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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
Change the whole line Normal mode Linux CC 1 more variant Source
Change to the end of the line Normal mode Linux ShiftC 1 more variant Source
Enter replace mode Normal mode Linux ShiftR 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
Join the line with the next one Normal mode Linux ShiftJ 1 more variant Source
Indent the line Normal mode Linux >> 1 more variant Source
Unindent the line Normal mode Linux << 1 more variant Source
Reindent the line Normal mode Linux == 1 more variant Source
Switch the case of the character Normal mode Linux ~ 1 more variant Source
Start character visual mode Normal mode Linux V 1 more variant Source
Start line visual mode Normal mode Linux ShiftV 1 more variant Source
Start block visual mode Normal mode Linux CtrlV 1 more variant Source
Reselect the last visual area Normal mode Linux GV 1 more variant Source
Search forward Normal mode Linux / 1 more variant Source
Search backward Normal mode Linux ? 1 more variant Source
Repeat the search in the same direction Normal mode Linux N 1 more variant Source
Repeat the search in the other direction Normal mode Linux ShiftN 1 more variant Source
Search forward for the word under the cursor Normal mode Linux * 1 more variant Source
Search backward for the word under the cursor Normal mode Linux # 1 more variant Source
Start typing an Ex command Normal mode Linux : 1 more variant Source
Write changes and close the window Normal mode Linux ShiftZShiftZ 1 more variant Source
Close the window without writing Normal mode Linux ShiftZShiftQ 1 more variant Source
Go to an older jump position Normal mode Linux CtrlO 1 more variant Source
Go to a newer jump position Normal mode Linux CtrlI 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