VI Commands Cheat Sheets

Before doing anything to a document, type the following command followed by a carriage return:

:set showmode

GOOD PRACTICE NOTE ESPECIALLY FOR BEGINNERS: WHEN USING VI, HIT [ESC] TWICE BEFORE EVERY NEW COMMAND. THIS MAKES SURE YOU AREN’T IN THE WRONG MODE.

When you open VI, you can’t just start typing a thesis because VI has different modes such as APPEND MODE, INSERT MODE, REPLACE MODE, and COMMAND MODE. So to do certain actions, you must first enter the appropriate mode. See “MODES” for more in-depth information.

The final page of this document is a list of VI core commands. These are the bare essentials of VI compressed onto one page.

STARTING VI (page 1/1 total) (VI is CaSe SEnsItiVe!!! So make sure Caps Lock is OFF.)

Command	Result
vi filename		Edits filename.
vi -r filename		Edits last saved version of filename after a crash.
vi + n filename		Edits filename and places the cursor at line n.
vi + filename		Edits filename and places cursor on the last line.
vi filename file2 ...		Edits filename and then edits file2 and so on. After saving file1 enter :n for the next file.
vi +/string file		Edits file and places cursor at the first line containing string.

ENDING VI (1/1) (Saving, exiting, etc.)

Command	Result
ZZ or :wq or :x		Saves and exits VI.
:w		Saves current file but does not exit.
:w file		Saves current as file but does not exit.
:w! file		Saves file overriding normal checking.
:n,mw file		Saves lines n through m to a file named file.
:n,mw>>file		Appends lines n through m to the end of a file named file.
:q		Quits VI, saving changes before leaving. (You may be prompted to save.)
:q!		Quits VI without saving changes.
Q		Escapes VI into ex editor with the same file; :vi returns.
:e!		Re-edits current file disregarding changes since last save.
:we!		Re-edits current file saving changes.

STATUS (1/1) (Line numbers, etc.)

Command	Result
:.=	Shows current line number.
:=	Shows number of lines in file.
CTRL-g	Shows filename, current line number, total lines in file, and % of file location.
:l (letter “l”)	Displays tab (^l) backslash (\) backspace (^H) newline ($) bell (^G) formfeed (^L^) of current line.

MOVING (1/2) (These will tell you how to get the cursor where you want it–fast.)

MOVING THE CURSOR
Command (ESC exits all modes except the initial Command Mode.)		Result
arrow keys	These do work, but they may be too slow on big files.
h j k l	Left, down, up, and right, respectively.
CTRL-d	Moves forward ½ screenful.
CTRL-f	Moves forward one entire screenful.
CTRL-u	Moves backward ½ screenful.
CTRL-b	Moves backward one entire screenful.
nG	Moves to line n in the file.
G	Moves to the end of file.
H	Moves to the top of the screen.
nH	Moves to line n from the top of the screen.
M	Moves to the middle of the screen.
L	Moves to the bottom of the screen.
nL	Moves to line n from the bottom of the screen.
w or W	Moves to the start of the next word in the line; W ignores punctuation.
b or B	Moves to the start of the previous word in the line; B ignores punctuation.
e or E	Moves to the end of the next word in the line; E ignores punctuation.
0 (zero) or |	Moves to the first column in the current line.
n|	Moves to the column n in the current line.
^	Moves to the first non-blank character in the current line.
$	Moves to the last character in the current line.
+ or <CR>	Moves to the first character in the next line.
-	Moves to the first non-blank character in the previous line.
(	Moves back to the beginning of sentence.
)	Moves forward to the beginning of the next sentence.
{	Moves back to the beginning of the paragraph.
}	Moves forward to the beginning of the next paragraph.

MOVING (2/2) (These will tell you how to get the cursor where you want it–fast.)

MOVING THE SCREEN
Command (ESC exits all modes except the initial Command Mode.)		Result
CTRL–e	Moves screen up one line.
CTRL–y	Moves screen down one line.
CTRL–u	Moves screen up ½ page.
CTRL–d	Moves screen down ½ page.
CTRL–b	Moves screen up one page.
CTRL–f	Moves screen down one page.
CTRL–I	Redraws screen.
z <CR>	z–carriage return makes the current line the top line on the page.
nz <CR>	Makes the line n the top line on the page.
z.	Makes the current line the middle line on the page.
nz.	Makes the line n the middle line on the page.
z–	Makes the current line the bottom line on the page.
nz–	Makes the line n the bottom line on the page.

MODES (1/1) (Adding and/or replacing text)

Command (ESC exits all modes except the initial Command Mode.)		Result
itext ESC	insert mode—You can start typing and it will insert text before the letter your cursor currently highlights until ESC is used.
Itext ESC	insert mode—Same as (i) except it will insert text before the first nonblank character on the line until ESC is used.
atext ESC	append mode—Allows you to insert text after the letter your cursor currently highlights until ESC is used.
Atext ESC	append mode—Same as (a) except it will insert text at the end of the line until ESC is used.
rchar ESC	replace mode—Replaces the currently highlighted character with char until ESC is used.
Rtext ESC	replace mode—Same as (r) except it will overwrite until ESC is used.
o	Opens new line below the current line and insert until ESC is used.
O (letter “O”)	Opens new line above the current line and insert until ESC is used.
CTRL–v char	While inserting, ignores special meaning of char (e.g., for inserting characters like ESC and CTRL) until ESC is used.
:r file	Reads file and inserts it after current line.
:nr file	Reads file and inserts it after line number n.

SEARCHING (1/1) (Find and/or replace what you need)

Characters	What they match...
^ (caret)		Matches beginning of line.
$		Matches end of line.
.		Matches any single character.
\<		Matches beginning of word.
\>		Matches end of word.
[str]		Matches any single character in str.
[^str]		Matches any character not in str.
[a-n]		Matches any character between a and n.
*		Matches zero or more occurrences of previous character in expression.
\		Escapes the meaning of the next character (e.g., \$ allows you to search for $).
\\		Escapes the \ character.

Command (ESC exits all modes except the initial Command Mode.)		Result
%	Searches to beginning of balancing ( ) [ ] or { }.
fchar	Searches forward in current line to char.
Fchar	Searches backward in current line to char.
tchar	Searches forward in current line to character before char.
Tchar	Searches backward in current line to character before char.
/str <CR>	Finds forward to str.
?str <CR>	Finds in reverse for str.
:set ic	Ignores case when searching.
:set noic	Pays attention to case when searching.
:n,ms/str1/str2/opt	Searches from n to m for str1; replaces str1 to str2; using opt–opt can be g for global change, c to confirm change (y to acknowledge, <CR> to suppress), and p to print changed lines.
&	Repeats last :s command.
:g/str/cmd	Runs cmd on all lines that contain str.
:g/str1/s/str2/str3/	Finds the line containing str1, replaces str2 with str3.
:v/str/cmd	Executes cmd on all lines that do not match str.

EDITING (1/3) (Deleting, copying, placing text, joining lines, changing text, repeat command, undo command)

Command (ESC exits all modes except the initial Command Mode.)		Result
CTRL–h or Backspace	While inserting, deletes previous character.
CTRL–w	While inserting, deletes previous word
CTRL–x	While inserting, deletes to start of inserted text.
nx	Deletes n characters starting with current; omitting n deletes current character only.

EDITING (2/3) (Deleting, copying, placing text, joining lines, changing text, repeat command, undo command)

Command (ESC exits all modes except the initial Command Mode.)		Result
nX	Deletes previous n characters; omitting n deletes previous character only.
xp	Switches character at cursor with following character.
ndw	Deletes the next n words starting with current; omitting n deletes the current word only.
ndb	Deletes the previous n words starting with current; omitting n deletes the previous word only.
ndd	Deletes n lines beginning with the current line; omitting n deletes the current line only.
:n,md	Deletes lines n through m.
D or d$	Deletes from the cursor to the end of the line.
dcursor_cmd	Deletes everything included in the cursor command (e.g., dG would delete from current position to the end of the file, and d4 would delete to the end of the fourth sentence).
nyy or nY	Places n lines in the buffer–copies; omitting n copies only the current line to the buffer.
ycursor_cmd	Copies from cursor to cursor_cmd (e.g., yG copies current line to the last line in the file to the buffer).
“(a-z)nyy or “(a-z)ndd	Copies or cuts (deletes) n lines into a named buffer a through z; omitting n works on current line.
p	Pastes copied text after cursor; also prints last deleted text.
P	Pastes copied text before the cursor; also prints last deleted text.
“(a-z)p or “(a-z)P	Pastes text from a named buffer a through z after or before the current line.
nJ	Joins the next n lines together; omitting n joins the beginning of the next line to the end of the current line.
stext ESC	Substitutes text for the current character until ESC is used.
S or cc text ESC	Substitutes text for the entire line until ESC is used.
cwtext ESC	Changes current word to text until ESC is used.
Ctext ESC	Changes rest of the current line to text until ESC is used.
ccursr_cmdtext ESC	Changes to text from current position to cursr_cmd until ESC is used.
u	Undoes last command.
U	Restores current line to its original state.
“np	Retrieves the last nth delete (last 9 deletes are kept in a buffer).
“1pu.u.	Scrolls through the delete buffer until the desired delete is retrieved (repeat u.).
n	Repeats last / or ? search command.
N	Repeats, in reverse order, last / or ? search command.
; (semi-colon)	Repeats last f F t or T search command.
, (comma)	Repeats, in reverse direction, last / or ? search command.
. (period)	Repeats last text change command.
CTRL–i or TAB	While inserting, inserts one shift width.

EDITING (3/3) (Deleting, copying, placing text, joining lines, changing text, repeat command, undo command)

Command (ESC exits all modes except the initial Command Mode)		Result
n<< or n>>	Shifts n lines left or right (respectively) by one shift width; omitting n shifts one line.
< or >	Use with cursor command to shift multiple lines left or right.

SHELL WORKS (1/1) (Commands that execute outside of the VI program.)

Command (ESC exits all modes except the initial Command Mode)		Result
:! cmd	Executes shell command cmd; you can add these special characters to indicate: % name of current file # name of last file edited
!! cmd	Executes shell command cmd, places output in file starting at current line.
:!!	Executes last shell command.
:r! cmd	Reads and inserts output from cmd.
:f file	Renames current file to file.
:w !cmd	Sends currently edited file to cmd as standard input and execute cmd.
:cd dir	Changes current working directory to dir.
:sh	Starts a sub-shell (CTRL-d returns to editor).
:so file	Reads and executes commands in file (file is a shell script).
!cursor_cmd cmd	Sends text from current position to cursor_cmd to shell command cmd.
!}sort <CR>	Sorts from current position to end of paragraph and replaces text with sorted text.

MACROS, SUBS, ABBREVIATIONS (1/2) (Macro functions, substitution strings, and abbreviations)

Command (ESC exits all modes except the initial Command Mode.)			Result
:[address]s/search-string/replace-string/[/g]		This is the format of a substitute command––description below.
address	One line number or two line numbers separated by a comma. A. represents the current line, $ represents the last line, and % represents the entire file.
search-string	A regular expression that can be a simple string of characters.
replace-string	The replacement string.
g	Indicates a global replacement (more than one replacement per line).

Setting Options (1/2)
Command	Result		Command		Result
NOTE: Map allows you to define strings of VI commands. If you create a file called “.exrc” in your home directory, any map or set command you place inside this file will be executed every time you run VI. To imbed control characters like ESC in the macro, you need to precede them with CTRL–v. If you need to include quotes (“), precede them with a \ (backslash). Unused keys in vi are: K V g q v * = and the function keys. EX: :map v /I CTRL–v ESC dwiYou CTRL–v ESC ESC when v is pressed, search for “I” (/I ESC), delete word (dw), and insert “You” (iYou ESC). CTRL–v allows ESC to be inserted.
:map key cmd_seq		Defines key to run cmd_seq when pressed.		:map		Displays all created macros on status line.

MACROS, SUBS, ABBREVIATIONS (2/2) (Macro functions, substitution strings, and abbreviations)

Setting Options (2/2)
Command	Result		Command		Result
:unmap key		Removes macro definition for key.		:ab str string		When str is input, replaces it with string.
:ab		Displays all abbreviations.		:una str		Unabbreviates str.
Options given are default. To change them, enter type :set option to turn them on or :set nooption to turn them off. To make them execute every time you open VI, create a file in your HOME directory called .exrc and type the options without the colon (:) preceding the option.
Command	Result		Command		Result
:set all	Prints all options to the screen.		:set nooption		Turns off option.
:set ai	Turns on auto indentation.		:set ap		Prints line after d c J m :s t u commands.
:set bf	Discards control characters from input.		:set eb		Precedes error messages with a bell.
:set ic	Ignores case when searching.		:set dir=tmp		Sets directory or buffer file.
:set lisp	Modifies brackets for Lisp compatibility.		:set magic		Allows pattern matching with special characters.
:set mesg	Allows others to send messages.		:set list		Shows tabs (^l) and end of line ($).
:set nu	Shows line numbers.		:set opt		Speeds output; eliminates automatic RETURN.
:set prompt	Prompts for command input with :.		:set re		Simulates smart terminal on dumb terminal.
:set report	Indicates largest size of changes reported on status line.		:set ro		Changes file type to “read only.”
:set scroll=n	set n lines for CTRL–d and z		:set sh=shell_path		set shell escape (default is /bin/sh)
:set showmode	Indicates input or replace mode at bottom.		:set sw=n		Sets shift width to n characters.
:set term	Prints terminal type.		:set terse		Shorten messages with terse.
:set timeout	Eliminates one-second time limit for macros.		:set tl=n		Sets significance of tags beyond n characters (0 means all).
:set ts=n	Sets tab stops to n for text input.		:set wa		Inhibits normal checks before write commands.
:set warn	Warns “no write since last change.”		:set window=n		Sets number of lines in a text window to n.
:set wm=n	Sets automatic wraparound n spaces from right margin.

VI Core Commands (The minimum functions)

Command

Result

STARTING VI (VI is CaSe SEnsItiVe!!! So make sure Caps Lock is OFF.)

vi file

edit file

ENDING VI (Saving, exiting, etc.)

ZZ or :wq or :x	Saves and exits VI.
:q	Quits VI, saving changes before leaving. (You may be prompted to save.)
:q!	Quits VI without saving changes.

MOVING (These will tell you how to get the cursor where you want it–fast.)

MOVING THE CURSOR
arrow keys	These do work, but they may be too slow on big files.
h j k l	Left, down, up, and right, respectively.
CTRL-d	Moves forward ½ screenful.
CTRL-f	Moves forward 1 whole screenful.
CTRL-u	Moves backward ½ screenful.
CTRL-b	Moves backward 1 entire screenful.
nG	Moves to line n in the file.
G	Moves to the end of file.
H	Moves to the top of the screen.
M	Moves to the middle of the screen.
L	Moves to the bottom of the screen.
w or W	Moves to the start of the next word in the line; W ignores punctuation.
b or B	Moves to the start of the previous word in the line; B ignores punctuation.
e or E	Moves to the end of the next word in the line; E ignores punctuation.
^	Moves to the first non-blank character in the current line.
$	Moves to the last character in the current line.
+ or <CR>	Moves to the first character in the next line.

MODES (Adding and/or replacing text)

itext ESC	insert mode—You can start typing, and it will insert text before the letter your cursor currently highlights until ESC is used.
atext ESC	append mode—This allows you to insert text after the letter your cursor currently highlights until ESC is used.
Atext ESC	append mode—Same as (a) except it will insert text at the end of the line until ESC is used.
rchar ESC	replace mode—Replaces the currently one highlighted character with char until ESC is used.
Rtext ESC	replace mode—Same as (r) except it will overwrite until ESC is used.
o	Opens new line below the current line and insert until ESC is used.
O (letter “O”)	Opens new line above the current line and insert until ESC is used.

SEARCHING (Find and/or replace what you need)

fchar | Fchar	Searches forward in current line to char. | Searches backward in current line to char.
/str <CR> | ?str <CR>	Finds forward to str. | Finds in reverse for str.

EDITING (Deleting, copying, placing text, joining lines, changing text, repeat command, undo command)

CTRL–h or Backspace	While inserting, deletes previous character.
CTRL–w	While inserting, deletes previous word
nx	Deletes n characters starting with current; omitting n deletes current character only.
ndw	Deletes the next n words starting with current; omitting n deletes the current word only.
ndd	Deletes n lines beginning with the current line; omitting n deletes the current line only.
D or d$	Deletes from the cursor to the end of the line.
nyy or nY	Places n lines in the buffer–copies; omitting n copies only the current line to the buffer.
p	Pastes copied text after cursor; also prints last deleted text.
nJ	Joins the next n lines together; omitting n joins the beginning of the next line to the end of the current line.
u	Undoes last command.
U	Restores current line to its original state.
n | N	Repeats last / or ? search command. | Repeats, in reverse order, last / or ? search command.
. (period)	Repeats last text change command.
CTRL–i or TAB	While inserting, inserts one shift width.

OPTIONS

Command	Result	Command		Result
Options given are default. To change them, enter type :set option to turn them on or :set nooption to turn them off. To make them execute every time you open VI, create a file in your home directory called .exrc and type the options without the colon (:) preceding the option.
:set all	Prints all options to the screen.	:set nooption	Turns off option.
:set ic	Ignores case when searching.	:set magic	Allows pattern matching with special characters.
:set nu	Shows line numbers.	:set ro	Changes file type to “read only.”
:set scroll=n	Sets n lines for CTRL–d and z.	:set sw=n	Sets shift width to n characters.
:set showmode	Indicates input or replace mode at bottom.	:set window=n	Sets number of lines in a text window to n.
:set ts=n	Sets tab stops to n for text input.	:set wm=n	Sets automatic wraparound n spaces from right margin.