Vim Basics: Navigating and Editing

Why Learn Vim?

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Vim is installed on virtually every Linux server, container, and Unix-like system. When you SSH into a production box, edit a crontab, or resolve a git merge conflict — Vim (or its predecessor vi) is there.

You don’t need to make it your primary editor to benefit from it. Knowing the basics means you’re never stuck on a remote machine without a way to edit files.

Opening and Closing Files

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# Open a file
vim file.txt

# Open at a specific line
vim +42 file.txt

# Open multiple files
vim file1.txt file2.txt

Quitting Vim

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The commands everyone searches for first:

Understanding Modes

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Vim is a modal editor — the same keys do different things depending on which mode you’re in. This is what makes it confusing at first and powerful once it clicks.

The key rule: Press Esc to go back to Normal mode. When in doubt, hit Esc.

Normal Mode Movement

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In Normal mode, you navigate without touching the mouse. Start with these:

Character and line movement

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These replace arrow keys. Your fingers stay on the home row.

Word movement

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Line movement

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File movement

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Entering Insert Mode

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From Normal mode, these keys put you into Insert mode at different positions:

Type your text, then press Esc to return to Normal mode.

Basic Editing in Normal Mode

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You don’t need to enter Insert mode for every edit. These commands work directly in Normal mode:

Deleting

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Copying (yanking) and pasting

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Undo and redo

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Other essentials

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Visual Mode (Selecting Text)

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Visual mode lets you select text and then act on the selection:

Once text is selected, you can:

• d — delete the selection
• y — yank the selection
• > — indent
• < — unindent

# Example workflow: delete 3 lines
V       (enter visual line mode)
jj      (select two more lines)
d       (delete selection)

Putting It Together

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Here are some common tasks using what you’ve learned:

Delete a word and type a new one

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dw      (delete word)
i       (enter insert mode)
         ...type replacement...
Esc     (back to normal mode)

Copy a line and paste it below

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yy      (yank line)
p       (paste below)

Delete everything from the cursor to the end of the file

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dG

Move to line 10 and delete it

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10G     (go to line 10)
dd      (delete line)

Open a file, add a line at the end, save and quit

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vim file.txt

G       (go to end of file)
o       (new line below, enter insert mode)
         ...type your text...
Esc     (back to normal mode)
:wq     (save and quit)

Best Practices

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• Stay in Normal mode by default — only enter Insert mode when you’re actively typing new text
• Use u liberally — Vim has unlimited undo, so experiment without fear
• Practice hjkl instead of arrow keys — it’s awkward for a day, then faster forever
• Learn the dot command (.) early — it repeats your last edit and saves enormous time
• Run vimtutor from your terminal for an interactive 30-minute tutorial built into Vim