vi and vim: the essential commands

Updated November 2026

vi is the editor you will find on every Unix system, from tiny routers to mainframes. On Linux, vi usually starts vim ("vi improved"). It looks strange at first because it has modes, but a dozen commands are enough for everyday editing.

vi [file ...] vim +NUMBER file # open at a line

Modes

Normal mode (where you start): keys are commands for moving, deleting and copying.
Insert mode: keys type text. Enter it with i, leave it with Esc.
Command-line mode: press : in normal mode to type commands such as :w (write) and :q (quit).

When in doubt, press Esc twice to get back to normal mode.

Save and quit

Type	Does
`:w`	Save
`:wq` or `:x` or `ZZ`	Save and quit
`:q`	Quit (only if nothing changed)
`:q!`	Quit and throw away changes
`:w newname`	Save as another file
`:w !sudo tee %`	Save a file you opened without sudo (vim)

Insert text

Key	Starts inserting
`i` / `a`	Before / after the cursor
`I` / `A`	At the start / end of the line
`o` / `O`	On a new line below / above

Move around (normal mode)

Key	Moves
`h` `j` `k` `l` (or arrows)	Left, down, up, right
`w` / `b`	Next / previous word
`0` / `$`	Start / end of line
`gg` (vim) or `1G` / `G`	First / last line
`:42` or `42G`	Line 42
`Ctrl`+`f` / `Ctrl`+`b`	Page down / up

Edit (normal mode)

Key	Does
`x`	Delete the character under the cursor
`dd` / `5dd`	Delete (cut) a line / five lines
`dw`, `d$`	Delete a word, to the end of the line
`yy` / `5yy`	Copy (yank) a line / five lines
`p` / `P`	Paste after / before
`cw`	Change a word (delete it and insert)
`r`x	Replace one character with x
`u` / `Ctrl`+`r`	Undo / redo (vim; in classic vi, `u` undoes the last change and pressing it again redoes it)
`.`	Repeat the last change
`v`, `V`	Select characters / lines (vim), then `d` or `y`

Search and replace

/error          search forward for "error" (n = next, N = previous)
?error          search backward
:%s/old/new/g   replace every "old" with "new" in the file
:%s/old/new/gc  the same, asking for each one
:10,20s/^/# /   comment out lines 10 to 20
:set ic         ignore case in searches

The replace syntax is the same as in sed.

Make vim friendlier

Put these lines in ~/.vimrc:

syntax on
set number          " line numbers
set ignorecase smartcase
set incsearch hlsearch
set expandtab shiftwidth=4 tabstop=4
set mouse=a

Run vimtutor for a 30-minute interactive lesson. If you prefer a simpler editor, nano is installed on most Linux systems. To make another editor the default for tools such as crontab -e and visudo, set export EDITOR=nano or run sudo update-alternatives --config editor on Debian and Ubuntu.