How do I quickly jump between function or method definitions in code?

Explanation

The ]] and [[ commands let you jump forward and backward between section boundaries, which in most programming languages correspond to function or method definitions. They look for opening curly braces { in the first column, making them a fast way to hop between top-level blocks in C-style languages.

How it works

• ]] jumps forward to the next { in column 1 (typically the start of the next function body)
• [[ jumps backward to the previous { in column 1
• ][ jumps forward to the next } in column 1 (the end of the next function body)
• [] jumps backward to the previous } in column 1 (the end of the previous function body)

Example

Given a C file:

void foo() {
    // ...
}

void bar() {
    // ...
}

void baz() {
    // ...
}

With the cursor inside foo(), pressing ]] jumps to the opening { of bar(). Pressing ]] again jumps to baz(). Press [[ to go back to bar().

Tips

• These commands work best in C, Go, Rust, and other languages where { appears in column 1 for function definitions
• In Python, Vim's filetype plugin remaps ]] and [[ to jump between class and def keywords instead
• Use ]m and [m as alternatives — they jump to the start of the next/previous method (works with Java-style indented braces)
• ]M and [M jump to the end of the next/previous method
• Combine with operators: d]] deletes from the cursor to the next function boundary, y[[ yanks back to the previous one
• Add a count for bigger leaps: 3]] jumps forward three function definitions
• These motions set a jump mark, so <C-o> returns you to where you started