How to Exit Vim

Edited 2 weeks ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

VimExitToolsSoftwareProgrammingDevelopmentCommand LineEditor

Vim is a very powerful text editor that is widely used but it is also notorious for its learning curve. One of the most common questions from new users is "How do I exit Vim?" This comprehensive guide will introduce you to the various ways to exit Vim, whether you want to save your changes, discard them, or simply exit the editor. This guide is designed to be very easy to understand and follow, even if you are new to Vim.

Understanding Vim modes

Before we discuss the different ways to exit Vim, it is important to understand the different modes in Vim. Vim mainly works in the following modes:

• Normal mode: This is the default mode. You can navigate the text and perform operations like copying, pasting, deleting, etc.
• Insert mode: In this mode, you can insert or edit text. You can enter this mode by pressing i, a, o or other similar keys.
• Visual mode: Allows you to select text. You can enter this mode by pressing v in normal mode.
• Command-line mode: Used to enter commands. You enter this mode by pressing : in normal mode.

Basic commands to exit Vim

There are several commands you can use to exit Vim, depending on whether or not you want to save your changes. Here are the most basic commands:

:q - quit

If you haven't made any changes or you've already saved your changes, you can use the :q command. Here's how to do it:

1. Press Esc to make sure you're in normal mode.
2. Type :q and press Enter.

If you see an error message like E37: No write since last change, it means you have unsaved changes. You must save these changes or discard them using other commands.

:wq - write and quit

If you want to save your changes and then exit, you can use the :wq command. Here's how:

1. Press Esc to make sure you're in normal mode.
2. Type :wq and press Enter.

:x - save and exit

The :x command is similar to :wq but a little shorter. It saves the file and then exits Vim. Here's how:

1. Press Esc to make sure you're in normal mode.
2. Type :x and press Enter.

:q! - exit without saving

If you want to exit Vim without saving your changes, you can use the :q! command. This will remove all changes made since the last save. Here's how:

1. Press Esc to make sure you're in normal mode.
2. Type :q! and press Enter.

Advanced commands

Once you are familiar with the basic commands, you may want to learn some advanced ways to exit Vim. These commands may be useful in specific scenarios.

:wqa - write all and quit

If you have multiple files open in Vim and you want to save changes to all of them and exit, you can use the :wqa command. Here's how:

1. Press Esc to make sure you're in normal mode.
2. Type :wqa and press Enter.

:wq! - force save and quit

Sometimes, you may have a read-only file or other restrictions. In such cases, you can force a save and quit using the :wq! command. Here's how:

1. Press Esc to make sure you're in normal mode.
2. Type :wq! and press Enter.

:qa! - discard everything without saving

If you have multiple files open and want to close them all without saving, you can use the :qa! command. Here's how:

1. Press Esc to make sure you're in normal mode.
2. Type :qa! and press Enter.

Using the quick command

If you are in normal mode and you want to quickly exit Vim, you can use ZZ command. This command saves the current file and exits Vim. Here's how:

1. Press Esc to make sure you're in normal mode.
2. Type ZZ (uppercase) and Vim will save the file and exit.

To exit without saving, you can use ZQ:

1. Press Esc to make sure you're in normal mode.
2. Type ZQ (uppercase) and Vim will exit without saving.

Dealing with errors

Sometimes you may encounter some errors when trying to exit Vim. Here are some common errors and solutions:

E37: No writing since last change

This error occurs when you try to exit without saving changes. You can do this:

• Save and exit using :wq or :x.
• Exit without saving using :q!

E45: 'readonly' option is set (add ! to override)

This error appears when trying to write to a read-only file. You can:

• Force save and quit using :wq!

Conclusion

Exiting Vim may seem challenging at first, but once you understand the basic and advanced commands, it becomes much easier. Here's a quick recap:

• If you haven't made any changes, use :q to exit.
• Use :wq or :x to save changes and exit.
• Use :q! to discard changes and exit.
• Use :wqa to save all files and exit.
• Use ZZ to quickly save and exit, or ZQ to exit without saving.

With practice, you will become more comfortable with these commands, making your VIM experience more productive and enjoyable.

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