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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

25 actions and 50 key variants match.

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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
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
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
Change the whole line Normal mode Linux CC 1 more variant Source
Yank the current line Normal mode Linux YY 1 more variant Source
Put text after the cursor Normal mode Linux P 1 more variant Source
Put text before the cursor Normal mode Linux ShiftP 1 more variant Source
Undo the last change Normal mode Linux U 1 more variant Source
Redo an undone change Normal mode Linux CtrlR 1 more variant Source
Undo every change on the line Normal mode Linux ShiftU 1 more variant Source
Repeat the last change Normal mode Linux . 1 more variant Source
Switch the case of the character Normal mode Linux ~ 1 more variant Source
Add to the number under the cursor Normal mode Linux CtrlA 1 more variant Source
Subtract from the number under the cursor Normal mode Linux CtrlX 1 more variant Source
Redraw the screen Normal mode Linux CtrlL 1 more variant Source
Edit the file named under the cursor Normal mode Linux GF 1 more variant Source
Delete the word before the cursor Insert mode Linux CtrlW 1 more variant Source
Delete what you typed on the line Insert mode Linux CtrlU 1 more variant Source
Run one normal command, then keep typing Insert mode Linux CtrlO 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