VIM Interactive Mind Map

Click on any section to expand/collapse. Hover over commands for details. Use search to find specific commands.

I MODES - The Core of Vim
1. Normal Mode (Command Mode)
Navigation:
h, j, k, l left, down, up, right
w, b word forward, word backward
e, ge end of word, end of previous word
0, ^, $ start of line, first non-blank, end of line
gg, G top of file, bottom of file
% match parenthesis/bracket
Editing:
x, X delete char forward, backward
dd, dw, de delete line, word, end of word
cc, cw, ce change line, word, end of word
r replace single character
~ change case of character
J join lines
Copy/Paste:
yy, yw, ye yank line, word, end of word
p, P put/paste after/before cursor
"ayy, "ap yank/paste with register 'a'
Undo/Redo:
u undo last change
Ctrl+r redo last undo
. repeat last command
2. Insert Mode
Entering Insert Mode:
i insert at cursor
a append after cursor
I insert at beginning of line
A append at end of line
o open new line below
O open new line above
Exiting Insert Mode:
Esc return to Normal Mode
Ctrl+c alternative to Esc
3. Visual Mode
Entering Visual Mode:
v character-wise selection
V line-wise selection
Ctrl+v block-wise selection
Actions on Selection:
d delete selected text
y yank/copy selected text
~ change case of selected text
I / A insert before/after selection (block mode)
> indent selection
< unindent selection
4. Command-Line Mode
File Operations:
:w save file
:q quit
:wq save and quit
:q! quit without saving
:e filename edit new file
:split / :vsplit split window
Search & Replace:
/pattern search forward
?pattern search backward
n, N next, previous match
:s/old/new/ substitute on current line
:%s/old/new/g substitute throughout file
:set ic ignore case in searches
II CORE CONCEPTS & ADVANCED FEATURES
Registers
"", "0-"9, "a-"z multiple clipboards
:registers view all registers
"*y yank to system clipboard
"+p paste from system clipboard
Macros
qa start recording into register 'a'
q stop recording
@a play macro 'a'
@@ play last macro
10@a play macro 'a' 10 times
Text Objects
iw / aw inner word / a word
i" / a" inner quotes / a quotes
i) / a) inner parentheses / a parentheses
ip / ap inner paragraph / a paragraph
ciw, dap examples: change inner word, delete a paragraph
Windows & Tabs
:sp / :vsp split window horizontally / vertically
Ctrl+w + hjkl navigate between windows
Ctrl+w + + / - increase/decrease window height
Ctrl+w + > / < increase/decrease window width
:tabnew create new tab
gt / gT next tab / previous tab
Marks & Jumps
m<letter> set mark
`<letter> jump to mark's exact position
'<letter> jump to start of line with mark
`` jump to last jump location
Ctrl+o / Ctrl+i jump to older/newer position in jump list
Help System
:help access Vim's comprehensive documentation
:help <topic> get help on specific topic
:helpgrep pattern search through all help files
Ctrl+] / Ctrl+t follow tag / go back in help
Pro Tip: This mind map is just the beginning. Vim has a steep learning curve but offers unparalleled efficiency once its logic is understood and practiced. Use :help inside Vim for comprehensive documentation! Practice regularly to build muscle memory.