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Navigation

Comprehensive guide to moving around efficiently in Vim.

Basic Movement​

Character Movement​

h    " Move left one character
j    " Move down one line
k    " Move up one line
l    " Move right one character

Arrow Keys Alternative​

While hjkl are the standard Vim movement keys, arrow keys also work:

←    " Same as h
↓    " Same as j
↑    " Same as k
→    " Same as l

Word Movement​

w    " Move to beginning of next word
W    " Move to beginning of next WORD (space-separated)
b    " Move to beginning of previous word
B    " Move to beginning of previous WORD
e    " Move to end of current word
E    " Move to end of current WORD
ge   " Move to end of previous word
gE   " Move to end of previous WORD

Line Movement​

0    " Move to beginning of line (column 0)
^    " Move to first non-blank character
$    " Move to end of line
g_   " Move to last non-blank character
g0   " Move to beginning of screen line (when line wraps)
g$   " Move to end of screen line (when line wraps)

Advanced Movement​

Screen Movement​

H    " Move to top of screen (High)
M    " Move to middle of screen (Middle)
L    " Move to bottom of screen (Low)

Page Movement​

Ctrl+f    " Move forward one page (Page Down)
Ctrl+b    " Move backward one page (Page Up)
Ctrl+d    " Move down half page
Ctrl+u    " Move up half page
Ctrl+e    " Scroll down one line (cursor stays)
Ctrl+y    " Scroll up one line (cursor stays)

Document Movement​

gg    " Go to first line of document
G     " Go to last line of document
1G    " Go to line 1 (same as gg)
42G   " Go to line 42
:42   " Go to line 42 (command mode)

Search-Based Movement​

f{char}    " Find next occurrence of {char} in line
F{char}    " Find previous occurrence of {char} in line
t{char}    " Move to before next {char} in line
T{char}    " Move to before previous {char} in line
;          " Repeat last f, F, t, or T command
,          " Repeat last f, F, t, or T command (reverse)

Examples​

fa    " Find next 'a' in current line
3fa   " Find 3rd 'a' in current line
tx    " Move to character before next 'x'
F(    " Find previous '(' in current line
/{pattern}    " Search forward for pattern
?{pattern}    " Search backward for pattern
n             " Next match (same direction)
N             " Previous match (opposite direction)
*             " Search forward for word under cursor
#             " Search backward for word under cursor
g*            " Search forward for partial word under cursor
g#            " Search backward for partial word under cursor

Search Examples​

/hello        " Search for 'hello'
/\<hello\>    " Search for whole word 'hello'
/hello\|world " Search for 'hello' or 'world'
/^Hello       " Search for 'Hello' at beginning of line
/world$       " Search for 'world' at end of line

Bracket and Delimiter Movement​

Matching Brackets​

%    " Jump to matching bracket/parenthesis/brace
[(   " Jump to previous unmatched (
])   " Jump to next unmatched )
[{   " Jump to previous unmatched {
]}   " Jump to next unmatched }

Section Movement​

]]    " Next section (or function)
[[    " Previous section (or function)
][    " Next end of section
[]    " Previous end of section

Jump Navigation​

Jump List​

Ctrl+o    " Jump to older position in jump list
Ctrl+i    " Jump to newer position in jump list
:jumps    " Show jump list

Change List​

g;    " Go to older change position
g,    " Go to newer change position

Marks​

m{letter}    " Set mark at current position
'{letter}    " Jump to line of mark
`{letter}    " Jump to exact position of mark
''           " Jump to line of last jump
``           " Jump to exact position of last jump

Special Marks​

'.    " Jump to last change
'[    " Jump to beginning of last change/yank
']    " Jump to end of last change/yank
'<    " Jump to beginning of last visual selection
'>    " Jump to end of last visual selection
'"    " Jump to position before last exit

Text Object Movement​

Sentence Movement​

(    " Move to beginning of sentence
)    " Move to end of sentence

Paragraph Movement​

{    " Move to beginning of paragraph
}    " Move to end of paragraph

Function Movement (with appropriate filetype)​

[m    " Move to beginning of method
]m    " Move to end of method
[M    " Move to beginning of method (alternative)
]M    " Move to end of method (alternative)

Window and Tab Movement​

Window Movement​

Ctrl+w h    " Move to left window
Ctrl+w j    " Move to bottom window
Ctrl+w k    " Move to top window
Ctrl+w l    " Move to right window
Ctrl+w w    " Move to next window
Ctrl+w p    " Move to previous window
Ctrl+w t    " Move to top-left window
Ctrl+w b    " Move to bottom-right window

Tab Movement​

gt      " Go to next tab
gT      " Go to previous tab
{n}gt   " Go to tab number n
:tabn   " Go to next tab
:tabp   " Go to previous tab

Fold Navigation​

Fold Movement​

zj    " Move to next fold
zk    " Move to previous fold
[z    " Move to start of current fold
]z    " Move to end of current fold

Advanced Navigation Techniques​

Combining Movements with Counts​

3w     " Move 3 words forward
5j     " Move 5 lines down
10G    " Go to line 10
2f,    " Find 2nd comma in line

Using Movement with Operators​

d3w    " Delete 3 words
y5j    " Yank 5 lines down
c2f;   " Change up to 2nd semicolon

Relative Line Numbers​

Enable relative line numbers for easier navigation:

:set relativenumber
:set number relativenumber  " Show both absolute and relative

With relative numbers, you can quickly jump:

5j     " Move 5 lines down (number shown on left)
3k     " Move 3 lines up

Efficiency Tips​

  1. Use w and b for word navigation instead of l and h
  2. Use f and t for quick character jumps within lines
  3. Use * and # to search for word under cursor
  4. Use % to jump between matching brackets
  5. Set marks for frequently accessed positions

Common Patterns​

0w     " Go to first word of line
$b     " Go to last word of line
gg0    " Go to very beginning of file
G$     " Go to very end of file

Search Shortcuts​

/word<CR>n    " Find next occurrence of 'word'
?word<CR>N    " Find previous occurrence of 'word'
*n            " Find next occurrence of word under cursor
#N            " Find previous occurrence of word under cursor

Visual Mode Navigation​

All navigation commands work in visual mode to extend selection:

v3w    " Select 3 words
V5j    " Select 5 lines
v%     " Select to matching bracket

This navigation system allows you to move quickly and precisely throughout your files. Master these movement commands to dramatically improve your Vim efficiency.