<\/span><\/h2>\nVim is a popular text editor used in Unix-like operating systems (Linux, BSD), windows, and macOS for programming, writing, editing configuration files, and other tasks requiring text manipulation. Vim refers to vi improved, written by Bram Moolenaar, a Dutch computer programmer in the late 1980s. It is an enhanced version of vi (visual editor) which was written by Bill Joy back in 1976, providing additional features and supporting both text and graphical interfaces.<\/p>\n
Vim is well-known for its efficiency and its wide range of customization options. It is a free and open-source text editor that is completely maintainable by the keyboard. Without using any menus or mouse, users can operate it seamlessly. Like, to insert text into a file, users only need to press i<\/strong> and type. Vim adds a new dimension for editing complex text and files.<\/p>\n<\/span>Why Do We Use Vim in Linux?<\/span><\/h2>\nIn Linux, vim is a powerful text editor with numerous advantages, making it a valuable tool for developers. Here are a few reasons to learn Vim:<\/p>\n
\n- Installable Everywhere: <\/strong>Most Linux distros install Vim by default. However, it can also be installed virtually on all Unix-like systems. Regardless of which Linux distribution you are using, Vim is accessible everywhere.<\/li>\n
- Fast and Efficient: <\/strong>Vim’s keyboard-based interface allows you to edit text quickly and efficiently. Once you get the hang of Vim’s commands and keyboard shortcuts, you’ll be able to complete tasks in half the time it takes by using a mouse.<\/li>\n
- Flexible: <\/strong>You can customize Vim’s plugins, mapping, and other settings to create a custom editing environment, making it more flexible for users.<\/li>\n
- Scalable: <\/strong>Whether you are working on a small or large text, Vim will always be responsive and scalable, ensuring smooth performance.<\/li>\n
- Supports TUI and GUI: <\/strong>Vim supports both text-driven Terminal User Interface (TUI) and Graphical User Interface (GUI) that lets users work with their preferred interface.<\/li>\n
- Simple Commands: <\/strong>The commands and shortcuts used in Vim are easier to remember. For instance, i<\/strong> for inserting, d<\/strong> for deleting, q<\/strong> for quitting, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/span>Vim Modes<\/span><\/h2>\nVim has multiple modes of operation, each of which has a distinct function, such as editing, copying, inserting, and so forth. Here are 5 Vim operating modes:<\/p>\n
\n- Normal Mode: <\/strong>This is the default mode where you can navigate through documents and perform various operations such as copying, pasting, deleting, and more using single key commands.<\/li>\n
- Insert Mode: <\/strong>It allows users to modify and insert text by typing and removing characters, just like modern text editors do. There are 3 ways to enter the insert mode from the default mode:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\n- \n
\n- Press
i<\/code> key to enter insert mode at the current cursor position.<\/li>\n- Press
I<\/code> key to enter insert mode at the start of the current line.<\/li>\n- Press
a<\/code> key to enter insert mode after the current cursor position.<\/li>\n- Press
A<\/code> key to enter insert mode at the end of the current line.<\/li>\n- Press
o<\/code> key to enter insert mode, inserting a new line below the current character position.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n- Visual Mode: <\/strong>This mode lets you visually edit the text block. To switch to visual mode, hit the v key to indicate the beginning of the selection. Move your arrow keys to the end of the selection. Then, run the available normal mode commands to edit the text.<\/li>\n
- Command-line Mode: <\/strong>It provides a more sophisticated way to run commands. To switch from the normal mode to the command line mode, press : which moves the cursor to the command box. After that, type any command and hit ENTER<\/strong> to execute it.<\/li>\n
- Replace Mode: <\/strong>In replace mode, you can simply type over the existing text. To switch to replace mode from default mode, press R and continue typing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
<\/span>How to Use Vim in Linux?<\/span><\/h2>\nTo learn to use Vim in Linux, follow the simple steps below:<\/p>\n
<\/span>Step 1: Open a Terminal Window<\/span><\/h3>\nOpen a terminal from your Linux operating system. Here, I am going to open my Ubuntu terminal by Pressing CTRL+ALT+T<\/strong>. Mac users can also follow these instructions as Vim is available in macOS as well.<\/p>\n<\/span>Step 2: Create a File<\/span><\/h3>\nAfter opening the terminal, write Vim followed by the filename to create a file \u201cfile1.txt\u201d:<\/p>\n
vim file1.txt<\/code><\/pre>\nYou can see that the “file1.txt” file is created in the Vim text editor:<\/p>\n
![\"creating](\"https:\/\/linuxsimply.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/1.creating-a-file-in-vim.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n
Note:<\/strong> If Vim is not installed on your system, install it using the following command:<\/p>\nFor Deian-based<\/strong> distro users:<\/p>\nsudo apt install vim<\/code><\/pre>\nFor Red-hat<\/strong>-based distro users:<\/p>\nsudo yum install vim<\/code><\/pre>\nFor Mac<\/strong> users:<\/p>\nbrew install vim<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/span>Step 3: Insert Text and Save File Modifications<\/span><\/h3>\nTo insert text into the file, hit i<\/code> button. It will take you to the insert mode from the normal default mode. Now, type texts as per your need inside the file. Here, I am typing the following text in the \u201cfile1.txt\u201d file:<\/p>\nHello user, I am using Ubuntu.\nWelcome to Linuxsimply.com<\/code><\/pre>\n![\"inserting](\"https:\/\/linuxsimply.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/2.inserting-text-to-a-file-in-vim.png\")
<\/p>\n
Once you have done inserting text, press the Esc<\/strong> key to go back to the normal mode. After that, type :<\/code> to enter command-line mode.<\/p>\nTo save the \u201cfile1.txt\u201d, write w after the colon :w<\/code> and press ENTER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n![\"saving](\"https:\/\/linuxsimply.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/3.saving-file-text-in-vim.png\")
<\/p>\n
As you can see, the contents of the “file1.txt” have been written (saved) on the disk.<\/p>\n
You can also change the filename by pressing ENTER<\/strong> after writing :w newfile.txt<\/code>. It will change the filename from \u201cfile1.txt\u201d to \u201cnewfile.txt\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/span>Step 4: Navigate through File<\/span><\/h3>\nVim offers many amazing navigation features. If you want to go straight to the 5th line of the file content, you can achieve that using Vim\u2019s commands without clicking traditional arrow keys several times. It is beneficial when the file size is huge. Let\u2019s see practically how to navigate through a file in Vim:<\/p>\n
To set the number before each line of the file contents, type :set number<\/code> and press ENTER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n![\"navigating](\"https:\/\/linuxsimply.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/4.navigating-through-file-in-vim.png\")
<\/p>\n
Now to jump to line number 2, type :2<\/code> and press ENTER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n![\"navigating](\"https:\/\/linuxsimply.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/5.navigating-through-file-in-vim2.png\")
<\/p>\n
You can go to any line as per your requirements using :Line_number<\/code> command.<\/p>\nIf you want to go to the end of the line, write :$<\/code> and press ENTER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n![\"going](\"https:\/\/linuxsimply.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/6.going-at-the-end-of-the-file-contents-in-vim.png\")
<\/p>\n
Note:<\/strong> Before executing any command, hit Esc <\/strong>to return to normal mode.<\/div><\/div>\n<\/span>Step 5: Editing Text in a File<\/span><\/h3>\nTo edit the text in a file, go to the line using navigation keys or shortcuts to perform the editing operations like delete, undo, highlight, copy, paste, and so on.<\/p>\n
<\/span>A. Delete File Line<\/span><\/h4>\nNow, to delete line number 2 from the file, type :d<\/code> and press ENTER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n![\"deleting](\"https:\/\/linuxsimply.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/7.deleting-a-file-contents-in-vim.png\")
Line 2 \u201cWelcome to Linuxsimply.com\u201d has been deleted successfully.<\/p>\n
<\/span>B. Undo Operation<\/span><\/h4>\nTo undo the previous operation, just press the u<\/code> button. Multiple operations can also be undone by pressing the u<\/code> button multiple times. For example, to get back the deleted line, I will perform the following undo operation:<\/p>\n![\"undo](\"https:\/\/linuxsimply.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/8.undo-operation-in-vim.png\")
<\/p>\n
<\/span>C. Highlight Text<\/span><\/h4>\nHighlighting text allows you to focus on a specific text or character. It improves readability by highlighting different parts of a complex code. To highlight a line in Vim, hit v<\/code> button to enter a visual mood from the normal mode. After that, select the text to highlight using the left and right arrow keys:<\/p>\n![\"selecting](\"https:\/\/linuxsimply.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/9.selecting-text-in-vim-to-highlight.png\")
<\/p>\n
Once the text has been chosen, you can run various commands to change the background color as well as the text color.<\/p>\n
<\/span>D. Copy and Paste Text<\/span><\/h4>\nTo copy a text in Vim, first select the text you want to copy. Then, press Y<\/code> to copy the text to the clipboard. Afterward, move the cursor to specify the location for pasting. Now, hit the p<\/code> button to paste the copied text:<\/p>\n![\"copying](\"https:\/\/linuxsimply.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/10.copying-and-pasting-text-in-vim.png\")
<\/p>\n
You can see that, line 1 \u201cHello user, I am using Ubuntu.\u201d has been pasted after line 2.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Step 6: Searching Text in a File<\/span><\/h3>\nTo search for a specific pattern in a file using Vim, run \/pattern<\/code> and press ENTER<\/strong>. Here, I am going to search for the word \u201cuser\u201d in “file1.txt” by typing \/user<\/code>. To move to the next match (in case there are multiple matches), press n<\/code>, and hit shift+n<\/code> to move to the previous match.<\/p>\n![\"searching](\"https:\/\/linuxsimply.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/11.searching-text-in-vim.png\")
<\/p>\n
After running the \/user<\/code> command, the \u201cuser\u201d word has been highlighted.<\/p>\n\n
Note:<\/strong> To search backward (from the current cursor position) for a pattern, you can type ?pattern<\/code> instead of \/pattern<\/code>. <\/div><\/div>\n<\/span>Step 7: Exit File<\/span><\/h3>\nTo exit the opened file after saving the changes in the file in Vim, enter :x<\/code> or :wq<\/code>. To quit without saving the file changes, enter :q!<\/code>:<\/p>\n![\"exiting](\"https:\/\/linuxsimply.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/12.exiting-file-in-vim.png\")
<\/p>\n
<\/span>Vim Commands<\/span><\/h2>\nThere are some useful Vim commands that every Linux user should know to experience smooth performance with Vim. These are:<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\n\nCommands<\/strong><\/th>\nTasks<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n\n| i<\/td>\n | Go to insert mode starting before the current cursor position.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| a<\/td>\n | Go to insert mode starting after the current cursor position.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| o<\/td>\n | Go to insert mode after adding a blank line starting after the current cursor position.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| v<\/td>\n | Go to visual mode.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| r<\/td>\n | Go to replace mode.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Esc key<\/td>\n | Go to command mode.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| :w<\/td>\n | Write file.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| :q<\/td>\n | Quit file.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| :q!<\/td>\n | Quit without saving.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| :wq<\/td>\n | Save and quit file.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| :set number or :set nu<\/td>\n | Set line number.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| :set number! or :set nu!<\/td>\n | Remove line number.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| :u<\/td>\n | Undo last edit.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| CTRL+r<\/td>\n | Redo last edit.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| \/<\/td>\n | Search forward in file.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| ?<\/td>\n | Search backward in file.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| dd<\/td>\n | Delete line. 2dd for deleting two lines.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| x<\/td>\n | Delete letter.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| dw<\/td>\n | Delete word.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| dG<\/td>\n | Delete everything until the end of file.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| yy or Y<\/td>\n | Copy line. 2yy or 2Y for copying two lines.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| p<\/td>\n | Paste text after the current cursor position.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| P<\/td>\n | Paste text before the current cursor position.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| :%s\/word1\/word2\/g<\/td>\n | Search all the word1 and replace it with word2.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| gUh<\/td>\n | Converts to uppercase next word h.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| guh<\/td>\n | Converts to lowercase next word h.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n <\/div> <\/span><\/p>\n | | |