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.
81 actions and 81 key variants match.
- Vim Documented
| Action | Keys | Row actions |
|---|---|---|
| Add to the number under the cursor Normal mode | Mac CtrlA | Source |
| Subtract from the number under the cursor Normal mode | Mac CtrlX | Source |
| Redraw the screen Normal mode | Mac CtrlL | Source |
| Jump to the tag under the cursor Normal mode | Mac Ctrl] | Source |
| Go to the next tab page Normal mode | Mac GT | Source |
| Go to the previous tab page Normal mode | Mac GShiftT | Source |
| Go to where the word is defined Normal mode | Mac GD | Source |
| Edit the file named under the cursor Normal mode | Mac GF | Source |
| Close the current window Normal mode | Mac CtrlWC | Source |
| Make every window the same size Normal mode | Mac CtrlW= | Source |
| Make the window taller Normal mode | Mac CtrlW | Source |
| Make the window shorter Normal mode | Mac CtrlW- | Source |
| Move the window to a new tab page Normal mode | Mac CtrlWShiftT | Source |
| Go to the bottom window Normal mode | Mac CtrlWB | Source |
| Delete the word before the cursor Insert mode | Mac CtrlW | Source |
| Delete what you typed on the line Insert mode | Mac CtrlU | Source |
| Complete with the next matching word Insert mode | Mac CtrlN | Source |
| Complete with the previous matching word Insert mode | Mac CtrlP | Source |
| Add an indent while typing Insert mode | Mac CtrlT | Source |
| Remove an indent while typing Insert mode | Mac CtrlD | Source |
| Run one normal command, then keep typing Insert mode | Mac CtrlO | 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