Vim

Modes

i goes into insert mode

Esc goes back to command mode.

Commands

Saving and Exiting vim

ZZ Save and exit vim

:w Write the file to disk, stay in vim

:w !sudo tee % Saves the file, even you don't have permission to write to the file (do this instead of closing the file, opening with sudo, and re-doing your changes)

:wq Save the file and exit vim

:q</code Quit vim (Note: if you've made changes, you'll get a message that the file has changed. To quit without saving changes, use: :q! )

Navigating Within the Document

/string search forward for string

?string search backword for string

CTRL + f scroll forward one screen

CTRL + b scroll backword one screen

% go to the "mate", if one exists, of the parenthesis, brace, or bracket.

Manipulating Text

u undo the latest change

:earlier 15m reverts the document to how it was 15 minutes ago. You can substitute any valid time instead of 15m.

References

1. vim man page
2. Run vimtutor at the command line for an interactive vim tutorial