What's the difference between Vim and Neovim?

Neovim is a refactored fork of Vim with first-class Lua scripting, async plugins, and modern terminal features. Commands and keybindings are 99% compatible — anything in this cheatsheet works in both.

I'm stuck — how do I quit Vim?

Press Esc to leave insert mode, then type :q to quit (or :q! to discard changes, :wq to save and quit, :x to save if changed and quit). 'Esc, colon, q, enter' is the universal exit.

Which commands should I learn first?

i (insert), Esc (normal mode), :w (save), :q (quit), h/j/k/l (move), dd (delete line), yy (yank line), p (paste), /pattern (search), u (undo). With those nine you can edit files productively while you learn the rest.

Is anything sent to a server?

No — this is a static reference page that runs in your browser.

vim · modal · cheatsheet · local

Essential Vim commands

Searchable reference of 102 core Vim commands across movement, editing, search, visual mode, splits, buffers, and exits. Click any command to copy.

Vim Cheatsheet

102 matches

Visible

102

all

Total

102

commands

Sections

groups

Status

ready

local

syntax · commands

Movement

Move cursor left

Move cursor down

Move cursor up

Move cursor right

Jump to start of next word

Jump to next WORD (whitespace-delimited)

Jump to end of current/next word

Jump to start of previous word

Jump to previous WORD

Move to start of line

Move to first non-blank character on line

Move to end of line

Go to first line of file

Go to last line of file

Go to line {count}

Scroll half page down

Scroll half page up

Page down

Page up

Move to top of screen

Move to middle of screen

Move to bottom of screen

Jump to matching bracket/paren

Move to next occurrence of char on line

Move till before next char on line

Repeat last f/t search forward

Repeat last f/t search backward

Editing

Insert before cursor

Insert at start of line

Append after cursor

Append at end of line

Open new line below

Open new line above

Replace single character

Enter replace mode

Delete character under cursor

Delete character before cursor

Delete (cut) current line

Delete to end of line

Delete to start of next word

Delete to end of line

Yank (copy) current line

Yank word

Paste after cursor

Paste before cursor

Undo

Redo

Repeat last change

Indent line right

Indent line left

Join current and next line

Change inside braces

Yank inside parens

Delete around brackets (incl. brackets)

Search & replace

Search forward for pattern

Search backward for pattern

Repeat search in same direction

Repeat search in opposite direction

Search for word under cursor (forward)

Search for word under cursor (backward)

Replace all occurrences in file

Replace all with confirmation

Replace in visual selection

Clear current search highlighting

Visual mode

Start character-wise visual selection

Start line-wise visual selection

Start block (column) visual selection

Reselect last visual selection

Yank selection

Delete selection

Change selection

Indent selection right

Indent selection left

Windows & splits

Horizontal split

Vertical split

Switch window left/down/up/right

Cycle through windows

Close current window

Close all other windows

Equalize window sizes

Maximize window height

Maximize window width

Resize height up/down

Buffers & tabs

List all open buffers

Go to next buffer

Go to previous buffer

Switch to buffer by name/number

Delete (close) current buffer

Open new tab

Switch to next tab

Switch to previous tab

Close current tab

Files & exiting

Open or reload file

Save (write) current file

Save as new file

Save all modified buffers

Quit current window

Quit without saving

Save and quit

Save and quit (normal mode)

Quit without saving (normal mode)

Save if modified and quit

example usage

Movement

—

42G

—

Editing

—

ci"

—

Search & replace

—

Visual mode

—

Windows & splits

—

Buffers & tabs

—

Files & exiting

—

Quick Start

How to find a Vim command fast

Type a keyword or partial command in the filter. Matches narrow both rows and visible sections — click any command to copy it.

01
Search keyword
e.g. "delete", ":wq", "dd".
Inputs are treated as UTF-8 throughout the pipeline and validated client-side as you type — nothing dispatches until the value is well-formed.
searchinpututf-8client-sidevalidated
search · textdelete · set
```
dd · D · dw
```
loaded · parsedclient-side
02
Scan rows
Commands grouped by section: movement, editing, search, etc.
Each toggle re-computes through a memoised hook, so flipping options never resets your input and the UI stays snappy on large inputs.
scanoptionslivememoisedtoggles
sections · memoised7 · live
```
Movement
```
options set · memoisedlive
03
Read examples
Right panel shows concrete usage for parameterized commands.
Randomness — where used — comes from crypto.getRandomValues, never Math.random. Heavy work sits in useMemo.
readcomputeinstantlocaldeterministic
example · instant42G · computed
```
42G
```
computed · instantinstant
04
Copy
Click any command to copy it to clipboard.
Copy writes through navigator.clipboard and downloads use a Blob — zero network traffic. Same input plus same options always yield the same bytes.
copydownloadzero-networkreproducible
ok · copiedready · copied
```
Copied dd
```
shipped · ready to shipsuccess

Pro tips

Pro tips for everyday utilities

Reach for crypto.getRandomValues

Cryptographically random for IDs, tokens, salts. Math.random is for animation and games, not security.

Sort IDs lexicographically

UUID v4 has no time ordering. Use ULID or UUID v7 if you need sorted IDs.

Mock data with seeds

Faker-style libraries can be seeded so tests are reproducible. Embed the seed in the fixture file.

Reference cards beat memory

Cheatsheets for Vim, Git, Docker, Linux signals are faster than man pages when you’re mid-flow.

Browser APIs vary

Touch events, gamepads, and clipboard differ across vendors. Feature-detect before use.

Persist in the right place

localStorage for user preferences, sessionStorage for transient state, IndexedDB for structured data.

Use Cases

When to consult the cheatsheet

Learn Vim, refresh muscle memory, teach.

Learning Vim

One-page overview of the essentials. Random values come from crypto.getRandomValues — cryptographically secure for tokens, salts, and session IDs. Math.random is deterministic enough for animations but predictable enough to be a security bug.

CSPRNG-backed

Pair programming

Quick reference while screen sharing. Pair with hashids, ULID, or UUID v7 when you need both random and sortable — useful for primary keys, public-facing IDs, and event log ordering without a sequence column.

reproducible

Muscle memory

Refresh seldom-used commands. Output is deterministic given the same seed, so fixtures and tests stay reproducible across CI runs and contributor machines. Embed the seed in the fixture file for full replay.

snappy

Cross-tool moves

Find the Vim equivalent of an IDE shortcut. Heavy work runs through useMemo so the UI stays snappy on large inputs. Same input + same options yields identical bytes — the kind of stability snapshot tests rely on.

feature-detected

Quick lookup

Faster than :help. Storage tools persist to the right backend: localStorage for user preferences, sessionStorage for transient state, IndexedDB for structured data. Pick the right shelf and quota worries disappear.

deterministic

Teaching

Pin as a class handout. Browser feature detection: clipboard, fullscreen, gamepad, and Web Bluetooth APIs gracefully fall back when unavailable. No surprise white screens on Safari or older Firefox.

production-ready

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is this Vim or Neovim?

Vim-compatible commands — they all work in Neovim too.

What about plugins?

Plugin commands vary — see the plugin's own docs.

Where to learn modes?

Try vimtutor — built into every Vim install.

Why no GUI commands?

Focus is on the universal core that works in any terminal Vim.

Does it run locally?

Yes — the reference is bundled in JS. Nothing is sent to a server.

Suggest a tool

Something missing?

Tell us what you need. We ship the top requests every two weeks.

47 in queue·8 shipped this month

Request queued. Thanks!