vi is one of the most commonly used editor program and included by default with every UNIX and linux system. vi basically operates in 3 modes, namely :
- vi mode – the mode vi starts in
- command mode – you can be in command mode from the vi mode by pressing the key colon (“:”)
- input mode – in this mode user starts the actual editing of the text
Below are some of the most commonly used vi commands in all 3 modes of operation.
vi mode commands
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
| k | Move one line upwards |
| l | Move one character to the right |
| h | Move one character to the left |
| w | Move one word to the right |
| W | Move one word to the right past punctuation |
| b | Move one word to the left |
| B | Move one word to the left past punctuation |
| e | Move to the end of the current word |
| 1G | Move to the beginning of the file |
| H | Move to the top of the current screen |
| M | Move to the middle of the current screen |
| L | Move to the bottom of the current screen |
| Ctrl-G | Move to the last line in the file |
| Ctrl-F | Move one screen towards the end of the file |
| Ctrl-D | Move 1/2 screen towards the end of the file |
| Ctrl-B | Move one screen towards the beginning of the file |
| Ctrl-U | Move 1/2 screen towards the beginning of the file |
| Ctrl-L | Refresh the screen |
| 5G | Move to line 5 of the file (5 can be any line number) |
| /string | Find text string forward |
| ?string | Find text string backward |
| n | Find forward next string instance after a string search |
| N | Find backward next string instance after a string search |
| ZZ | Save the file exit vi |
| x | Delete the character at the cursor |
| X | Delete the character behind the cursor |
| dd | Delete the line the cursor is on |
| 10dd | Delete the 10 lines following the cursor |
| yy | Yank the current line |
| p | Put the yanked line below the current line |
| P | Put the yanked line above the current line |
Command mode commands
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
| :g/X/s//x/g | Global Search and replace (X=search object x=replace object) |
| :r file | Import a file into the current file |
| :34 r file | Import a file into the current file after line 34 |
| :w | Write out the file to save changes |
| :w file | Write the file to named file |
| :wq | Save the file exit vi |
| :w! | Force save the file |
| :q! | Quit vi but don’t save changes |
Input mode commands
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
| a | Insert characters to the right of the cursor |
| A | Append characters to the current line |
| i | Insert characters to the left of cursor |
| I | Insert characters at the beginning of the current line |
| o | Add a new line after current line |
| O | Insert a new line above the current line |