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Vim keyboard shortcuts

Moving, editing, searching, and window commands in the Vim text editor.

81 shortcuts Linux and Mac checked September 14, 2026

Print all 81 shortcuts One sheet with every shortcut in this app, ready for the printer or a PDF.

Every system Linux Mac
Everything Editing Navigation Paragraphs and lists Search Selection Tabs and windows
Matching shortcuts
Action Keys Row actions
Move the cursor left Normal mode Linux H 1 more variant Source
Move the cursor down Normal mode Linux J 1 more variant Source
Move the cursor up Normal mode Linux K 1 more variant Source
Move the cursor right Normal mode Linux L 1 more variant Source
Jump forward a word Normal mode Linux W 1 more variant Source
Jump back a word Normal mode Linux B 1 more variant Source
Jump to the end of the word Normal mode Linux E 1 more variant Source
Go to the first character of the line Normal mode Linux 0 1 more variant Source
Go to the first non-blank character Normal mode Linux ^ 1 more variant Source
Go to the end of the line Normal mode Linux $ 1 more variant Source
Go to the first line Normal mode Linux GG 1 more variant Source
Go to the last line Normal mode Linux ShiftG 1 more variant Source
Jump to the matching bracket Normal mode Linux % 1 more variant Source
Move forward a paragraph Normal mode Linux } 1 more variant Source
Move back a paragraph Normal mode Linux { 1 more variant Source
Scroll down half a screen Normal mode Linux CtrlD 1 more variant Source
Scroll up half a screen Normal mode Linux CtrlU 1 more variant Source
Scroll forward a full screen Normal mode Linux CtrlF 1 more variant Source
Scroll back a full screen Normal mode Linux CtrlB 1 more variant Source
Show the file name and position Normal mode Linux CtrlG 1 more variant Source
Insert text before the cursor Normal mode Linux I 1 more variant Source
Append text after the cursor Normal mode Linux A 1 more variant Source
Append text at the end of the line Normal mode Linux ShiftA 1 more variant Source
Insert text at the start of the line Normal mode Linux ShiftI 1 more variant Source
Open a new line below Normal mode Linux O 1 more variant Source
Open a new line above Normal mode Linux ShiftO 1 more variant Source
Leave insert mode Insert mode Linux Esc 1 more variant Source
Delete the character under the cursor Normal mode Linux X 1 more variant Source
Delete the whole line Normal mode Linux DD 1 more variant Source
Delete to the end of the line Normal mode Linux ShiftD 1 more variant Source

About Vim and its shortcuts

Vim is the odd one out on this site, and deliberately so. It is modal: most of what other editors do with held combinations, Vim does with single letters typed in normal mode, which is why its commands are case sensitive and why a stray keypress can change what the next one means. Learning the modes matters more than learning any individual key.

Vim is endlessly configurable, so a configured installation may share little with the defaults published here. Commands also differ between terminal Vim, graphical versions and the Vim emulation built into other editors.

Where the Vim keys came from

Read from 1 documentation page published by the makers of Vim. Report a key that is wrong

To see how one action is done in other apps as well as Vim, browse the shortcuts by task. Shortcuts by task