Question 1

How do I exit Vim?

Accepted Answer

Press Esc to enter Normal mode, then type :q and press Enter to quit. If you have unsaved changes, use :q! to quit without saving or :wq to save and quit. You can also use ZZ (capital Z twice) to save and quit.

Question 2

What is the difference between yank and delete?

Accepted Answer

In Vim, delete (d) cuts text (removes it and places it in a register). Yank (y) copies text without removing it. Both allow you to paste with p. There is no separate "cut" command — delete IS cut.

Question 3

How do I select and copy multiple lines?

Accepted Answer

Press V to enter Visual Line mode, use j/k to select lines, then press y to yank (copy) or d to delete. Move to where you want to paste and press p. Or use 5yy to yank 5 lines from the cursor.

Command	Description
i	Enter Insert mode before cursor
a	Enter Insert mode after cursor
o	Open new line below and enter Insert mode
O	Open new line above and enter Insert mode
Esc	Return to Normal mode from any mode
v	Enter Visual mode (character selection)
V	Enter Visual Line mode (line selection)

Command	Description
h, j, k, l	Move left, down, up, right
w	Move forward one word
b	Move backward one word
gg	Go to first line of file
G	Go to last line of file
0 / $	Move to start / end of line

Command	Description
dd	Delete (cut) current line
yy	Yank (copy) current line
p	Paste after cursor
P	Paste before cursor
x	Delete character under cursor
u	Undo last change
Ctrl+r	Redo (undo the undo)

Command	Description
/<pattern>	Search forward for pattern `/function searches for "function"`
n / N	Go to next / previous search match
:%s/old/new/g	Replace all occurrences in the file `:%s/foo/bar/g replaces all "foo" with "bar"`

Command	Description
:w	Save (write) the file
:q / :q!	Quit / force quit without saving

Vim Commands Cheatsheet

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