A list of vi commands

vi has a comprehensive list of commands that can be used to control its activity. Please note, many commands can be prefixed by a number which will cause the command to be repeated that number of times.

e.g. 15dd will delete 15 lines if there are at least 15 lines from cursor to end of the file.

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Commands to enter or exit Edit mode

Operation	Keystroke
insert before current position	i
append after current position	a
append at end of current line	A
insert on new line below current	o
insert on new line above current	O
replace current character and the insert after	s
replace current line from start	S
overwrite character at cursor	r<char>
overtype (replace)	R

What you type will appear in the file, either inserted between or replacing the current text.

Operation	Key stroke
end current edit mode	Esc

You can also end the edit mode by leaving the text area or by moving the cursor outside the edit scope (this depends on which edit mode is being used).

vi Movement Command List

	Left	Right
Single Character	h	l
Word	b	w
End of Line	^	$

	Up	Down
Line	k	j
Half a Page	Ctrl+u	Ctrl+d
Full Page	Ctrl+b	Ctrl+f
Max	1G	G

Deletion Commands

Operation	Key stroke
Delete a character	x
Delete a word	dw
Delete an entire line	dd

List of Miscellaneous commands

Operation	Key stroke
Display line no. and total no of lines	Ctrl+G
repeat last command	.
undo last command	u
yank (copy) word	yw
yank line	Y
paste (insert) yanked item after	p
paste (insert) yanked item before	P
change case and move one character right	~
join next line onto end of current line	J
join previous line onto start of current line	K
move to home position (top right corner)	H

Search Command

Operation	Key stroke
Find a string	/<string to find>
Repeat a search forward	n

List of vi Replace Commands

:%s/<string to replace>/<replacing string>/

optionally, ending with g to do a global replace

vi File Operations

Operation	Key strokes
read file into current file at current location	:r <filename>
write file to new file name	:w <filename>
save to current name	:w
end current edit and start on file named NB. if current file has been changed either write the change, or discard changes	:e <filename>
discarding changes and restart edit on current file	:e!

Commands to leave vi

Operation	Key stroke
save any changes made and quit editor	: x :wq ZZ
quit (no changes made)	:q
force quit discarding any changes	:q!