# Vim Motions > Vim keybindings, motions, text objects, operators, macros, registers, and modal editing for efficient text editing. Use when user asks about "vim commands", "vim motions", "text objects", "vim keybindings", "vim cheat sheet", "learn vim", "vim in VS Code", "neovim", "IdeaVim", "vim macros", "vim registers", "vim search and replace", "vimrc", "vim splits", or any Vim editing tasks. - Skill: `1mangesh1/vim-motions` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 7 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add 1mangesh1/vim-motions` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/1mangesh1/vim-motions/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: 1Mangesh1 (https://skillmd.com/u/1mangesh1) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/1mangesh1/vim-motions --- # Vim Motions Motions, operators, text objects, registers, macros, and configuration for efficient editing. ## Modal Editing Fundamentals ``` Normal ESC or Ctrl-[ Navigate, manipulate, compose commands Insert i, a, o, etc. Type text directly Visual v, V, Ctrl-v Select text for operations Command : Execute ex commands, search/replace Replace R Overtype existing text ``` Normal mode is home base. Every other mode is entered for a specific purpose, then exited back to Normal. ## Basic Motions ### Character/Line ``` h j k l Left, Down, Up, Right 0 Start of line ^ First non-blank character $ End of line g_ Last non-blank character ``` ### Word ``` w / W Next word/WORD start b / B Previous word/WORD start e / E Next word/WORD end ge Previous word end ``` word = letters/digits/underscores. WORD = anything non-blank. Use W/B/E for fast movement through punctuation-heavy code. ### Line and File Navigation ``` gg First line G Last line 5G or :5 Go to line 5 H / M / L Top / Middle / Bottom of screen % Jump to matching bracket/paren/brace { / } Previous / Next blank line (paragraph boundary) ( / ) Previous / Next sentence ``` ### Search and Find ``` f{char} Find char forward on line F{char} Find char backward on line t{char} Till char forward (stop before) T{char} Till char backward ; Repeat last f/F/t/T , Repeat last f/F/t/T (reverse) /{pattern} Search forward ?{pattern} Search backward n / N Next / Previous match * Search word under cursor forward # Search word under cursor backward gd Go to local definition gf Go to file under cursor ``` ### Scrolling ``` Ctrl-d / Ctrl-u Scroll half page down / up Ctrl-f / Ctrl-b Scroll full page down / up zz / zt / zb Center / Top / Bottom current line Ctrl-e / Ctrl-y Scroll one line down / up ``` ## Operators ``` d Delete c Change (delete + insert) y Yank (copy) > Indent right < Indent left = Auto-indent gq Format/rewrap gu Lowercase gU Uppercase g~ Toggle case ``` ### Operator + Motion = Action ``` dw Delete to next word start d$ or D Delete to end of line dG / dgg Delete to end / start of file d3j Delete current + 3 lines down cw Change to next word start c$ or C Change to end of line ct) Change till closing paren yy Yank entire line y$ Yank to end of line >> Indent line right 3>> Indent 3 lines =ap Auto-indent around paragraph gqip Reformat inside paragraph gUiw Uppercase inner word ``` ## Text Objects ``` i = inner (inside delimiters) a = around (including delimiters) iw / aw Word iW / aW WORD is / as Sentence ip / ap Paragraph i" / a" Double quotes i' / a' Single quotes i` / a` Backticks i( / a( Parentheses i[ / a[ Brackets i{ / a{ Braces i< / a< Angle brackets it / at HTML/XML tag ``` ### Common Text Object Actions ``` ciw Change inner word ci" Change inside double quotes ci( Change inside parentheses da" Delete around quotes (including the quotes) dap Delete around paragraph dit Delete inside HTML tag vit Select inside HTML tag yiw Yank inner word yi{ Yank inside braces >ip Indent inner paragraph =i{ Auto-indent inside braces ``` ## Insert Mode Entry ``` i / I Insert before cursor / at line start a / A Append after cursor / at line end o / O Open line below / above s / S Delete char / line and insert C Delete to end of line and insert gi Insert at last insert position ``` ## Visual Mode ``` v Character-wise visual V Line-wise visual Ctrl-v Block (column) visual o Jump to other end of selection gv Reselect last visual selection Ctrl-v → select → I → type → ESC Insert in all selected lines Ctrl-v → select → A → type → ESC Append to all selected lines Ctrl-v → select → c → type → ESC Change all selected lines Ctrl-v → select → d Delete column Ctrl-v → select → r{char} Replace with char V3j> Select 4 lines, indent right vip:sort Select paragraph, sort lines ``` ## Registers and Clipboard ``` "{reg}y Yank into register {reg} "{reg}p Paste from register {reg} "+y / "+p Yank to / paste from system clipboard "0p Paste last yank (ignores deletes) "_d Delete into black hole (don't overwrite default register) "ayiw Yank word into register a "Ayy Append line to register a (uppercase = append) :registers Show all register contents Special: " last used 0 last yank 1-9 last deletes . last insert % filename : last command / last search ``` ## Macros ``` qa Start recording macro into register 'a' q Stop recording @a Play macro 'a' @@ Replay last played macro 5@a Play macro 'a' 5 times :5,20normal @a Run macro on lines 5-20 Recursive: qaqqa...@aq — clears a, records actions + self-call, stops on failure Edit macro: "ap to paste, edit text, "ayy to yank back ``` ## Marks ``` ma Set mark 'a' at cursor position 'a / `a Jump to line / exact position of mark 'a' :marks List all marks Automatic marks: '' `` Last jump position '. `. Last edit position '^ `^ Last insert position '[ `[ '] `] Start / end of last change or yank '< `< '> `> Start / end of last visual selection Uppercase marks (A-Z) are global across files: mA Set global mark A 'A Jump to file and line of mark A ``` ## Search and Replace ``` :s/old/new/ Replace first on current line :s/old/new/g Replace all on current line :%s/old/new/g Replace all in file :%s/old/new/gc Replace all with confirmation (y/n/a/q/l) :5,20s/old/new/g Replace on lines 5-20 :'<,'>s/old/new/g Replace in visual selection :%s/\v(\w+)/\U\1/g Very magic mode — uppercase all words :%s/\s\+$// Strip trailing whitespace Global command — run ex command on matching lines: :g/TODO/d Delete all lines containing TODO :g/^$/d Delete all blank lines :g/pattern/normal A; Append semicolon to matching lines Inverse global — run on NON-matching lines: :v/keep/d Delete lines NOT containing "keep" ``` ## Window Management ``` :sp [file] Horizontal split (or Ctrl-w s) :vsp [file] Vertical split (or Ctrl-w v) Ctrl-w h/j/k/l Move to left/down/up/right window Ctrl-w H/J/K/L Move window to far position Ctrl-w = Equalize window sizes Ctrl-w _ / Ctrl-w | Maximize height / width Ctrl-w o Close all except current Ctrl-w q Close current window Ctrl-w T Move window to new tab :tabnew New tab gt / gT Next / previous tab ``` ## Buffer Navigation ``` :ls List open buffers :bn / :bp Next / previous buffer :b# Toggle to alternate buffer :b {name} Switch by partial name :bd Close current buffer :bufdo %s/old/new/g Replace across all buffers ``` ## Useful Commands ``` . Repeat last change (most powerful command in Vim) u / Ctrl-r Undo / Redo J / gJ Join lines with / without space ~ Toggle case of character g~~ Toggle case of entire line Ctrl-a Increment number under cursor Ctrl-x Decrement number under cursor ga Show ASCII value of character gf Open file under cursor gx Open URL under cursor :!cmd Run shell command :r !cmd Insert shell command output ``` ## .vimrc Essentials ```vim let mapleader = " " set number relativenumber set ignorecase smartcase set incsearch hlsearch set expandtab tabstop=2 shiftwidth=2 set scrolloff=8 set clipboard=unnamedplus nnoremap w :w nnoremap q :q nnoremap / :noh nnoremap Y y$ vnoremap < >gv nnoremap n nzzzv nnoremap N Nzzzv ``` ## Vim in VS Code ```jsonc // settings.json — vscodevim extension "vim.leader": "", "vim.useSystemClipboard": true, "vim.hlsearch": true, "vim.smartRelativeLine": true, "vim.handleKeys": { "": true, "": true, "": false, "": false, "": false } ``` Let VS Code handle Ctrl-w (close tab), Ctrl-b (sidebar), Ctrl-p (quick open). Let Vim handle Ctrl-d and Ctrl-u (scrolling). ## Vim in JetBrains (IdeaVim) ``` # ~/.ideavimrc set ideajoin surround commentary NERDTree map r (RenameElement) map f (GotoFile) map b (ToggleLineBreakpoint) map d (Debug) ``` ## Neovim Differences ```lua -- Neovim uses init.lua (Lua) instead of .vimrc (Vimscript) vim.g.mapleader = " " vim.opt.number = true vim.opt.relativenumber = true vim.opt.tabstop = 2 vim.opt.shiftwidth = 2 vim.opt.expandtab = true vim.opt.clipboard = "unnamedplus" vim.keymap.set("n", "w", ":w") vim.keymap.set("v", "J", ":m '>+1gv=gv") -- move selection down vim.keymap.set("v", "K", ":m '<-2gv=gv") -- move selection up -- Built-in LSP, Treesitter, terminal mode (Ctrl-\ Ctrl-n to exit) ``` ## Productivity Patterns ``` ci" Change inside quotes — cursor anywhere between them da( Delete around parens including the parens yiw Yank word without needing to be at word start dap Delete entire paragraph *cwfix Find word under cursor, change it, then n. to repeat everywhere xp Transpose two characters ddp Swap current line with next gf Open filename under cursor :e %:h/ Open file in same directory as current qaI// jq Record macro to comment lines, repeat with @a ```