How do I visually select a code block enclosed in curly braces including the braces themselves?

Explanation

The aB text object (around Block) selects everything from the matching { to the closing } — including the braces themselves. It is the most natural text object for selecting function bodies, class definitions, if-blocks, and any other {}-delimited structure in code.

How it works

• v enters Visual mode
• aB selects around Block — the contents of the nearest enclosing {...} plus the braces
• iB (inner Block) selects only the contents, excluding the braces themselves
• B is case-sensitive: uppercase B means {}, while lowercase b means () (parentheses)
• The cursor can be anywhere inside the block, not just on the brace
• Works in Normal mode: daB deletes the block, caB changes it, yaB yanks it

Example

function greet(name) {
    console.log('Hello, ' + name);
    return true;
}

With the cursor anywhere inside the function body, vaB selects everything from { to } (inclusive). diB deletes just the body lines, leaving the empty braces.

Tips

• Use 2vaB (with a count) to select the next outer enclosing block when blocks are nested
• Combine with : to run an Ex command on the block: after vaB, type :normal I// to prepend // to every selected line
• =aB (in Normal mode) auto-indents the entire block — handy after pasting code from elsewhere
• vaB works for any curly-brace language: C, JavaScript, Go, Rust, etc.