VIM essentials
· One min read
This post is a compact cheat‑sheet for the Vim motions and operators I lean on most when editing code.
Vim Essentials =+-
In my opinion, the best way to fast-tracking your VIM skill set is to understand some principle concepts.
In most cases, commands can be strung together as follows:
1 - The action to perform - (operator) command. 2 - The number of "objects" against which the action is to be applied 3 - Which "text object motion"
Essential motions:
| Key | Motion |
|---|---|
| t | Just before character |
| w | forward beginning of word |
| b | backward beginngin of word |
| e | forward end of word |
| [[ | next section |
| ( | sentence |
| { | paragraph |
| $ | end of line |
| 0 | beginning of line |
| ^ | non empty space on line |
| w | forward N words at a time |
| e | forward to the end of the word |
| b | backwards |
Essentials commands
| Key | Command |
|---|---|
| c | change inside: ", ', {, ( [, t |
| d | delete |
| y | yank |
| p | paste after / P paste before |
| o | |
| g~ | swap case |
| gu | lower case |
| gU | upper case |
| . | repeat command |