Linux Commands | Shell Script | Vi Editor Commands

A quick reference for starting vi, moving the cursor, editing text, copying, deleting, searching, replacing, saving, and exiting
Tags:

Vi, VIM (Vi IMproved)

Vi is a representative Linux editor known for fast editing.
vi is short for Visual.

Starting vi

Command Description Example
vi {file name} Open or create a file vi test.txt
vi +{line number} {file name} Open a file and move the cursor to the specified line vi -100 test.txt
vi +/"{search string}" {file name} Open from the first occurrence of the string vi -/“adc” test.txt
vi -r {file name} Recover a damaged file vi -r test.txt
view {file name} Open as read-only view test.txt

Opening an existing file

When you run vi {file name} and the specified file already exists, vi opens it for editing.

Creating a new file

When you run vi {file name} and the specified file does not exist, vi creates it.

Moving the Cursor in vi

Key Description
h (left arrow) Move the cursor left
j (down arrow) Move the cursor down
k (up arrow) Move the cursor up
l (right arrow) Move the cursor right
w Move to the end of the next word on the right
e Move to the beginning of the next word on the right
b Move to the beginning of the previous word on the left
Enter Move down one line
Backspace Move left one character
Space Bar Move right one character
^ Move to the far left of the line
$ Move to the far right of the line
H Move to the top of the screen
M Move to the middle of the screen
L Move to the bottom of the screen
numberG Move to the specified line number
Ctrl + i Move up one screen
Ctrl + b Move down one screen
Ctrl + d Move up half a screen
Ctrl + u Move down half a screen
Ctrl + e Scroll up one line
Ctrl + y Scroll down one line

Character and Line Insertion Commands

Key Description
a Insert text to the right of the cursor
A Insert text at the end of the current line
i Insert text to the left of the cursor
I Insert text at the beginning of the current line
o Insert a line below the cursor
O Insert a line above the cursor
ESC Exit insert mode

Text Change Commands

Command Description
cw Change a word
cc Change a line
C Change the line to the right of the cursor
s Replace the character at the cursor
S Replace the current line
r Replace the character at the cursor with another character
r-Enter Split a line
J Join the current line with the next line
xp Swap the character at the cursor with the character to its right
~ Toggle character case
u Undo the previous command
U Undo changes to the line, restoring the previous final state of the line
. Repeat the previous command

Text Deletion Commands

Command Description
x Delete the character at the cursor
nx Delete n characters from the cursor position
dw Delete one word at the current cursor position
dd Delete the line at the cursor
ndd Delete n lines from the cursor line
db Delete one word backward from the cursor position
D Delete the line to the right of the cursor
:5,10d Delete lines 5 through 10

Copy and Move Commands

Command Description
yy Copy the line at the cursor
Y Yank or copy a line
yh Copy the character to the left of the cursor
yl Copy the character at the cursor
yi Copy the current line and the line below it
yk Copy the current line and the line above it
p Insert a yanked or deleted line above the current line
P Insert a yanked or deleted line below the current line
:1,2 co 3 Copy lines 1 through 2 after line 3
:4,5 m 6 Move lines 4 through 5 above line 6
  • yank: to pull or copy text into a buffer.

Copying One Line

Press yy, that is, press y twice on the target line, to store it in the buffer.
Move to the place where you want to paste it and press p; the line is pasted after the cursor line.

Copying a Block

Press v, then move the cursor to select a block.
In PuTTY, the selected block is visible. In some SSH environments, the block may not be shown visually, but it is still selected.
After selecting the target block, press y to copy it into the buffer.
Move to the desired location in the same way and press p; the copied text is pasted after the cursor line.

Line Number Commands

Command Description
:set nu or :set number Show line numbers on the left side of each editor line
:set nonu Hide line numbers on the left side of each editor line

Finding Lines

Command Description
G Go to the last line of the file
21G Go to line 21 of the file
Ctrl + G Show the current file name and cursor line information

Search and Replace Commands

Command Description
/{search string} Search for a string downward and to the right
?{search string} Search for a string upward and to the left
n Continue searching for the next occurrence
N Continue searching for the previous occurrence
:g/search-string/s/ Search each occurrence, confirm it, and replace it
:s/string/rep Replace str in the current line with rep
:1,.s/string/rep/ Replace str from line 1 through the current line with rep
:%s/string/rep/g Replace every str in the whole file with rep
:.$/aaa/bbb Replace every aaa from the cursor position to the end of the file with bbb

Screen Cleanup Command

Command Description
Ctrl + l Clear unnecessary screen content and redraw the screen

File Commands

Command Description Example
:r {file name} Insert a file after the cursor :r test.txt
:{line number} r {file name} Insert the specified file after the specified line number :10 r test.txt

Save and Exit Commands

Command Description
:w Save changes
:w {file name} Save changes with the specified file name
:wq Save changes and exit vi. Same as ZZ. Runs :w (write) and :q (quit) in sequence
ZZ Save changes and exit vi. Writes the temporary buffer to the file used when vi was opened, then exits vi
:q! Exit without saving changes
q Exit vi without saving the modified file
e! Discard changes and return to the editing state

Other Symbols

Symbol Description
. Current line
% All lines
$ Last line of the file
1,$ Same as %
2,3 Lines 2 through 3

Reference

http://blog.naver.com/youngrimi/50086851943