How do I increase or decrease indentation while staying in insert mode?

Explanation

When typing in insert mode, you can adjust the current line's indentation without leaving to normal mode. <C-t> adds one level of indentation and <C-d> removes one level, both respecting your shiftwidth setting. This keeps your flow uninterrupted when writing code that needs indentation adjustments.

How it works

• <C-t> — insert one shiftwidth of indentation at the beginning of the current line (mnemonic: tab in)
• <C-d> — remove one shiftwidth of indentation from the beginning of the current line (mnemonic: de-indent)
• Both operate on the current line regardless of cursor position within the line
• They respect shiftwidth, tabstop, and expandtab settings

Example

While typing inside a function body and you realize the line needs less indentation:

def foo():
        return True|   <- cursor here, too much indentation

Press <C-d> to remove one indentation level:

def foo():
    return True|       <- one shiftwidth removed

Or press <C-t> to add indentation for a nested block:

if condition:
    |                  <- cursor here, press <C-t>
        |              <- now indented one more level

Tips

• 0<C-d> removes all indentation from the current line (jumps to column 1)
• ^<C-d> removes all indentation temporarily — the next line you open will restore the original indent level
• These are faster than <Esc>>>A or <Esc><<A for quick adjustments during typing
• Works with both tabs and spaces depending on your expandtab setting