Vi/Vim Command Guide

Certainly! Here's your documentation expanded and structured systematically, incorporating

Comprehensive Guide to Vi/Vim/gVim

1. Opening & Saving Files

Command Description

vi <filename> Open a file

vi *.c Open all .c files in current directory

:w Save

:q Quit

:wq Save and quit

:w! Force save (even read-only files, e.g., /etc/shadow )

:q! Force quit without saving

:wq! Force save and quit

2. Editing Commands

Command Description

i Insert before cursor

I Insert at line beginning

a Append after cursor

A Append at line end

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Command Description

o Open new line below

O Open new line above

x Delete character (e.g., nx for multiple chars)

dw Delete word ( ndw )

dd Delete line ( ndd )

:n1,n2 d Delete lines n1 through n2

D Delete rest of line

cw Change word ( ncw )

cc Change entire line

C Change rest of line

r Replace character ( nr )

R Replace mode (till ESC )

xp Swap character positions

u Undo last edit

Ctrl + r Redo last undone edit

J Join current line with next line

3. Cursor Movement

Command Description

:n Go to line number n

:1 Go to top of file

:$ Go to end of file

$ Go end of line

0 or ^ Go start of line

k Move cursor up ( nk lines)

j Move cursor down ( nj lines)

h Move cursor left ( nh cols)

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 Command Description

l Move cursor right ( nl cols)

Ctrl + b or Pg Up Page up

Ctrl + f or Pg Dn Page down

w Move cursor forward one word

b Move cursor backward one word

gg Go to first line

G Go to last line

4. Working with Multiple Files

Command Description

:n Next file

:N or :prev Previous file

:args List all open files

:vsplit file Vertical split screen with file

:split file Horizontal split screen with file

Ctrl + w w Switch between splits

Ctrl + w q Close current split

Ctrl + w = Equalize split window size

5. Search & Substitution

Command Description

/pattern Search forward

?pattern Search backward

n Next occurrence

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 Command Description

N Previous occurrence

:%s/old/new/g Global substitution (all occurrences)

:n1,n2 s/old/new/gc Substitute interactively

:set hlsearch Highlight search matches

:nohl Turn off highlighting

6. Copy, Cut & Paste

Command Description

yy Yank (copy) line ( nyy for multiple lines)

dd Cut line ( ndd for multiple lines)

p Paste below cursor

P Paste above cursor

"ayy Yank line into register 'a'

"ap Paste from register 'a'

7. Regular Expressions & Patterns

Pattern Description

^ Beginning of line

$ End of line

. Any single character

* Zero or more of previous

[A-Z] Uppercase A-Z

[a-z] Lowercase a-z

[0-9] Digits 0-9

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 Pattern Description

[abc] Matches 'a', 'b', or 'c'

[^abc] Any char except 'a', 'b', 'c'

\ Escape special char

8. Advanced File Operations

Command Description

:r file Read from file

:n1,n2 w file Write lines n1-n2 to file

:n1,n2 w >> file Append lines n1-n2 to file

:n1,n2 t n3 Transfer lines after line n3

9. Vim Configuration ( .vimrc / .exrc )

Sample .vimrc :

vim

set nocompatible
source $VIMRUNTIME/vimrc_example.vim
source $VIMRUNTIME/[Link]
behave mswin
set nu " Line numbers
set nobackup " No backup files
set ts=5 " Tabstop spaces
set ai " Auto-indent
set ic " Ignore case search
syntax on " Syntax highlighting
set showmatch " Matching brackets highlighting

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 set hlsearch " Highlight search results
set ruler " Display cursor position
set smartindent " Intelligent indenting
set expandtab " Convert tabs to spaces
set background=dark " Dark theme

Open .vimrc :
:scriptnames – Lists loaded config files.

:echo($MYVIMRC) – Prints .vimrc path.

:e $MYVIMRC – Edit .vimrc .

10. Extra Useful Commands

Command Description

:set all Show all settings

:set option? Show specific option value

Ctrl + g Show file details

Ctrl + l Refresh screen

:map key cmd Map custom shortcuts

:unmap key Remove key mapping

:ab abbrev expansion Define abbreviation

:%!sort Sort file content

:set nowrap Disable line wrapping

:set wrap Enable line wrapping

Complex Examples:
Remove first 5 characters from all lines:

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 vim

:%s/^.....//

Remove last 5 characters from all lines:

vim

:%s/.....$//

Multiple string searches:

vim

/^fail.*warn.*down/ # 'fail' at start, contains 'warn' and 'down'

Open multiple files for comparison:

vim

:vsplit [Link]
:split [Link]

✅ Pro Tips:
Macros: Record macros ( qa ... commands ... q ) and replay ( @a ).

Buffers: Manage buffers using :ls , :bn , :bp .

Sessions: Save current editing sessions ( :mksession [Link] ).

Folding: Collapse/expand code blocks ( zf , zo , zc ).

This comprehensive guide combines clarity, detailed examples, organized structure, and
extensive additions of useful commands and Vim configurations. It’s designed to support

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practical use and enhance productivity for all levels of users, from beginners to experienced
developers.

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