Getting Started Using Vi and Vim

You may have heard of the text editor Vi, and probably also its relative Vim. But what is Vi, and why do many users on Unix systems continue to use it? Keep reading to learn more about Vi and what sets this text editor apart. You can also find some help getting started using Vi.

Vi is a visual text editor included by default on Unix operating systems. It is a character-based screen editor without a GUI. One of Vi’s major draws is its ubiquity and accessibility. You do not need to have a desktop environment to use it, and it is typically already installed on your system.

Vi’s popularity can be attributed to its highly-efficient command system. As an editor, Vi has the goal of giving users a robust editing experience without ever having to leave the keyboard’s home row. With a dedicated command mode, Vi utilizes the full keyboard for tasks like navigating a file, manipulating text, searching, and replacing phrases.

Keyboard-based editing requires a high learning curve. Switching modes and finding the right commands for your needs takes practice. However, Vi’s ability to improve their text-editing efficiency makes the learning well worth the effort.

Other editors include Vi’s key bindings, which attests to its respect within the Linux community. From editors like Emacs to Atom, you can find popular extensions dedicated to replicating the Vi command system.

Historically, Vi was designed as a visual mode for the Ex-line editor. The name “Vi” comes from the Ex command, visual, that is used to enter visual mode. The shorthand for that command is vi.

You may also have heard of Vim and wonder what are the differences between Vi and Vim. Vim is short for “Vi improved.” It takes Vi as its base and adds numerous features to update the experience. Among those features are mouse support, a visual selection mode, and support for graphical versions.

For many Linux systems, Vim is actually the version of Vi that is pre-installed. However, the fundamental experience remains largely the same between Vi and Vim. This guide focuses on operations available in both Vi and Vim. This means you can apply the information in this guide to whatever version of the editor available on your system.

You can open up Vi with the vi command. Generally, if your system uses Vim, this command still links to it, but you can also use the vim command in that case. When you open up the Vim editor, you see a similar message:

~
~                 VIM - Vi IMproved
~
~                 version 8.1.2269
~              by Bram Moolenaar et al.
~         Modified by team+vim@tracker.debian.org
~       Vim is open source and freely distributable
~
~            Sponsor Vim development!
~     type  :help sponsor<Enter>    for information
~
~     type  :q<Enter>               to exit
~     type  :help<Enter>  or  <F1>  for on-line help
~     type  :help version8<Enter>   for version info
~

You can, alternatively, open Vi with a file using the command below. Replace example-file with the path to the desired file.

vi example-file.txt

Vi has two distinct modes. Getting familiar with them helps you get the most out of Vi.

• Normal mode: This mode is also known as “command mode” and is the mode where you enter most of your Vi commands. Keys pressed in normal mode are evaluated as commands and not as text entered on the file you are editing. For instance, pressing the j key in this mode moves the cursor down a line, and pressing the k key moves the cursor up a line.

  You can enter normal mode by pressing the Esc key while you are in Insert mode.

• Insert mode: This mode is your main place for entering text. Here, your key presses tend to operate how you would expect in a text editor — pressing the j key types a “j” character at the cursor.

  You can enter this mode by pressing the i key while you are in normal mode. Alternatively, you can press the o key to insert a new line and immediately enter Insert mode.

Vim also includes visual mode. To access visual mode from normal mode, press one of the following keys:

• v, to start visual selection under the cursor.
• V, to start a line-by-line visual selection.
• Ctrl and v, to start a columnar visual selection under the cursor.

If you have mouse support enabled, you can also temporarily enter this mode by selecting text using the mouse.

This section includes explanations and examples of several of the most commonly used Vi commands. All of these commands are input from normal mode, and all of them are case sensitive.

Several of the commands begin with a colon, as in :e. Typing a colon in normal mode takes you to the command input line, which you can see at the bottom of the screen. There, you can type and edit commands as you would on a command line. Pressing Enter is required to complete and execute these commands. This same behavior also applies to commands beginning with the / character.

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:e ~/example-file.txt

To open a file, use the :e command followed by the file path. Here is an example that opens the example-file in the current user’s home directory.

:e ~/example-file

You can then write changes to a file using the :w command. If you want to specify the file to save to, add the path after the command:

:w ~/example-file

You can navigate text in Vi using the arrow keys, whether in normal or insert mode. However, in normal mode, you can also use the keys in the list below. Some of these keys help keep you from leaving the home row for the arrow keys, but most add handy and efficient navigation shortcuts.

• j moves the cursor down a line
• k moves the cursor up a line
• h moves the cursor one character to the left
• l moves the cursor one character to the right
• w moves the cursor forward by one word
• b moves the cursor backward by one word
• $ moves the cursor to the end of the line
• 0 moves the cursor to the beginning of the line
• ^ moves the cursor to the first non-space character in the line
• gg moves the cursor to the first line in the file
• G moves the cursor to the last line in the file

To undo a change, use the u command. You can then redo a change with :redo.

The base Vi command for copying is y. The list below shows you a variety of ways you can quickly define what text gets copied.

• yw copies from the cursor to the end of the word
• 4yw copies from the cursor to the end of the fourth word
• y^ copies from the cursor to the first non-space character in the line
• y$ copies from the cursor to the last character in the line
• yy copies the current line
• 4yy copies four lines from the current line down

The same motif applies to cutting. Vi’s base command for cutting is d. So, you can take all of the command in the list for copying text and replace y with d to cut the text instead. In Vi, the cut commands are also generally what you use for deleting text.

When you want to paste text that you have copied or cut, Vi provides two commands to define where the text goes:

• p pastes after the cursor
• P pastes before the cursor

Vi uses the / command to start a search. Once you enter the / command, you can begin entering your search text. Below is an example that searches for the word TODO. Note that Vi’s searches are case sensitive:

/TODO

Pressing Enter once you have entered your search text takes you to the first instance of that text in the file. You can then navigate the search results using the n command to go forward and the N command to go backward.

To search and replace text in a file, use the :s/ command followed by the search text, the replacement text, and g. This makes the search and replace global. The example below replaces all instances of TODO in the file with DONE:

:s/TODO/DONE/g

Vi has its own syntax for search and replace that can quickly make sophisticated changes in a file. You can learn more about Vi’s search patterns and flags through its own help menu. In Vi, use one of the following commands to get more information on searching and replacing text:

:help /
:help :s
:help pattern
:help :s_flags

You can also reference the Vim Fandom page on search and replace for additional information and examples.

To exit Vi, use the :q command. Additionally, if you want to save your changes and exit in a single command, you can combine the two commands using, :wq.

You can also exit Vi without saving your changes. To do so, add a ! to the end of the quit command: :q!.

If you are looking to take your Vi usage to the next level, you may want to check out Vim and NeoVim. Each of these evolves from Vi and is highly customizable through numerous configuration options and community-developed plug-ins. Check out our guides Introduction to Vim Customization and How to Install NeoVim and Plugins with vim-plug, where you can find an introduction to each editor and help getting started using them.

Many of the customization options described in the Vim customization guide apply to Vi as well. The guide can be a great start if you want to fine-tune your Vi experience.

More Information

You may wish to consult the following resources for additional information on this topic. While these are provided in the hope that they will be useful, please note that we cannot vouch for the accuracy or timeliness of externally hosted materials.

• Vim Fandom Page on Search and Replace