Vim Cheatsheet — Most Used Commands

Modes

Mode	How to enter	What it does
Normal	`Esc`	Navigate, run commands
Insert	`i`	Type text
Visual	`v`	Select text

Open & Exit

vim filename.txt    # open file

Command	Action
`:w`	Save
`:q`	Quit
`:wq`	Save and quit
`:q!`	Quit without saving

Key	Action
`h j k l`	Left, down, up, right
`gg`	Go to top of file
`G`	Go to bottom of file
`0`	Start of line
`$`	End of line
`Ctrl+d`	Scroll down half page
`Ctrl+u`	Scroll up half page

Editing

Key	Action
`i`	Insert before cursor
`a`	Insert after cursor
`o`	New line below
`O`	New line above
`dd`	Delete line
`yy`	Copy line
`p`	Paste
`u`	Undo
`Ctrl+r`	Redo

Search & Replace

Command	Action
`/word`	Search forward
`n`	Next result
`N`	Previous result
`:%s/old/new/g`	Replace all occurrences

Visual Mode (Select Text)

Key	Action
`v`	Select characters
`V`	Select whole lines
`d`	Delete selected
`y`	Copy selected

Tip: Press Esc whenever you’re lost — it always takes you back to Normal mode.