How do I select the contents inside curly braces?

Explanation

The vi{ command visually selects everything inside the nearest pair of curly braces {}, without selecting the braces themselves. It combines visual mode (v) with the inner braces text object (i{).

How it works

• v enters visual mode
• i{ is the "inner braces" text object — it selects all content between { and }, excluding the braces
• Vim finds the nearest enclosing brace pair from the cursor position, even if the braces are on different lines

Example

Given the text with the cursor anywhere inside the braces:

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

Pressing vi{ selects the two console.log lines (the content between { and }).

Tips

• Use va{ ("a brace") to select the content and the surrounding braces
• Use vi} — it does exactly the same thing as vi{
• Use di{ to delete inside braces without entering visual mode
• Use ci{ to change (delete and enter insert mode) the contents inside braces
• Use yi{ to yank (copy) the contents inside braces
• Works with nested braces — Vim finds the nearest enclosing pair from the cursor
• Similar text objects exist for other delimiters: vi( for parentheses, vi[ for brackets, vi" for double quotes, vi' for single quotes, vi< for angle brackets, vit for HTML/XML tags
• After selecting with vi{, you can extend the selection outward by pressing a{ to include the braces themselves