window above
Ctrl+W — Move to window on the right
Ctrl+W — Close current window
Ctrl+W — Close all windows except current
Ctrl+W — Increase window height
Ctrl+W — Decrease window height
Ctrl+W — Equalize window sizes
Ctrl+W — Maximize window height (_)
Ctrl+W — Maximize window width (|)
Ctrl+W — Rotate windows downward
Ctrl+W — Rotate windows upward
Ctrl+W — Exchange current window with next
Shift+Semicolon — Open new tab (:tabnew)
G — Go to next tab
G — Go to previous tab
M — Set mark (followed by mark letter)
Quote — Jump to mark line (followed by mark letter)
Backquote — Jump to mark exact position (followed by mark letter)
Ctrl+O — Jump to previous position in jump list
Ctrl+I — Jump to next position in jump list
Quote — Jump to last edit position
Quote — Jump to position before last jump
Quote — Jump to last insert position
Quote — Jump to start of last change
Quote — Jump to end of last change
G — Jump to next position in change list
G — Jump to previous position in change list
Shift+Semicolon — Enter command-line mode (:)
Escape — Return to Normal mode
Ctrl+BracketLeft — Return to Normal mode (Ctrl+[)
Q — Record macro (followed by register letter)
Shift+2 — Play macro (@ followed by register letter)
Shift+2 — Repeat last played macro (@@)
Z — Center screen on cursor
Z — Scroll cursor line to top of screen
Z — Scroll cursor line to bottom of screen
Shift+Semicolon — Open file explorer (:Ex)
Ctrl+BracketRight — Jump to tag/definition under cursor
Ctrl+T — Return from tag jump
G — Go to file under cursor
G — Go to local declaration
G — Show ASCII value of character under cursor
Ctrl+L — Redraw screen
Ctrl+Z — Suspend Vim (return to shell)
V — Enter Visual mode (character-wise)
Shift+V — Enter Visual Line mode
Ctrl+V — Enter Visual Block mode
G — Reselect last visual selection
D — Delete selection
Y — Yank (copy) selection
C — Change selection (delete and enter insert mode)
Shift+Period — Indent selection right (>)
Shift+Comma — Indent selection left (<)
Equal — Auto-indent selection
Shift+Backquote — Toggle case of selection (~)
Shift+U — Make selection uppercase
U — Make selection lowercase
Shift+J — Join selected lines
O — Swap cursor to other end of selection
H — Extend selection left
J — Extend selection down
K — Extend selection up
L — Extend selection right
W — Extend selection to next word
B — Extend selection to previous word
Shift+4 — Extend selection to end of line ($)
0 — Extend selection to start of line
G — Extend selection to start of file
Shift+G — Extend selection to end of file
P — Paste over selection
R — Replace every character in selection
Shift+Semicolon — Sort selected lines (:sort)
Escape — Exit Insert mode to Normal mode
Ctrl+BracketLeft — Exit Insert mode to Normal mode (Ctrl+[)
Ctrl+C — Exit Insert mode (without triggering abbreviations)
Ctrl+W — Delete word before cursor
Ctrl+U — Delete to start of line
Ctrl+H — Delete character before cursor (backspace)
Ctrl+T — Indent current line
Ctrl+D — Un-indent current line
Ctrl+R — Insert contents of register
Ctrl+N — Autocomplete next match
Ctrl+P — Autocomplete previous match
Ctrl+O — Execute one Normal mode command then return to Insert
Ctrl+Enter — Insert newline above current line
Tab — Insert tab or trigger completion
Backspace — Delete character before cursor
Ctrl+V — Insert next character literally
Ctrl+X — Enter Ctrl-X sub-mode for special completions
Escape — Cancel command and return to Normal mode
Enter — Execute command
ArrowUp — Previous command in history
ArrowDown — Next command in history
Tab — Tab completion for commands and paths

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Vim keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet

Printable cheat sheet covering all 270 Vim 9 keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys, organized by category. Export as PDF or print directly.

All shortcuts

H — Move cursor left
J — Move cursor down
K — Move cursor up
L — Move cursor right
W — Move to start of next word
Shift+W — Move to start of next WORD (whitespace-delimited)
B — Move to start of previous word
Shift+B — Move to start of previous WORD (whitespace-delimited)
E — Move to end of word
Shift+E — Move to end of WORD (whitespace-delimited)
0 — Move to start of line
Shift+6 — Move to first non-blank character of line (^)
Shift+4 — Move to end of line ($)
G — Go to first line of file
Shift+G — Go to last line of file
Ctrl+F — Page down (full screen)
Ctrl+B — Page up (full screen)
Ctrl+D — Scroll half page down
Ctrl+U — Scroll half page up
F — Find character forward on line
Shift+F — Find character backward on line
T — Move to before character forward on line
Shift+T — Move to after character backward on line
Semicolon — Repeat last f/F/t/T forward
Comma — Repeat last f/F/t/T backward
Shift+5 — Jump to matching bracket (%)
Shift+H — Move to top of screen
Shift+M — Move to middle of screen
Shift+L — Move to bottom of screen
Shift+BracketRight — Move to next paragraph (})
Shift+BracketLeft — Move to previous paragraph ({)
Shift+9 — Move to start of previous sentence
Shift+0 — Move to start of next sentence
ArrowLeft — Move cursor left
ArrowDown — Move cursor down
ArrowUp — Move cursor up
ArrowRight — Move cursor right
Ctrl+Y — Scroll screen up one line
Ctrl+E — Scroll screen down one line
Shift+Backslash — Go to column (|)
Shift+Equal — Move to first non-blank of next line (+)
Minus — Move to first non-blank of previous line
D — Delete (operator, awaits motion)
C — Change (operator, awaits motion)
Y — Yank/copy (operator, awaits motion)
P — Paste after cursor
Shift+P — Paste before cursor
X — Delete character under cursor
Shift+X — Delete character before cursor
R — Replace character under cursor
Shift+R — Enter Replace mode
Shift+Backquote — Toggle case of character (~)
Shift+Period — Indent line right (>>)
Shift+Comma — Indent line left (<<)
Equal — Auto-indent line (==)
S — Substitute character (delete and enter insert mode)
Shift+S — Substitute entire line (change whole line)
Shift+C — Change from cursor to end of line
Shift+D — Delete from cursor to end of line
Shift+Y — Yank from cursor to end of line
I — Insert before cursor
Shift+I — Insert at beginning of line
A — Append after cursor
Shift+A — Append at end of line
O — Open new line below and enter insert mode
Shift+O — Open new line above and enter insert mode
D — Delete entire line
Y — Yank (copy) entire line
C — Change entire line
Shift+J — Join current line with next line
U — Undo last change
Ctrl+R — Redo last undone change
Period — Repeat last change
Shift+U — Undo all changes on current line
Ctrl+K — Insert digraph (special character)
Ctrl+A — Increment number under cursor
Ctrl+X — Decrement number under cursor
G — Join lines without inserting space
Slash — Search forward
Shift+Slash — Search backward (?)
N — Repeat search in same direction
Shift+N — Repeat search in opposite direction
Shift+8 — Search word under cursor forward (*)
Shift+3 — Search word under cursor backward (#)
G — Search partial word under cursor forward (g*)
G — Search partial word under cursor backward (g#)
Shift+Semicolon — Clear search highlighting (:nohl)
Shift+Semicolon — Save file (:w)
Shift+Semicolon — Quit (:q)
Shift+Semicolon — Save and quit (:wq)
Shift+Semicolon — Force quit without saving (:q!)
Shift+Z — Save and quit (ZZ)
Shift+Z — Quit without saving (ZQ)
Shift+Semicolon — Save all open buffers (:wa)
Shift+Semicolon — Open file for editing (:e)
Shift+Semicolon — Go to next buffer (:bn)
Shift+Semicolon — Go to previous buffer (:bp)
Shift+Semicolon — Delete/close current buffer (:bd)
Shift+Semicolon — List all buffers (:ls)
Shift+Semicolon — Save all and quit (:wqa)
Ctrl+G — Show file info (name, lines, position)
Ctrl+W — Split window horizontally
Ctrl+W — Split window vertically
Ctrl+W — Cycle between windows
Ctrl+W — Move to window on the left
Ctrl+W — Move to window below
Ctrl+W — Move to window above
Ctrl+W — Move to window on the right
Ctrl+W — Close current window
Ctrl+W — Close all windows except current
Ctrl+W — Increase window height
Ctrl+W — Decrease window height
Ctrl+W — Equalize window sizes
Ctrl+W — Maximize window height (_)
Ctrl+W — Maximize window width (|)
Ctrl+W — Rotate windows downward
Ctrl+W — Rotate windows upward
Ctrl+W — Exchange current window with next
Shift+Semicolon — Open new tab (:tabnew)
G — Go to next tab
G — Go to previous tab
M — Set mark (followed by mark letter)
Quote — Jump to mark line (followed by mark letter)
Backquote — Jump to mark exact position (followed by mark letter)
Ctrl+O — Jump to previous position in jump list
Ctrl+I — Jump to next position in jump list
Quote — Jump to last edit position
Quote — Jump to position before last jump
Quote — Jump to last insert position
Quote — Jump to start of last change
Quote — Jump to end of last change
G — Jump to next position in change list
G — Jump to previous position in change list
Shift+Semicolon — Enter command-line mode (:)
Escape — Return to Normal mode
Ctrl+BracketLeft — Return to Normal mode (Ctrl+[)
Q — Record macro (followed by register letter)
Shift+2 — Play macro (@ followed by register letter)
Shift+2 — Repeat last played macro (@@)
Z — Center screen on cursor
Z — Scroll cursor line to top of screen
Z — Scroll cursor line to bottom of screen
Shift+Semicolon — Open file explorer (:Ex)
Ctrl+BracketRight — Jump to tag/definition under cursor
Ctrl+T — Return from tag jump
G — Go to file under cursor
G — Go to local declaration
G — Show ASCII value of character under cursor
Ctrl+L — Redraw screen
Ctrl+Z — Suspend Vim (return to shell)
V — Enter Visual mode (character-wise)
Shift+V — Enter Visual Line mode
Ctrl+V — Enter Visual Block mode
G — Reselect last visual selection
D — Delete selection
Y — Yank (copy) selection
C — Change selection (delete and enter insert mode)
Shift+Period — Indent selection right (>)
Shift+Comma — Indent selection left (<)
Equal — Auto-indent selection
Shift+Backquote — Toggle case of selection (~)
Shift+U — Make selection uppercase
U — Make selection lowercase
Shift+J — Join selected lines
O — Swap cursor to other end of selection
H — Extend selection left
J — Extend selection down
K — Extend selection up
L — Extend selection right
W — Extend selection to next word
B — Extend selection to previous word
Shift+4 — Extend selection to end of line ($)
0 — Extend selection to start of line
G — Extend selection to start of file
Shift+G — Extend selection to end of file
P — Paste over selection
R — Replace every character in selection
Shift+Semicolon — Sort selected lines (:sort)
Escape — Exit Insert mode to Normal mode
Ctrl+BracketLeft — Exit Insert mode to Normal mode (Ctrl+[)
Ctrl+C — Exit Insert mode (without triggering abbreviations)
Ctrl+W — Delete word before cursor
Ctrl+U — Delete to start of line
Ctrl+H — Delete character before cursor (backspace)
Ctrl+T — Indent current line
Ctrl+D — Un-indent current line
Ctrl+R — Insert contents of register
Ctrl+N — Autocomplete next match
Ctrl+P — Autocomplete previous match
Ctrl+O — Execute one Normal mode command then return to Insert
Ctrl+Enter — Insert newline above current line
Tab — Insert tab or trigger completion
Backspace — Delete character before cursor
Ctrl+V — Insert next character literally
Ctrl+X — Enter Ctrl-X sub-mode for special completions
Escape — Cancel command and return to Normal mode
Enter — Execute command
ArrowUp — Previous command in history
ArrowDown — Next command in history
Tab — Tab completion for commands and paths