vim

Vim is a highly efficient and powerful text editor used for coding, writing, and general text manipulation. Below are some basic commands and usage tips for getting started with Vim:

Basic Usage

1. Opening a File:
   To open a file in Vim, use the following command:

   vim filename
   

2. Switching Between Modes:
   Vim operates in different modes, mainly:

   • Normal Mode: For navigation and manipulation. This is the default mode when you open Vim.
   • Insert Mode: For typing text. You can enter this mode by pressing i from normal mode.
   • Command-Line Mode: For saving, quitting, and other commands. Access it by pressing : from normal mode.

Normal Mode Commands

• Navigation:

  • Move cursor up, down, left, and right: k, j, h, l
  • Move to the beginning of the line: 0
  • Move to the end of the line: $
  • Move to the beginning of the file: gg
  • Move to the end of the file: G
  • Move by word: w (next word), b (previous word)

• Deleting Text:

  • Delete a character: x
  • Delete a word: dw
  • Delete a line: dd
  • Delete to the end of the line: D

• Undo/Redo:

  • Undo the last change: u
  • Redo the undone change: Ctrl + r

• Copy/Paste:

  • Copy (yank) a word: yw
  • Copy a line: yy
  • Paste the copied content: p

• Search:

  • Search for a term: /term
  • Navigate between search results: n (next), N (previous)

• Replacing:

  • Replace a character: r followed by the character
  • Replace a word (interactive): :%s/old/new/gc
  • Replace a word without confirmation: :%s/old/new/g

• Jumping Between Matching Parentheses/Brackets:

  • Move to matching parenthesis: %

Insert Mode Commands

To enter Insert Mode from Normal Mode, press:

• i (insert before the cursor)
• I (insert at the beginning of the line)
• a (insert after the cursor)
• A (insert at the end of the line)
• o (open a new line below the current line)
• O (open a new line above the current line)

Once in Insert Mode, type your text as usual. To return to Normal Mode, press Esc.

Command-Line Mode Commands

To enter Command-Line Mode, press : from Normal Mode.

• Saving:

  • Save the file: :w
  • Save and exit: :wq
  • Exit without saving: :q!

• Exiting:

  • Quit Vim: :q
  • Quit if no changes were made: :q!

• Searching and Replacing:

  • Search for a term: :/term
  • Replace all occurrences of a term: :%s/old/new/g

• File Information:

  • Show file name and status: :f
  • Show file path: :echo expand('%:p')

Visual Mode Commands

Visual Mode allows you to select text and perform actions on it.

• Enter Visual Mode: Press v to start visual mode (character selection) or V for line selection.
• Select Text: Use arrow keys or h, j, k, l to extend the selection.
• Cut/Copy/Paste in Visual Mode:
  • Cut (delete) selected text: d
  • Copy (yank) selected text: y
  • Paste after the selection: p

Other Useful Commands

• Split Window:

  • Open a new horizontal split: :split filename
  • Open a new vertical split: :vsplit filename
  • Switch between splits: Ctrl + w followed by h, j, k, or l

• Change Text Case:

  • Change the case of a character: ~
  • Change a word to uppercase: gUiw
  • Change a word to lowercase: guw

Advanced Navigation

1. Move by Paragraphs:

   • Move to the beginning of the next paragraph: }
   • Move to the beginning of the previous paragraph: {

2. Move by Search Results:

   • Jump to the next search result: n
   • Jump to the previous search result: N
   • Search for the word under the cursor: * (next occurrence), # (previous occurrence)

3. Move to Specific Line:

   • Go to a specific line number: :n (replace n with the line number)
   • Go to a specific column on a line: n| (replace n with the column number)

4. Faster Navigation Between Files:

   • Move to the first non-blank character on a line: ^
   • Move to the end of the current sentence: )
   • Move to the beginning of the current sentence: (
   • Jump to a matching bracket, parenthesis, or brace: %
   • Go to the start or end of the current block: [{ or ]}

5. Jump to Specific Marks:

   • Set a mark at the current cursor position: m{a-z}
   • Jump to the mark: 'a or `a (lowercase for line, backtick for exact position)

Advanced Editing

1. Advanced Text Manipulation:

   • Change a word: cw
   • Change until the next character: c{char}
   • Change until the end of the line: C
   • Delete a word backwards: dB
   • Delete everything until the end of the current sentence: d)
   • Replace text: r{char} (replace current character under cursor)

2. Macro Recording:

   • Start recording a macro: q{register} (e.g., qa to record to register a)
   • Perform multiple commands while recording.
   • Stop recording: q
   • Play the macro: @{register} (e.g., @a to replay the macro recorded in register a)
   • Play the macro multiple times: 10@a (plays macro a 10 times)

3. Text Object Motions:

   • Change inside a word: ciw
   • Change inside a paragraph: cip
   • Change inside quotes: ci"
   • Delete inside a tag: dit
   • Select a sentence: vas

4. Multiple Cursor Editing (Using Plugins):

   • If you want to use multiple cursors, you can use a plugin like vim-multiple-cursors.
   • Add multiple cursors using Ctrl + n, and then modify text at each cursor.

Command-Line Mode Advanced Features

1. Ex Commands for Text Substitution:

   • Replace all occurrences of a word: :%s/old/new/g
   • Replace all occurrences with confirmation: :%s/old/new/gc
   • Replace in a specific range of lines: :5,10s/old/new/g (replace between lines 5 and 10)

2. Execute Shell Commands:

   • Run a shell command from within Vim: :!command
   • Replace the content of the file with the output of a shell command: :%!command

3. Vim Buffers and Windows:

   • List open buffers: :ls
   • Switch between buffers: :b{buffer_number} or :bnext
   • Delete a buffer (close it): :bd
   • Open a new window: :new filename
   • Split window horizontally: :split
   • Split window vertically: :vsplit
   • Switch between windows: Ctrl + w {h,j,k,l}

Advanced Search and Replace

1. Regular Expressions:

   • Vim supports regular expressions for more complex search and replace:
     • Search for a word that starts with "test": /\v^test
     • Replace all digits with X: :%s/\d/X/g
     • Replace a specific line number range: :5,10s/old/new/g

2. Search and Replace Across Multiple Files:

   • Search across all files in the current directory and replace: :args *.txt | argdo %s/old/new/g
   • Search recursively through all files in a directory: :args **/*.py | argdo %s/old/new/g

Managing Sessions and Projects

1. Saving and Loading Sessions:

   • Save your session (buffers, windows, etc.): :mksession!
   • Load a session: :source Session.vim

2. Project Management:

   • Use vim-projectionist or NERDTree plugins to manage your project files.
   • Quickly navigate between related files, such as opening tests with :TestFile.

Advanced Window and Tab Management

1. Using Tabs in Vim:

   • Open a new tab: :tabnew
   • Switch between tabs: :tabnext, :tabprev
   • Close the current tab: :tabclose
   • List open tabs: :tabs

2. Window Management:

   • Create a new horizontal split: :split filename
   • Create a new vertical split: :vsplit filename
   • Switch between windows: Ctrl + w then h/j/k/l
   • Close a window: Ctrl + w then c
   • Resize a window: Ctrl + w then + or - (to resize up or down)

Advanced Vim Plugins

1. Fuzzy Finder (fzf or CtrlP):

   • Use fzf or CtrlP for fast file navigation and searching in your project directory.
   • Ctrl + p opens the fuzzy finder for file navigation.

2. Autocompletion (coc.nvim or YouCompleteMe):

   • Use coc.nvim for autocompletion powered by the Language Server Protocol (LSP).
   • Install plugins for linting, formatting, and autocompletion.

3. Git Integration (vim-fugitive):

   • View Git status: :Gstatus
   • Stage changes: :Gadd
   • View commit history: :Glog

4. Syntax Highlighting and File Detection (vim-polyglot):

   • Install vim-polyglot for support for multiple languages and enhanced syntax highlighting.

Customization with Vimrc

1. Setting Up Key Mappings:

   • Remap keys in your .vimrc file:

     nnoremap <leader>f :Files<CR>  " Map to fuzzy file search
     vnoremap <leader>c "+y         " Copy selected text to system clipboard
     

2. Plugins and Package Management:

   • Use vim-plug or Vundle to manage plugins. For example:

     call plug#begin('~/.vim/plugged')
     Plug 'junegunn/fzf'
     Plug 'tpope/vim-fugitive'
     call plug#end()
     

3. Customizing the Status Line:

   • Customize the status line using vim-airline or lightline.vim to show helpful information such as the current file name, line number, and Git branch.

4. Enable Clipboard Support:

   • For clipboard integration, ensure Vim is compiled with clipboard support. If not, install Vim with +clipboard.
   • You can yank to the system clipboard with: "+y and paste with "+p.