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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

81 actions and 81 key variants match.

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Matching shortcuts
Action Keys Row actions
Change the whole line Normal mode Linux CC Source
Change to the end of the line Normal mode Linux ShiftC Source
Enter replace mode Normal mode Linux ShiftR Source
Yank the current line Normal mode Linux YY Source
Put text after the cursor Normal mode Linux P Source
Put text before the cursor Normal mode Linux ShiftP Source
Undo the last change Normal mode Linux U Source
Redo an undone change Normal mode Linux CtrlR Source
Undo every change on the line Normal mode Linux ShiftU Source
Repeat the last change Normal mode Linux . Source
Join the line with the next one Normal mode Linux ShiftJ Source
Indent the line Normal mode Linux >> Source
Unindent the line Normal mode Linux << Source
Reindent the line Normal mode Linux == Source
Switch the case of the character Normal mode Linux ~ Source
Start character visual mode Normal mode Linux V Source
Start line visual mode Normal mode Linux ShiftV Source
Start block visual mode Normal mode Linux CtrlV Source
Reselect the last visual area Normal mode Linux GV Source
Search forward Normal mode Linux / Source
Search backward Normal mode Linux ? Source
Repeat the search in the same direction Normal mode Linux N Source
Repeat the search in the other direction Normal mode Linux ShiftN Source
Search forward for the word under the cursor Normal mode Linux * Source
Search backward for the word under the cursor Normal mode Linux # Source
Start typing an Ex command Normal mode Linux : Source
Write changes and close the window Normal mode Linux ShiftZShiftZ Source
Close the window without writing Normal mode Linux ShiftZShiftQ Source
Go to an older jump position Normal mode Linux CtrlO Source
Go to a newer jump position Normal mode Linux CtrlI 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