Daily Linux Command: Vim

vim is a very powerful and commonly used text editor in Linux, and it is an enhanced version of the vi editor. Although beginners may find it difficult to get started, once familiar, its efficiency and powerful features will greatly improve your editing productivity.

🧾 Basic Command Format:

vim [filename]

For example:

vim myfile.txt

🧠 Different Modes in Vim:

Normal Mode is the default mode when Vim starts, used for executing commands such as copy, paste, delete, etc.
Insert Mode is used for entering text. To enter this mode, press i in Normal Mode.
Visual Mode is used for selecting text. Enter it by pressing v (character selection), V (whole line selection), or Ctrl+v (block selection).
Command-line Mode is used for executing commands like save, exit, find, etc. Enter it by pressing :.

✅ Common Vim Operations

📝 Inserting and Editing Text

i — Insert before the current cursor position
I — Insert at the beginning of the current line
a — Insert after the current cursor position
A — Insert at the end of the current line
o — Create a new line below the current line for insertion
O — Create a new line above the current line for insertion

📂 Saving and Exiting

:w — Save
:q — Exit
:wq — Save and exit
:q! — Force exit without saving changes
:x — Similar to :wq, but only saves if there are changes
:w filename — Save as filename

🔍 Finding and Replacing

/keyword — Search downwards (press n for next, N for previous)
?keyword — Search upwards
:s/old/new/ — Replace the first occurrence in the current line
:s/old/new/g — Replace all occurrences in the current line
:%s/old/new/g — Replace all occurrences in the entire file
:%s/old/new/gc — Replace with confirmation

📋 Deleting, Copying, and Pasting

x — Delete the current character
dd — Delete the current line
dw — Delete a word
d$ — Delete from the cursor to the end of the line
yy — Copy the current line
yw — Copy a word
y$ — Copy from the cursor to the end of the line
p — Paste after the cursor
P — Paste before the cursor

🧭 Moving the Cursor

h / j / k / l — Left / Down / Up / Right
w — Jump to the beginning of the next word
b — Jump to the beginning of the previous word
0 — Move to the beginning of the line
$ — Move to the end of the line
gg — Go to the top of the file
G — Go to the bottom of the file
:line_number — Jump to a specific line (e.g., :50)

💡 Tips

u — Undo the last operation
Ctrl + r — Redo the last undo
v + move cursor + d — Delete selected text in Visual Mode
v + move cursor + y — Copy selected text in Visual Mode
:set number or :set nu — Show line numbers
:set nonumber or :set nu! — Hide line numbers
:help — View help documentation

📚 Example: Creating and Saving a File

vim example.txt

Press i to enter Insert Mode and type the content:
```
Hello, this is a test file.
```
Press Esc to return to Normal Mode.
Type :wq and press Enter to save and exit.