How do I change the contents inside curly braces?

Explanation

The ci{ command deletes everything inside the nearest pair of curly braces {} and places you in insert mode to type a replacement. It works no matter where your cursor is inside the braces.

How it works

• c triggers the change operator (delete + enter insert mode)
• i{ is the "inner braces" text object — it selects everything between { and }, excluding the braces themselves

Example

Given the text with the cursor anywhere inside the braces:

if (true) {
    console.log("hello");
    console.log("world");
}

Pressing ci{ deletes the two console.log lines and enters insert mode between the braces, leaving:

if (true) {
}

You can then type the new body of the block.

Tips

• Use ci} — it does exactly the same thing as ci{
• Use ca{ to change the braces themselves along with their contents
• Use di{ to delete inside braces without entering insert mode
• Use vi{ to visually select the contents inside braces first
• Works with other bracket types too: ci( for parentheses, ci[ for square brackets
• Nesting is handled automatically — Vim finds the nearest enclosing pair