How do I jump to the Nth line from the top or bottom of the visible screen using a count with H and L?

Explanation

Most Vim users know H jumps to the first visible line, M to the middle, and L to the last. What fewer know is that H and L both accept a count prefix: {N}H jumps to the Nth line from the top of the visible screen, and {N}L jumps to the Nth line from the bottom. This gives precise, screen-relative navigation without counting or using line numbers.

How it works

• H — jump to the first line of the visible screen (Home)
• {N}H — jump to the Nth line from the top (counting from 1)
• L — jump to the last visible line
• {N}L — jump to the Nth line from the bottom (counting from 1)
• M — jump to the middle of the visible screen (no count variant)

The count begins at 1, so 1H equals plain H and 1L equals plain L.

Example

If your screen currently shows lines 80–130:

Line 80   ← H (or 1H)
Line 82   ← 3H
Line 105  ← M
Line 128  ← 3L
Line 130  ← L (or 1L)

Tips

• Combine with operators: d5H deletes from the current line to 5 lines from the top
• y3L yanks from the current line down to 3 lines from the bottom
• Useful when you can see the target line and want to jump there without :N or counting
• After jumping, zz repositions the view if needed
• See :help H and :help L for full documentation