How do I indent or unindent the current line while staying in Insert mode?
<C-t> / <C-d>
While in Insert mode, you can adjust indentation without switching back to Normal mode.
All Vim Tricks
How do I change surrounding quotes or brackets from one type to another with vim-surround?
cs'"
The vim-surround plugin (by Tim Pope) adds three powerful operators for working with surrounding delimiters — quotes, brackets, parentheses, and HTML tags.
How do I load project-specific Vim settings automatically when opening files in a directory?
:set exrc
Vim's exrc option tells Vim to look for a .
How do I open a file in a new tab in Vim?
:tabedit
Vim's tab pages let you keep separate window layouts open at the same time, each with its own set of splits.
How do I edit a recorded macro without re-recording it from scratch?
"qp
Macros are stored as plain text in named registers.
How do I filter a visual selection through an external shell command?
!sort
Vim can pipe a visual selection through any shell command and replace the selection with the command's output.
visual-mode #visual-mode #ex-commands #external-commands #filtering
How do I clear search highlights without disabling hlsearch permanently?
:nohlsearch
After a search in Vim, matched text is highlighted as long as hlsearch is enabled.
How do I customise Vim's status line to show useful file information?
:set statusline=%f\ %h%m%r%=%-14.(%l,%c%V%)\ %P
Vim's built-in statusline option lets you build a custom status bar that displays exactly the information you want — without any plugin.
How do I run a command on every line that does NOT match a pattern?
:v/pattern/command
:v (short for :vglobal) is the inverse of :g.
How do I run a macro until it can no longer proceed without specifying an exact count?
100@a
When you give a large count to a macro — such as 100@a — Vim automatically stops replaying the macro as soon as any step inside it fails.
How do I convert a visually selected block of text to uppercase or lowercase?
U
In visual mode, pressing U converts all selected characters to uppercase and u converts them to lowercase.
How do I search for a pattern only within a specific range of lines in Vim?
:/start/,/end/s/pattern/replacement/g
You can restrict a substitution to a range defined by two patterns.
How do I resize split windows using the keyboard in Vim?
<C-w>+ / <C-w>- / <C-w>> / <C-w><
Vim provides keyboard shortcuts to resize split windows without reaching for the mouse.
How do I use Vim's built-in file explorer netrw to browse and manage files?
:Explore
Netrw is Vim's built-in file explorer plugin that comes with every Vim installation.
How do I make Vim automatically reload a file when it changes on disk?
:set autoread
The autoread option tells Vim to automatically re-read a file when it detects the file has been changed outside of Vim.
How do I hide or conceal syntax elements like markdown formatting in Vim?
:set conceallevel=2
The conceallevel option controls how Vim displays characters that have the "conceal" syntax attribute.
How do I open Vim help pages in a new tab instead of a split?
:tab help
By default, :help opens in a horizontal split, which can feel cramped.
How do I execute a Vimscript expression as a macro without recording it?
@=
The @= command lets you type a Vimscript expression and execute the result as if it were a macro.
How do I move to the opposite corner of a visual block selection?
O in visual block mode
In visual block mode (), pressing O (uppercase) moves the cursor to the diagonally opposite corner of the rectangular selection.
How do I change the case of matched text in a Vim substitute command?
\u and \l in :s replacement
Vim's substitute command supports special case modifiers in the replacement string that let you change the case of captured text on the fly.