`vi` Tutorial

vi has two modes - command mode and insert mode. In command mode, you are not directly typing text into the file. Instead, you are giving commands like delete a single line, delete several lines, paste several lines, replace all instances of “hello” with “howdy”, save the file, quit, move the cursor, and so on. At any time, to get into command mode, you hit the esc key. In insert mode, you can type normally.

There are a few ways to get into command mode:

i: insert text at the cursor
a: insert the text immediately following the cursor
o (lowercase letter): makes a new line for text after the cursor
O (uppercase letter): makes a new line for text before the cursor

Below is a set of very useful vi commands which apply in command mode:

Moving the Cursor Around

Use arrow keys
h: move left
l: move right
k: move up
j: move down
G: go to the end of the file
/hello: go to the next instance of “hello” in the file

Moving Text Around

dd: delete the current line of text
p: paste the last deleted text below the cursor
P: paste the last deleted text above the cursor
J: tack next line to end of current line

Inserting Text

Note that these all move into insert mode.

a: insert after current cursor spot
i: insert before current cursor spot
I: insert text at the beginning of current line
o (lowercase letter): insert blank line after cursor
O (uppercase letter): insert blank line before cursor

Saving Files and Quitting

Note the use of the colon (:) before these commands.

:w: saves the file
:q: quits the program
:q!: quits program without saving
:wq: saves the file and quits the program

Useful Complicated Commands