Vim is a popular command line text editor available by default on most Unix/Linux Systems. If you do any SSH server admin, knowing the commands for one of these editors (or those like it) is essential. Otherwise it is a bit of a nightmare.
I would totally suggest doing this first. Just type vimtutor in the terminal (on a Mac anyway). It is a great introduction AND it is built into the console!
Absolute basics
For this example, in a terminal run vim.
There are two modes: command mode and edit mode. You will be in command mode by default. Command mode means just that, commands to do things to the current document. To make a change press 'i' to get into 'insert mode'. Type something.
To get out of insert mode, press esc or ctrl + c.
Now save the file in the current directory by typing :w first.txt.
To exit, type :q.
Setup
Totes before doing anything, create a .vimrc file. In there you can add any settings you want. First, start by setting the colour scheme.
vim ~/.vimrc
and then type i to change mode to 'insert' and then type:
:color delek
press esc (escape) to get out of insert mode, then type :wq to save the document.
Running VIM
Navigate to a file and type:
vim filename
This will open the file in the editor. If the file doesn't exist Vim will create it.
Sometimes the colours are pants, so to see what colours are available run ('vimflavour' is whatever version of vim it is e.g. 'vim72'):
ls -la /usr/share/vim/[vimflavour]/colors
Then, for the 'desert' colours, in vim type:
:color desert
Quit Commands
:q! # Quit WITHOUT saving changes
[shift]zz # Save file and exit
:wq # Write file and exit
Moving around
Cursor Commands
Move cursor to beginning of line 0
To move to the end of the line $
h # Move the cursor to the left j # Move the cursor to the up k # Move the cursor to the down l # Move the cursor to the right
You can also prepend the above with a number in order to move around.
8h #moves the cursor 8 letters to the left
8j #moves the cursor 8 lines upwards
8k #moves the cursor 8 lines downwards
8l #moves the cursor 8 letters to the right
Line numbers
:45 #Move to line 45
Edit Commands
When you have finished an insert, Escape returns you to the editor.
A cc will delete the line but maintain the space and automatically go into edit mode at the line you deleted (for quick overwrites).
u will undo your previous action.
To copy a line press y and then p to paste.
Delete Commands
x # delete current character dd # delete current line
If you dd a line, it is saved in a buffer so if you press p it will paste it.
Search Commands
/string # Finds next instance of string / # Finds next instance of predefined String
Resources
Great contributions from Latn Black