Skip to content

Modes

Interaction Modes

  • Insert Mode
  • Command Mode

Good Basic Vim Commands

Stack Overflow

Hit the Esc key to enter "Normal mode". Then you can type : to enter "Command-line mode". A colon \(:\) will appear at the bottom of the screen and you can type in one of the following commands. To execute a command, press the Enter key.

:q to quit \(short for :quit\)

:q! to quit without saving \(short for :quit!\)

:wq to write and quit

:wq! to write and quit even if file has only read permission \(if file does not have write permission: force write\)

:x to write and quit \(similar to :wq, but only write if there are changes\)

:exit to write and exit \(same as :x\)

:qa to quit all \(short for :quitall\)

:cq to quit without saving and make Vim return non-zero error \(i.e. exit with error\)

You can also exit Vim directly from "Command mode" by typing ZZ to save and quit \(same as :x\) or ZQ to just quit \(same as :q!\). \(Note that case is important here. ZZ and zz do not mean the same thing.\)

Help

Vim has extensive help - that you can access with the :help command - where you can find answers to all your questions and a tutorial for beginners.