How do I move a line or selection up or down in Vim?

Explanation

The :move command relocates lines to a specific position without using delete and paste. It preserves registers and is cleaner than dd/p for rearranging code. Combined with mappings, it provides IDE-like line-moving shortcuts.

How it works

• :move +1 — move current line down one position
• :move -2 — move current line up one position
• :move 0 — move current line to the top of the file
• :move $ — move current line to the end of the file
• :'<,'>move '>+1 — move visual selection down

Example

" Convenient mappings
nnoremap <A-j> :move +1<CR>=="
nnoremap <A-k> :move -2<CR>=="
vnoremap <A-j> :move '>+1<CR>gv=gv
vnoremap <A-k> :move '<-2<CR>gv=gv

Before (cursor on line 2):
line 1
line 2  ← :move +1
line 3

After:
line 1
line 3
line 2

Tips

• == after :move re-indents the line to match its new context
• gv=gv in the visual mapping reselects and re-indents the moved block
• :move doesn't affect any registers — cleaner than dd+p
• Alt+J/K mappings mirror VS Code and other editors' line-moving shortcuts