How do I access Vim's built-in help system?

Explanation

Vim has an extensive built-in help system. The :help command opens help pages for any command, option, or concept.

How it works

• :help opens the main help page
• :help :substitute gets help on the substitute command
• :help i_CTRL-R gets help on Ctrl-R in insert mode
• :help 'option' gets help on a setting (with quotes)

Example

:help dd              " Help on the dd command
:help :global         " Help on the :global command
:help 'tabstop'       " Help on the tabstop option
:help pattern         " Help on regex patterns

Tips

• <C-]> follows help links (tags)
• <C-t> goes back
• :helpgrep pattern searches all help files
• Tab completion works after :help
• Prefixes indicate context: i_ (insert), v_ (visual), : (command)