How to Use Vi/Vim Text Editor in Linux

Edited 1 week ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

Text EditingCommand LineVimViProductivityScriptingUtilitiesConfigurationCustomizationSysAdmin

Vi/Vim is a powerful and versatile text editor available on almost all UNIX-like systems including Linux. This editor is known for its efficiency and speed, enabling users to write, edit, and manage text files with ease. The main advantage of using Vi/Vim is its ability to work entirely in the command-line interface, making it remarkably efficient for software developers and system administrators. In this document, we will explore the concepts and steps to effectively use the Vi/Vim text editor in Linux.

Introduction to Vi/Vim

Vi, meaning "visual", was originally created by Bill Joy in 1976 for the purpose of editing text files. Its improved version, Vim, short for "Vi IMproved", offers many enhancements that increase productivity such as syntax highlighting, undo/redo functionalities, and integration with many scripts and plugins. Vim maintains compatibility with the original Vi editor, but includes many more features.

Although Vi/Vim seems challenging initially due to its efficient yet unconventional interface, mastering its core functionalities can be of great help in text editing and programming tasks. Let's learn how to make the most of Vi/Vim for your text editing needs.

Starting Vi/Vim

To start using Vi or Vim, you need to open a terminal on your Linux system. In most distributions, Vim is either included by default or available through a package manager. You can open the editor using the following command:

vim filename

If the file with the filename does not exist, it will be created. If you want to use native Vi, just replace vim with vi. Entering this command will open the file and put you in command mode, which is the default mode of Vi/Vim.

Modes of operation

Vi/Vim operates in several modes that define its behavior and functionality. The most important modes are:

• Command mode: The default mode in which Vim starts. Here, you can execute various commands to navigate and manipulate text. For example, pressing dd deletes an entire line.
• Insert mode: You switch to this mode when you want to insert text. Press i to enter insert mode and start typing as you would in a basic text editor. Press Esc to return to command mode.
• Visual mode: Enables text selection, which is similar to highlighting text with the cursor in a graphical interface. Press v in command mode to start visual mode, and use the movement keys to select text.
• Ex mode: This mode lets you enter and execute commands beginning with a colon (:). Here, you can access a variety of advanced functionality, such as saving files or quitting the editor. For example, :wq saves your changes and exits Vim.

Basic navigation

Unlike most text editors, Vi/Vim does not use the arrow keys for movement in command mode. Instead, you use the following keys for navigation:

• h – move left
• j – move down
• k – go up
• l – move right

Additional movement orders include:

• w – go to the beginning of the next word
• b – go to the beginning of the previous word
• 0 (zero) – go to the beginning of the line
• $ – go to the end of the line
• G – Go to the end of the file
• gg – move to the beginning of the file

File operations

Opening, saving and closing files is the basis of any text editor. Vi/Vim makes this easy through simple commands:

• :w – save the current file
• :w filename - save the current file with a new name filename
• :q – Quit Vim
• :q! – Exit without saving changes
• :wq or :x – Save changes and exit

Text editing

When it comes to editing, Vim provides many commands that can speed up your workflow significantly. Here are some basic editing commands:

• i – Enter insert mode at the current cursor position
• a – Enter insert mode after the current cursor position
• I – Enter insert mode at the beginning of the line
• A – Enter insert mode at the end of the line
• o – Open a new line below the current line and enter insert mode
• O – Open a new line above the current line and enter insert mode
• x – Delete the character under the cursor
• dd – delete the entire line
• yy – copy the current line (yank)
• p – Paste the copied text after the cursor
• u – undo the last change
• Ctrl + r – Redo the last undo change

Search and replace

Vi/Vim provides robust search and replace functionality to quickly find and modify text. Use the following commands:

• /pattern – search forward for a pattern
• ?pattern – search backwards for a pattern
• n – go to the next occurrence of the search pattern
• N – Go to the previous occurrence of the search pattern
• :%s/old/new/g – replaces all old with new in the entire file

View modes for text selection

The visual mode in Vim allows you to select text intuitively. After selecting text in visual mode, you can perform various operations on it:

• Press v to start a letter-by-letter selection of text.
• Press V to select entire lines.
• Press Ctrl + v to enter visual block mode to select columns.
• Use the movement keys (h, j, k, l) to adjust the selection.
• Once the text is selected, use d to delete, y to copy, and p to paste.

Customizing Vim

One of the great things about Vim is its customizability, which is possible through the .vimrc configuration file in your home directory. Here, you can set variables and options to change Vim's behavior:

• :set number – show line numbers
• :set ignorecase – ignore case when searching
• :set hlsearch – highlight search results
• :set tabstop=4 – set the width of the tab character
• To make these settings permanent, add them to ~/.vimrc

Using plugins for extended functionality

Vim supports plugins, which can greatly extend its capabilities. You can manage plugins using a plugin manager such as Vundle, Pathogen or vim-plug. Here is a brief guide on how to use vim-plug:

1. Install Vim-Plug by running the following command in your shell:

   curl -fLo ~/.vim/autoload/plug.vim --create-dirs \ https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junegunn/vim-plug/master/plug.vim

2. Edit your .vimrc and add the following lines to install the plugins:

   call plug#begin('~/.vim/plugged') Plug {'[plugin-url]'} call plug#end()

3. Run :PlugInstall in Vim to install the specified plugins.

Conclusion

Using Vi/Vim on Linux may seem challenging initially due to its unique command structure, but once mastered it provides a powerful and efficient way to edit text. By understanding its modes, mastering the basic and advanced commands, and configuring it to your needs, you can streamline your workflow, making text manipulation faster and more effective. Vim's extensibility and customizability show that the possibilities are endless, and continued practice and learning will unlock more of its potential for you.

You're now ready to explore and get involved with Vi/Vim, sharpening your text editing skills and potentially contributing to your productivity in scripting, programming, and system administration tasks. Remember, the path to proficiency is through practice and determination, and Vim's community and extensive documentation are always there to help you on your journey.

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