Maria Campbell

Posted on Aug 20 • Edited on Aug 29

Vim essentials in Linux

#linux #macos #vim #warpterminal

This post was originally published on my personal blog mariadcampbell.com.

So why this article?
What does Vim stand for?
Configuring Vim
The vim command
Vim modes
The vimtutor
Related Resources

So why this article?

Good question! I have been using Vim in macOS for a very long time, but
primarily to write Git commit messages. Most of my file editing has
taken place inside Visual Studio Code.

Then I started working in Linux, but in a virtual environment
(VirtualBox) installed on Windows 11. The memory and disk space I
allocated to it was much smaller than what I have available on macOS,
and Visual Studio Code is known for being memory greedy. I did install it in
Linux Mint, but it severely slowed down the OS and even crashed from to
time to time. That is when I decided to use the Vim text editor
instead.

By default, Vim did not cut it for what I wanted to accomplish, so
I did some research to learn more about it, how I could configure it to
help me accomplish what I wanted to accomplish, and better navigate
Vim in general.

Well, I found out that I can basically use it like any other editor,
including Visual Studio Code. It was a matter of mastering it. But
there is another aspect to this.

In Linux Mint inside VirtualBox, for me, the default Terminal is on the
small side. My laptop screen is not the largest and the Linux Mint
window in VirtualBox is not the largest either. The key input using the
laptop keypad is not the most fantastic experience in Windows. So what
did I do about that?

It was serendipitous. In my research, I accidentally came across a new
terminal program called Warp. Currently, it works in the Linux and
macOS Unix operating systems. Warp for Windows is also coming out
soon, but has not been released yet.

Basically, Warp is a modern, Rust-based terminal with AI built in so
you and your team can build great software faster.

All the Terminal screenshots and Gifs I use here were taken in Warp.

i love it. Despite having AI builtin, there still is a significant
learning curve. It does detect and therefore the tools we use in our
native OS, such as shell. I use ZSH in macOS, so Warp uses ZSH. In
Linux, I use Bash, so Warp uses Bash there. I am never going back to
iTerm2 in macOS or Linux Mint's default Terminal program. Warp all the
way!

What does Vim stand for?

Vim stands for Vi iMproved. Vi is frequently a symbolic link to Vim,
the enhanced version of Vi. If you have vim installed and access to
the vim command, you also have access to the vi command. When I
installed Vim in Linux Mint, I gained access to both the vim and vi
command.

Configuring Vim

To make my life much easier when working with Vim, I configured it
using a file I created (which was not included by default) called
.vimrc inside my home directory (/home/maria in Linux and
/Users/mariacam in macOS). I added the following to the .vimrc file:

# Disable compatibility with vim which can cause unexpected issues.
set nocompatible
set autoindent
# Set tab width to 4 columns.
set tabstop=4
# Use space characters instead of tabs.
set expandtab
# Set shift width to 4 spaces.
set shiftwidth=4
# Add numbers to each line on the left-hand side.
set number
# Highlight cursor line underneath the cursor horizontally.
set cursorline
# Highlight cursor line underneath the cursor vertically.
set cursorcolumn
# Do not save backup files.
set nobackup
# While searching though a file incrementally highlight matching characters as you type.
set incsearch
# Do not wrap lines. Allow long lines to extend as far as the line goes.
set nowrap
# Ignore capital letters during search.
set ignorecase
# Override the ignorecase option if searching for capital letters.
# This will allow you to search specifically for capital letters.
set smartcase
# Show partial command you type in the last line of the screen.
set showcmd
# Show the mode you are on the last line.
set showmode
# Show matching words during a search.
set showmatch
# Use highlighting when doing a search.
set hlsearch
# Set the commands to save in history default number is 20.
set history=1000
# Enable auto completion menu after pressing TAB.
set wildmenu
# Make wildmenu behave like similar to Bash completion.
set wildmode=list:longest
# Wildmenu will ignore files with these extensions.
set wildignore=*.docx,*.jpg,*.png,*.gif,*.pdf,*.pyc,*.exe,*.flv,*.img,*.xlsx
# Enable type file detection. Vim will be able to try to detect the type of file in use.
filetype on
# Enable plugins and load plugin for the detected file type.
filetype plugin on
# Load an indent file for the detected file type.
filetype indent on
# Turn syntax highlighting on.
syntax on

This immediately made navigating files in Normal mode and
creating content in Insert mode so much easier!

If I open my .vimrc file using the vim .vimrc command in macOS
iTerm2, it now looks like the following:

If I open my .vimrc file using the vim .vimrc command in macOS Warp
Terminal, it now looks like the following:

Highlighting colors and a few other details may differ slightly when
using Warp Terminal. However, as shown above, these configurations still
work well with Warp and do not cause any conflicts since Warp works
with Vim.

The vim command

The first command to learn regarding Vim is the vim command. In order
to open a file in Vim, I run the following in Terminal:

# this command opens up a file called history.txt in Vim
vim history.txt

Vim modes

The are 4 main modes in vim. Normal mode, Insert mode, Visual mode,
and Command mode. According to Warp documentation, there is also
Replace mode (which actually is part of Normal mode; Replace mode is
redundant), Binary mode, and Org mode. Binary and Org mode fall
under more advanced Vim features and will not be covered here.
However, information related to both is available in the
Related Resources located at the bottom of this article.

Normal mode

Normal mode is the default mode when we enter Vim. It is the mode that
allows us to move around a file. Normal mode can be accessed from
other modes by pressing the esc key.

The (lowercase) gg shortcut

When I press the g key twice, gg, I am taken to the beginning of a
file.

The (uppercase) G shortcut

When I press the G key (Shift key + G key), I am taken to the end
of a file.

The # (number) G shortcut

I love this one. # is a placeholder for the line number that you
want to go to. Let's say I want to go to line 15 of a file in Vim,
I would go into Normal mode by pressing the esc key, then would type
15G (1 key + 5 key + Shift key + G key), and I would be taken to the
beginning of line 15 of a file in Vim.

The (lowercase) h shortcut

When I press the h key, the cursor moves one character to the left.

The (lowercase) j shortcut

When I press the j key, the cursor moves one line down.

The (lowercase) k shortcut

When I press the k key, the cursor moves one line up.

The (lowercase) l shortcut

When I press the l key, the cursor moves one character to the
right.

The # (number) j shortcut

This is similar to the # (number) G shortcut.
When I press the Shift key + 6 key + j key, for example, the cursor
moves 6 lines down.

The # (number) k shortcut

This is similar to the # (number) G shortcut.
When I press the 8 key + (lowercase) k key, for example, the cursor
moves 8 lines up.

The (lowercase) w shortcut

When I press the w key, the cursor moves to the beginning of the
next word.

The (lowercase) b shortcut

When I press the b key, the cursor moves to the beginning of the
previous word.

The (lowercase) e shortcut

When I press the e key, the cursor moves to the end of a word.

The (uppercase) W shortcut

When I press the Shift key + w key, the cursor moves to the
beginning of the next word after a whitespace. This is basically the
same as the (lowercase) w shortcut.

The (uppercase) B shortcut

When I press the Shift key + b key, the cursor moves to the
beginning of the previous word before a whitespace. This is basically
the same as the (lowercase) b shortcut.

The (uppercase) E shortcut

When I press the Shift key + e key, the cursor moves to the end of a
word before a whitespace. This is basically the same as
the (lowercase) e shortcut.

The 0 (zero) shortcut

When I press the 0 key, the cursor moves to the beginning of a line.

The ^ (caret) shortcut

The ^ (caret) shortcut is the same as
the 0 (zero) shortcut. When I press the Shift
key + 6 key, the cursor moves to the beginning of a line.

The (dollar sign) $ shortcut

When I press the Shift key + 4 key, the cursor moves to the end of a
line.

The (lowercase) r shortcut

When I move the cursor over a particular character I want to
replace, I press the r key, and then I press the key of the
character I want to replace it with.

The way this shortcut works is when Imove the cursor over the
character I want to replace, and then press the r key, the character
I want to replace is first replaced by an r character, and then when I
press the character (key) I want to replace it with, it replaces
the r that appeared when I executed
the (lowercase) r shortcut.

The (lowercase) x shortcut

This shortcut is similar to
the (lowercase) r shortcut. When I move the
cursor over the character I want to delete, I then press the x key,
and the character is deleted. This shortcut is also referred to as the
"Delete button".

The way this shortcut works is when I move the cursor over the
character I want to delete, and then press the x key, the character
I wanted to delete is deleted. But if I want to bring back the
character I have deleted, I press the (lowercase) u key which
executes the (lowercase) u shortcut.

The (uppercase) X shortcut

This shortcut (aka the "Backspace button") deletes characters to the
left of the cursor, but not the character it is highlighting (if it
is highlighting one). So if you delete an entire line using
the (uppercase) X shortcut, except for the
character the cursor is highlighting, you can press the (lowercase)
x key, and the character will be removed.

The (lowercase) dw shortcut

When I highlight a word, and then press the d followed by the w key,
the word is deleted. And if I want to bring back that word, I would
press the (lowercase) u key to undo that edit. If, however, I
wanted to replace the word I deleted, I would want to use
the (lowercase) cw shortcut.

In order to highlight a complete word, I have to enter Visual mode. To
switch from Normal Mode to Visual mode, I first press the esc key and
then the (lowercase) v key. The esc key takes me out of Normal mode,
and the (lowercase) v key takes me into Visual mode. Then, I use
either the forward arrow key to highlight the word to the right of the
cursor, making sure to end highlighting after the last character of the
word, or the left arrow key to do the same in the opposite direction.

The (lowercase) cw shortcut

When I highlight a word, and then press the c key followed by the
w key, the word is deleted, and I then replace it with another one.

In order to highlight a complete word, I have to enter Visual mode. To
switch from Normal Mode to Visual mode, I first press the esc key and
then the (lowercase) v key. The esc key takes me out of
Normal mode, and the v key takes me into Visual mode. Then, I use
either the forward arrow key to highlight the word to the right of the
cursor, making sure to end highlighting after the last character of the
word, or the left arrow key to do the same in the opposite direction.

The (lowercase) s shortcut

When I highlight a character with the cursor and then press the s
key, I then press the key of the character I want to replace it
with.

The (uppercase) S shortcut

When I highlight the location in a line where I want to start the
edit of my line, and then press the Shift key + s key, it removes
that content, and then I can type in what I want to replace it
with.

The (uppercase) D shortcut

When I place my cursor where I want to start deleting a line, and
then press the Shift + d key, it deletes the line from that point to
the end of the line.

The (lowercase) dd shortcut

When I select the point from which I want to delete a line using
the cursor, I then press the d key followed by pressing the d key
again, and the line from the location of the cursor on, is deleted.
If I place the cursor at the beginning of the line, the entire line
is deleted.

The (uppercase) C shortcut

This is similar to the (uppercase) D shortcut,
but when I press the Shift key + c key, after the (part of) the
line has been deleted, I can replace it with new content.

The (lowercase) yy shortcut

This works similarly to
the (lowercase) dd shortcut, except that
instead of the line being deleted, it is copied. I first place the
cursor where I want to start copying the line, and then I press the
(lowercase) y key followed by pressing the (lowercase) y key
again, and the part of the line I selected (or the complete line if
I placed the cursor at the beginning of the line) is copied to the
clipboard.

The (lowercase) p shortcut

After I have copied a line (or part of it) as per
the (lowercase) yy shortcut, I press the p
key, and the line is pasted below the line I copied.

The (uppercase) P shortcut

After I have copied a line (or part of it) as per
the (lowercase) yy shortcut, I press the Shift
key + the p key, and the line is pasted above the line I copied.

The (lowercase) u shortcut

When I press the u key, it undoes the last change I made. I can
also keep on pressing the u key in order to keep on undoing previous
changes. Once I am happy with the current state of my file, I can
type :w so that I save this acceptable state. If I want to exit
Vim after saving the acceptable state, I would simply press the esc
key followed by the : (Shift key + (;) semi-colon key), and I
would be taken back to my Terminal prompt.

The Control + r shortcut

The Control key + r key undoes my undo I executed with
the (lowercase) u shortcut. And if I want to
revert to my latest undo, I just press the (lowercase) u key
executing the (lowercase) u shortcut.

Repeating commands

Repeating a command using a count

Vim supports shortcut repetition in Normal mode. Instead of entering
the same shortcut multiple times to repeat the desired action, I can
prefix the same shortcut with the number of repetitions. To delete 6
lines, I would highlight the beginning of the line I wanted to start
my deletion with the cursor, and then I would press the 6 key
followed by the d key and the d key again (6dd). This would
delete the line where the cursor is located and 5 lines after that.

To repeat the (lowercase) yy shortcut, I would
highlight the beginning of the line I wanted to start my copying
with the cursor, and then I would press the 6 key (again,
for example) followed by the y key and the y key again (6yy).
Next, I would move the cursor below the current line and then move it
5 times more, for a total of 6 lines, stopping at the last line I
want to copy (the cursor should appear to "underline" that line).
This would copy the line where the cursor began and 5 lines after
that. Lastly, I would press the (lowercase) p key, not moving the
cursor, and this would paste the 6 lines I copied.

The screenshot below shows the first line which I wanted to
start copying from and where I placed the cursor at the beginning of
that line, and then I pressed 6yy (6 key + y key + y key) at the
beginning of the line where the cursor is located:

The screenshot below shows the end line of the line block I want to
copy. I moved to this line after I had pressed 6yy (as described
above the first screenshot). I had to take the cursor to the line
where I wanted to end the copying process.

Then I pressed the p key, and the 6 lines I copied are pasted below
the lines I copied:

Insert mode

Insert mode allows me to type/insert characters just like a regular
text editor. I can enter Insert mode by using an insert shortcut from
Normal mode.

Entering Insert mode

There are several ways of entering Insert mode.

The (lowercase) i shortcut

When I press the i key, I am switched into Insert mode. I know I am
in Insert mode because -- Insert --- appears at the bottom of the
window.

The (uppercase) I shortcut

When I press the Shift key + i key, I switch into Insert mode, and
the cursor moves to the beginning of the line (if it is not already
there).

The (lowercase) a shortcut

[The (lowercase) a shortcut] behavior is almost the same as the
(lowercase) i shortcut. The only difference is
that when I press the a key, and when -- Insert --- appears at the
bottom of the window, the cursor moves from the beginning of the
line to the next character to the right.

The (uppercase) A shortcut

When I press the Shift key + the a key, I switch into Insert mode,
and the cursor moves to the end of the line.

The (lowercase) o shortcut

After I press the o key, I switch into Insert mode, and the cursor
moves down to the second line, creating a new line space. The contents
of the second line is moved down to the third line.

The (uppercase) O shortcut

When I press the Shift + o key, I switch into Insert mode, and the
first line moves down to the second line, leaving a line space on the
first line.

Switching from Insert mode into Normal mode

In order to switch from Insert mode into Normal mode, I press the
esc key. And if I am ever unsure whether I am in Normal mode or not,
I press the esc key to make sure.

Visual mode

I use Visual mode to select text, similar to clicking and dragging
with a mouse. Selecting text allows shortcuts to apply only to the
selection, such as copying, deleting, replacing, etc.

Entering Visual mode

To make a text selection, first I press the (lowercase) v key, and
this will also mark the starting selection point. Then I move the
cursor to the end selection point, and Vim provides a visual highlight
of the text selection.

The (lowercase) v shortcut

This shortcut is also known as the Visual mode visual subtype.

When I want to enter Visual mode visual subtype, I first press the esc
key to exit whatever mode I was in, and then I press the v key, this
switches me into Visual mode, and will also mark the
start selection point. When I move the cursor across the the
first line, the cursor moves character by character.

Next, I can use the Up arrow or the (lowercase) k key to
select lines going up. As mentioned previously, no matter what the
difference in line lengths, the lines are completely selected. Same
with when I use the Down arrow key or (lowercase) j key to
select lines going down.

The (uppercase) V shortcut

This shortcut is also known as the Visual mode line-wise visual subtype.
It always selects full lines.

When I press the Shift key + v key, I switch into Visual mode, and
this makes text selections line by line. This is great for when I
want to select a block of text in which the lines are
different lengths. After I select the first line, and then move the
cursor down (or the Up arrow key to move the cursor up), it will
select the whole line no matter the difference in line length.

The Control + v shortcut

This shortcut is also known as the Visual mode block-wise subtype. it
selects any rectangular selection.

When I press Control key + (lowercase) v key, I am switched to the
Visual mode block-wise subtype. So far, I have not had
appropriate opportunity to use this subtype. So far, contrary to
popular opinion, I find it somewhat limiting.

As opposed to the Visual mode visual subtype or the
Visual mode line-wise visual subtype, the shortest line is selected and
kept when either selecting lines down or up. This is because lines
and columns are being selected at the same time, and the columns consist
oflines of equal width.

Command mode

Asking Vim for help

If I need to find out how to do something in Vim, I can access Vim
help by running the :help command. I first make sure I am in
Normal mode by pressing the esc key, and then I press the Shift
key + (;) semi-colon key, and then I type "help". And the following
appears:

Then I press the Return key and the following appears:

I could also search for specific help with the :help command.
For example, I could type :help visual.txt:

When I want to exit the :help or :help visual.txt command, I first
press the esc key followed by :q! and then the Return key, which
takes me out of the :help visual.txt command. However, I am still in
Command mode. If I want to quit completely out of Vim, I simply
hit the Return key again, and am taken back to the Terminal prompt.

If I want to remain in Vim, but want to exit out of Command mode,
instead of pressing the Return key a second time, I press the
(lowercase) i key and am taken into Insert mode. If I want to
switch into another mode like Normal mode, for example, I press the
esc key. This way, I stay in Vim.

Other Command mode commands

Other Command mode commands (some of which have already been
covered):

# Quit file
:q
# write changes to file
:w
# Save and quit
:wq
# Save and quit
:x
# Quit forcefully
:q!
# Save and exit forcefully
:wq!
# Go to first line of file
:1
# Set numbers to lines
:set nu
# Remove numbers from lines
:set nanu
# Specified line number, Same as :1 command, just a different number.
:<Specific line number>
# The command output will paste in current cursor position.
:r !date
# Executes shell command "ls" of current working directory in Terminal
:!ls

There is a lot more to Command mode, but this is a good start!

You can dig deeper in Vim by checking out the various Related Resources.

The vimtutor

By default, the Vim install includes a tutorial called vimtutor. It is
meant to help us learn the Vim basics hands-on. We can start the
vimtutor by running the following command in Terminal:

vimtutor

Related Resources

An introduction to the vi editor: RedHat
vim: warp
Vim Essentials: Tips and Tricks for Boosting Productivity: upspir
Vimrc Configuration Guide - How to Customize Your Vim Code Editor with Mappings, Vimscript, Status Line, and More: by Brandon Wallace, freecodecamp
Vim Editor Modes Explained: freecodecamp
A Guide to Vim Visual Mode: builtin

Table of Contents