___________ __________ _____ ________ ________ .____ ___________ \_ _____/ \______ \ / _ \ / _____/ / _____/ | | \_ _____/ | __) | _/ / /_\ \ / \ ___ / \ ___ | | | __)_ | \ | | \ / | \ \ \_\ \ \ \_\ \ | |___ | \ \___ / |____|_ / \____|__ / \______ / \______ / |_______ \ /_______ / \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/

Neovim Cheatsheet

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Modes

  • i - Insert mode
  • v - Visual mode (character)
  • V - Visual mode (line)
  • Ctrl+v - Visual mode (block)
  • R - Replace mode
  • : - Command mode
  • Esc - Normal mode (from any mode)

Basic Movement

Character Movement

  • h - Left
  • j - Down
  • k - Up
  • l - Right
  • 0 - Start of line
  • ^ - First non-blank character of line
  • $ - End of line
  • g_ - Last non-blank character of line

Word Movement

  • w - Next word start
  • W - Next WORD start (space-separated)
  • e - End of word
  • E - End of WORD
  • b - Previous word start
  • B - Previous WORD start
  • ge - End of previous word

Line Movement

  • gg - First line
  • G - Last line
  • {number}G - Go to line number
  • : - Go to line (command mode)
  • % - Matching bracket/parenthesis
  • * - Next occurrence of word under cursor
  • # - Previous occurrence of word under cursor

Screen Movement

  • H - Top of screen
  • M - Middle of screen
  • L - Bottom of screen
  • Ctrl+u - Half page up
  • Ctrl+d - Half page down
  • Ctrl+b - Full page up
  • Ctrl+f - Full page down
  • zz - Center cursor on screen
  • zt - Top of screen
  • zb - Bottom of screen

Configuration

Config File Location

  • ~/.config/nvim/init.lua (Lua config, recommended)
  • ~/.config/nvim/init.vim (Vimscript config)
  • ~/.vimrc (legacy location, still works)

Example Key Bindings

Customize key mappings in your config:

-- Example Lua config
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>w', ':w<CR>', { desc = 'Save file' })
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>q', ':q<CR>', { desc = 'Quit' })
vim.keymap.set('n', '<C-h>', '<C-w>h', { desc = 'Move to left window' })
vim.keymap.set('n', '<C-j>', '<C-w>j', { desc = 'Move to bottom window' })
vim.keymap.set('n', '<C-k>', '<C-w>k', { desc = 'Move to top window' })
vim.keymap.set('n', '<C-l>', '<C-w>l', { desc = 'Move to right window' })

Or in Vimscript:

" Example Vimscript config
nnoremap <leader>w :w<CR>
nnoremap <leader>q :q<CR>
nnoremap <C-h> <C-w>h
nnoremap <C-j> <C-w>j
nnoremap <C-k> <C-w>k
nnoremap <C-l> <C-w>l

Tips

  • Use :help <topic> for built-in help
  • Use :checkhealth to diagnose issues
  • Leader key is space by default (can be changed)
  • Use motions with operators (d, c, y) for powerful editing
  • Use . to repeat last change
  • Use u to undo, Ctrl+r to redo
  • Use :w to save, :q to quit, :wq to save and quit
  • Use :split or :vsplit for multiple windows
  • Use :tabnew for tabs
  • Use * and # to search for word under cursor
  • Use /pattern to search forward, ?pattern to search backward
  • Use n and N to navigate search results
  • Use % to jump to matching bracket/parenthesis
  • Use gg to go to top, G to go to bottom
  • Use :set number to show line numbers
  • Use :set relativenumber for relative line numbers
  • Lua config (init.lua) is recommended over Vimscript
  • Use plugins via plugin managers (lazy.nvim, packer.nvim, etc.)

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