Mastering Vim

Vim is not just a text editor; it’s a way of life. Or at least, that’s what enthusiasts tell you.

The Modes

Vim has several modes. The most important are:

1. Normal Mode: For navigation and manipulation.
2. Insert Mode: For typing text.
3. Visual Mode: For selecting text.
4. Command Mode: For saving, exiting, etc.

Essential Shortcuts

Here is a cheat sheet to get you started.

Key	Action
h j k l	Left, Down, Up, Right
w	Jump forward to the start of a word
b	Jump backward to the start of a word
i	Insert before the cursor
a	Append after the cursor
:w	Save
:q	Quit
:wq	Save and Quit

Advanced Motions

“Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” - Peter Drucker

Once you master the basics, try these:

• ciw: Change In Word. Deletes the word under the cursor and switches to Insert mode.
• dt": Delete To ”. Deletes everything until the next quote mark.
• %: Jump between matching parenthesis/brackets.

My .vimrc

set number
set relativenumber
syntax on
set tabstop=4
set shiftwidth=4
set expandtab

Happy Vimming!