Vim and Neovim Notes

Table of Contents

1. What is Vim/Neovim?
2. Which One Should You Use?
3. Installation Guide
4. Understanding Modes
5. Basic Navigation
6. Editing Basics
7. Advanced Motions and Text Objects
8. Search and Replace
9. Visual Mode
10. Registers & Yanking
11. Macros: Record and Replay
12. Buffers, Windows and Tabs
13. Configuration (.vimrc / init.lua)
14. Essential Plugins
15. Practical Editing Habits
16. Practice Exercises
17. Quick Reference

1. What is Vim/Neovim?

Vim stands for Vi IMproved. It is a modal text editor, which means you use different modes for moving, editing, selecting, and running commands.

Neovim is a modern fork of Vim with cleaner defaults, Lua configuration, built-in LSP support, and strong plugin support. If you are starting today, Neovim is usually the smoother daily editor, while basic Vim is still useful on servers.

Where Vim Helps

Reason	Explanation
Editing flow	Move, change, delete, and repeat edits without leaving the keyboard.
Ubiquity	Available on every Unix system, SSH servers, containers
Efficiency	Useful for config files, logs, scripts, and remote troubleshooting.
Extensibility	Plugins can turn Neovim into a focused coding environment.
Portability	Your config travels with you

The Vim approach

Vim commands combine like a small editing language. For example, d means delete and w means word, so dw deletes a word. Once that idea clicks, the command list starts to feel less random.

2. Which One Should You Use?

Feature	Vim	Neovim
Configuration	Vimscript (.vimrc)	Lua or Vimscript (init.lua)
LSP Support	Via plugins (CoC)	Built-in native LSP
Async Plugins	Limited	Native async support
Modern Features	Classic	Floating windows, tree-sitter
Plugin Ecosystem	Mature	Growing rapidly
Default Settings	Minimal	Sensible defaults

Recommendation

Beginners: Start with Neovim if you want a modern editor for daily work.
Servers and SSH: Learn basic Vim because it is often available by default when you are editing config files remotely.

3. Installation Guide

Linux

# Vim
sudo apt install vim          # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo pacman -S vim            # Arch
sudo dnf install vim          # Fedora

# Neovim
sudo apt install neovim
sudo pacman -S neovim
sudo dnf install neovim

macOS

brew install vim
brew install neovim

Windows

# Using Chocolatey
choco install vim
choco install neovim

# Using Scoop
scoop install vim
scoop install neovim

# Using winget
winget install vim.vim
winget install Neovim.Neovim

Verify Installation

vim --version
nvim --version

4. Understanding Modes: The Core Concept

Vim is a modal editor, which means different modes handle different tasks. Normal mode is for movement and commands, Insert mode is for typing, and Visual mode is for selecting text.

Mode	Purpose	Enter With	Exit With
Normal	Navigation, commands	`Esc`	Already there
Insert	Type text	`i`, `a`, `o`	`Esc`
Visual	Select text	`v`, `V`, `Ctrl+v`	`Esc`
Command	Ex commands	`:`	`Enter` or `Esc`
Replace	Overwrite text	`R`	`Esc`

Beginner note

A common beginner mistake is staying in Insert mode. Normal mode is your home base. Get used to tapping Esc, or remap it to jk if that feels better.

Ways to Enter Insert Mode

Key	Action
i	Insert before cursor
I	Insert at beginning of line
a	Append after cursor
A	Append at end of line
o	Open new line below
O	Open new line above
s	Substitute character (delete & insert)
S	Substitute entire line

Character Movement

Key	Action	Mnemonic
h	Move left	left
j	Move down	down (j hangs down)
k	Move up	up (k points up)
l	Move right	right

Word Movement

Key	Action
w	Next word (start)
W	Next WORD (whitespace-separated)
e	End of word
E	End of WORD
b	Back to start of word
B	Back to start of WORD

Line Movement

Key	Action
0	Start of line
^	First non-blank character
$	End of line
g_	Last non-blank character

Screen Movement

Key	Action
gg	Go to first line
G	Go to last line
:n	Go to line n
Ctrl+d	Scroll down half page
Ctrl+u	Scroll up half page
Ctrl+f	Scroll forward full page
Ctrl+b	Scroll backward full page
H	Top of screen (High)
M	Middle of screen
L	Bottom of screen (Low)
zz	Center cursor on screen

Practice tip: use counts

Prefix any motion with a number: 5j = move 5 lines down, 3w = move 3 words forward, 10G = go to line 10.

6. Editing Basics

Delete Commands

Command	Action
x	Delete character under cursor
X	Delete character before cursor
dd	Delete entire line
D	Delete from cursor to end of line
dw	Delete word
d$	Delete to end of line
d0	Delete to start of line
dG	Delete to end of file
dgg	Delete to start of file

Change Commands

Change = Delete + Enter Insert mode

Command	Action
cc	Change entire line
C	Change from cursor to end of line
cw	Change word
ciw	Change inner word
ci"	Change inside quotes
ci(	Change inside parentheses

Copy (Yank) and Paste

Command	Action
yy	Yank (copy) line
Y	Yank line (same as yy)
yw	Yank word
y$	Yank to end of line
p	Paste after cursor
P	Paste before cursor

Undo and Redo

Command	Action
u	Undo
Ctrl+r	Redo
U	Undo all changes on line
.	Repeat last command (useful)

The dot command repeats the last change

The . command repeats your last change. Example: ciwhelloEsc then navigate to another word and press . to replace it with "hello" too.

7. Advanced Motions and Text Objects

The Vim Grammar

Operator + Motion = Action

# Operators
d = delete
c = change
y = yank (copy)
v = visual select
> = indent right
< = indent left

# Formula: operator + [count] + motion
d2w   = delete 2 words
c3j   = change 3 lines down
y5l   = yank 5 characters right

Text Objects: a useful pattern

Text objects let you operate on semantic units of text.

Object	Meaning	Example
iw	inner word	`diw` = delete word
aw	a word (includes space)	`daw` = delete word + space
is	inner sentence	`cis` = change sentence
ip	inner paragraph	`yip` = yank paragraph
i"	inside quotes	`ci"` = change inside quotes
a"	around quotes	`da"` = delete including quotes
i(	inside parentheses	`di(` = delete inside parens
i{	inside curly braces	`ci{` = change inside braces
i[	inside brackets	`yi[` = yank inside brackets
it	inside HTML tag	`cit` = change tag content
at	around HTML tag	`dat` = delete entire tag

Text objects reduce repeated movement

Instead of moving character by character, use ci" anywhere inside quotes to change that quoted text. dap deletes a whole paragraph. These are small commands, but they remove a lot of repeated movement.

Find and Till Motions

Command	Action
f{char}	Jump to next {char} on line
F{char}	Jump to previous {char}
t{char}	Jump till (before) next {char}
T{char}	Jump till previous {char}
;	Repeat last f/t motion
,	Repeat f/t in reverse direction

# Delete until comma
dt,

# Change to next quote
ct"

# Delete including the comma
df,

8. Search and Replace

Basic Search

Command	Action
/pattern	Search forward
?pattern	Search backward
n	Next match
N	Previous match
*	Search word under cursor (forward)
#	Search word under cursor (backward)

Search and Replace (Substitute)

# Basic syntax
:s/old/new/           # Replace first on current line
:s/old/new/g          # Replace all on current line
:%s/old/new/g         # Replace all in file
:%s/old/new/gc        # Replace all with confirmation

# Case insensitive
:%s/old/new/gi

# Replace in range (lines 5-20)
:5,20s/old/new/g

# Replace in visual selection
:'<,'>s/old/new/g

Useful Search Patterns

# Word boundaries
/\             # Exact word match

# Case insensitive
/pattern\c

# Very magic mode (better regex)
/\v(pattern1|pattern2)

Clear search highlight

After searching, clear the highlight with :noh or :nohlsearch. If you search often, map this to a key like <leader>h.

9. Visual Mode

Visual Mode Types

Key	Mode	Use Case
v	Character-wise	Select characters
V	Line-wise	Select entire lines
Ctrl+v	Block (column)	Select columns/rectangles

Visual Mode Operations

# Select and operate
v + motion + operator
viw + y              # Select inner word, yank
V5j + d              # Select 5 lines, delete

# Block mode magic (Ctrl+v)
Ctrl+v + 3j + I + // + Esc   # Comment 4 lines
Ctrl+v + 3j + $ + A + ; + Esc  # Add semicolon to 4 lines

Block mode for column edits

Ctrl+v lets you edit multiple lines at once. Select a column, press I to insert, type text, press Esc - text appears on all selected lines.

Useful Visual Commands

Command	Action
o	Move to other end of selection
O	Move to other corner (block mode)
gv	Reselect last visual selection
>	Indent selection
<	Unindent selection
=	Auto-indent selection
~	Toggle case
U	Uppercase
u	Lowercase

10. Registers and Advanced Yanking

Vim has multiple "clipboards" called registers.

Register Types

Register	Description
"	Default (unnamed) register
0	Yank register (last yanked text)
1-9	Delete history (1 = most recent)
a-z	Named registers (you control)
A-Z	Append to named register
+	System clipboard
*	Primary selection (X11)
_	Black hole (delete without saving)
/	Last search pattern

Using Registers

# View all registers
:registers
:reg

# Yank to register a
"ayy

# Paste from register a
"ap

# Yank to system clipboard
"+yy

# Paste from system clipboard
"+p

# Delete without affecting registers
"_dd

The 0 Register Trick

When you yank text, it goes to register 0. When you delete, it goes to ". Use "0p to paste your last yank even after deleting!

11. Macros - Record & Replay

Macros record keystrokes and replay them. This is useful when the same edit repeats across many lines.

Basic Macro Workflow

# 1. Start recording to register q
qq

# 2. Perform your actions
...edit commands...

# 3. Stop recording
q

# 4. Replay macro
@q

# 5. Replay again
@@

# 6. Replay 10 times
10@q

Macro Example: Add Semicolons

# Starting position: cursor on first line
qq          # Start recording
A;          # Go to end, insert semicolon
Esc         # Exit insert mode
j           # Move to next line
q           # Stop recording

99@q        # Apply to next 99 lines

Macro practice tips

1. Start macros at line beginning (0) or on a word (b)
2. Use /pattern<CR> to jump consistently
3. End with motion to next target for chaining
4. Save macros in your vimrc: let @q = 'A;^[j'

12. Buffers, Windows and Tabs

Buffers (Open Files)

# List buffers
:ls
:buffers

# Switch buffers
:b [number]     # Go to buffer number
:b [name]       # Go to buffer by name
:bn             # Next buffer
:bp             # Previous buffer
:bd             # Delete (close) buffer

# Open file in new buffer
:e filename

Windows (Splits)

# Split windows
:sp [file]      # Horizontal split
:vsp [file]     # Vertical split
Ctrl+w s        # Horizontal split
Ctrl+w v        # Vertical split

# Navigate windows
Ctrl+w h        # Move left
Ctrl+w j        # Move down
Ctrl+w k        # Move up
Ctrl+w l        # Move right
Ctrl+w w        # Cycle windows

# Resize
Ctrl+w =        # Equal size
Ctrl+w >        # Wider
Ctrl+w <        # Narrower
Ctrl+w +        # Taller
Ctrl+w -        # Shorter

# Close
:q              # Close window
:only           # Close all other windows

Tabs

:tabnew [file]  # New tab
:tabn           # Next tab
:tabp           # Previous tab
gt              # Next tab
gT              # Previous tab
:tabclose       # Close tab

13. Configuration

Config File Locations

# Vim
~/.vimrc                    # Linux/Mac
~/_vimrc                    # Windows

# Neovim
~/.config/nvim/init.vim     # Vimscript
~/.config/nvim/init.lua     # Lua (recommended)

Essential .vimrc Settings

" Basic settings
set nocompatible
set number relativenumber   " Line numbers
set tabstop=4               " Tab width
set shiftwidth=4            " Indent width
set expandtab               " Spaces instead of tabs
set autoindent              " Auto indent
set smartindent             " Smart indent
set wrap                    " Wrap lines
set linebreak               " Wrap at word boundaries

" Search
set ignorecase              " Case insensitive
set smartcase               " Unless uppercase used
set hlsearch                " Highlight matches
set incsearch               " Incremental search

" UI
set cursorline              " Highlight current line
set showmatch               " Show matching brackets
set wildmenu                " Command completion
set scrolloff=8             " Keep 8 lines visible
set signcolumn=yes          " Always show sign column
set colorcolumn=80          " Show column marker

" Performance
set lazyredraw              " Don't redraw during macros
set updatetime=300          " Faster updates

" Key mappings
let mapleader = " "         " Space as leader
inoremap jk <Esc>           " jk to escape
nnoremap <leader>w :w<CR>   " Quick save
nnoremap <leader>h :noh<CR> " Clear search

Neovim init.lua Basics

-- Basic options
vim.opt.number = true
vim.opt.relativenumber = true
vim.opt.tabstop = 4
vim.opt.shiftwidth = 4
vim.opt.expandtab = true
vim.opt.smartindent = true
vim.opt.cursorline = true
vim.opt.ignorecase = true
vim.opt.smartcase = true

-- Leader key
vim.g.mapleader = " "

-- Key mappings
vim.keymap.set('i', 'jk', '<Esc>')
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>w', ':w<CR>')
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>h', ':noh<CR>')

14. Essential Plugins

Plugin Managers

Manager	For
vim-plug	Vim & Neovim
packer.nvim	Neovim (Lua)
lazy.nvim	Neovim (modern, recommended)

Useful Plugins

Plugin	Purpose
nvim-treesitter	Better syntax highlighting
nvim-lspconfig	Language Server Protocol
telescope.nvim	Fuzzy finder (files, grep, etc.)
nvim-cmp	Autocompletion
nvim-tree / neo-tree	File explorer
lualine.nvim	Status line
gitsigns.nvim	Git integration
vim-surround	Surround text objects
comment.nvim	Easy commenting
which-key.nvim	Keybinding hints

Starter configs

You do not have to build from scratch. Try these preconfigured Neovim distros:
- LazyVim - Modern, fast, well-maintained
- NvChad - Beautiful, beginner-friendly
- AstroNvim - Feature-rich, extensible
- LunarVim - IDE-like experience

15. Practical Editing Habits

Editing habits

Stay in Normal mode - Make the edit, then return to Normal mode.
Think in text objects - Use commands like ciw, dap, and yi" instead of selecting manually
Use counts - Try 5dd, 3yy, or 10j when you need repetition
Use the dot command - Repeat the last change with .
Use macros for repetition - Record once, replay when the same edit repeats

Practice techniques

1. Replace Escape with jk

inoremap jk <Esc>

This keeps the escape action close to the home row.

2. Use Leader for Common Actions

let mapleader = " "
nnoremap <leader>w :w<CR>     " Save
nnoremap <leader>q :q<CR>     " Quit
nnoremap <leader>e :Ex<CR>    " File explorer

3. Jump Instead of Scrolling

/ and ?        # Search to jump
*              # Jump to word under cursor
f and t        # Line-level precision
{  }           # Jump paragraphs
]]  [[         # Jump sections/functions
gd             # Go to definition
Ctrl+o Ctrl+i  # Jump list back/forward

4. Use Marks for Quick Navigation

ma             # Set mark 'a' at cursor
'a             # Jump to line of mark 'a'
`a             # Jump to exact position of mark 'a'
''             # Jump to last position
'.             # Jump to last edit

5. Master ciw, ci", ci(

These commands are worth practicing first:

ciw    # Change word (anywhere in word)
ci"    # Change inside quotes
ci(    # Change inside parentheses
ci{    # Change inside braces
cit    # Change inside HTML tag

6. Quick Fixes

~      # Toggle case of character
xp     # Swap two characters
ddp    # Swap two lines
J      # Join lines
gU{motion}  # Uppercase
gu{motion}  # Lowercase

7. Global Commands

:g/pattern/d       # Delete all lines matching pattern
:g!/pattern/d      # Delete lines NOT matching
:g/pattern/normal A;  # Append ; to matching lines

A practical learning order

Level 1: hjkl instead of arrows
Level 2: word motions (w, b, e)
Level 3: text objects (ciw, ci", dap)
Level 4: search/find motions (/, f, t)
Level 5: marks and jumps
Level 6: macros and global commands
Final step: Thinking in Vim grammar

16. Practice Exercises

Beginner Exercises

Exercise 1: Basic Navigation

Open a file with 50+ lines. Navigate using only hjkl for 5 minutes. Use hjkl only for this drill.

Goal: Build muscle memory for basic movement.

Exercise 2: Word Jumps

Move through a paragraph using only w, b, and e. Count how many keystrokes to get from start to end.

Exercise 3: Delete Practice

Create lines of text. Practice: dd, 3dd, dw, d$, d0

Intermediate Exercises

Exercise 4: Text Objects

Given: const name = "John Doe";
Change "John Doe" to "Jane Smith" using only ci"

Exercise 5: Function Editing

Given a function with content in curly braces:
function test() { old content here }
Replace all content inside {} using ci{

Exercise 6: Search and Replace

Replace all occurrences of "foo" with "bar" in a file.

:%s/foo/bar/g

Exercise 7: Visual Block

Add // comment prefix to 10 consecutive lines using Ctrl+v

Ctrl+v -> 9j -> I -> // -> Esc

Advanced Exercises

Exercise 8: Macro Challenge

You have 20 lines like: item1, item2...
Convert all to: - [ ] item1
Record macro, apply to all lines.

qq0i- [ ] <Esc>jq
19@q

Exercise 9: Registers

Yank a line to register "a", yank another to "b". Paste both in different locations.

"ayy    # Yank to a
"byy    # Yank to b
"ap     # Paste from a
"bp     # Paste from b

Exercise 10: The Dot Command

Change "old" to "new" on 5 different lines using ciw once, then n. for others.

/old<CR>   # Find first
ciwnew<Esc> # Change it
n.         # Find next, repeat change
n.         # Repeat...

Practice Resources

vimtutor - Run vimtutor in terminal (built in)
Vim Adventures - vim-adventures.com (game)
OpenVim - openvim.com (interactive)
Vim Golf - vimgolf.com (challenges)
ThePrimeagen's YouTube - editing tutorials

17. Quick Reference

Survival Kit

Command	Action
:w	Save
:q	Quit
:wq	Save and quit
:q!	Quit without saving
u	Undo
Ctrl+r	Redo
Esc	Return to Normal mode

Movement

Command	Action
hjkl	Left/Down/Up/Right
w / b	Next/Previous word
0 / $	Start/End of line
gg / G	Start/End of file
Ctrl+d / Ctrl+u	Half page down/up
f{char} / t{char}	Find/Till character

Editing

Command	Action
i / a	Insert before/after cursor
o / O	New line below/above
dd / yy / p	Delete/Yank/Paste line
ciw / diw	Change/Delete inner word
ci" / di"	Change/Delete inside quotes
.	Repeat last change

Search

Command	Action
/pattern	Search forward
n / N	Next/Previous match
*	Search word under cursor
:%s/old/new/g	Replace all

Windows

Command	Action
:sp / :vsp	Horizontal/Vertical split
Ctrl+w hjkl	Navigate splits
Ctrl+w q	Close split

Remember

Vim practice takes time. Learn one small command, use it for real edits, and let the habit build slowly. The goal is not to memorize everything at once.

Keep practicing. The goal is controlled, confident editing, not memorizing every command at once.

Vim and Neovim Notes

1. What is Vim/Neovim?

Where Vim Helps

2. Which One Should You Use?

3. Installation Guide

Linux

macOS

Windows

Verify Installation

4. Understanding Modes: The Core Concept

Ways to Enter Insert Mode

5. Basic Navigation

Character Movement

Word Movement

Line Movement

Screen Movement

6. Editing Basics

Delete Commands

Change Commands

Copy (Yank) and Paste

Undo and Redo

7. Advanced Motions and Text Objects

The Vim Grammar

Text Objects: a useful pattern

Find and Till Motions

8. Search and Replace

Basic Search

Search and Replace (Substitute)

Useful Search Patterns

9. Visual Mode

Visual Mode Types

Visual Mode Operations

Useful Visual Commands

10. Registers and Advanced Yanking

Register Types

Using Registers

11. Macros - Record & Replay

Basic Macro Workflow

Macro Example: Add Semicolons

12. Buffers, Windows and Tabs

Buffers (Open Files)

Windows (Splits)

Tabs

13. Configuration

Config File Locations

Essential .vimrc Settings

Neovim init.lua Basics

14. Essential Plugins

Plugin Managers

Useful Plugins

15. Practical Editing Habits

Editing habits

Practice techniques

1. Replace Escape with jk

2. Use Leader for Common Actions

3. Jump Instead of Scrolling

4. Use Marks for Quick Navigation

5. Master ciw, ci", ci(

6. Quick Fixes

7. Global Commands

16. Practice Exercises

Beginner Exercises

Intermediate Exercises

Advanced Exercises

Practice Resources

17. Quick Reference

Survival Kit

Movement

Editing

Search

Windows