Essentials Vim Cheatsheet that You will ever need

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Here are some Vim cheat sheet including your requests (set nu, set tabstop, etc.) formatted as a table view for quick reference.

Vim Common Settings

Command	Description
:set nu	Show line numbers
:set tabstop=4	Set number of spaces per tab (display width)
:set shiftwidth=4	Indentation width for >> and <<
:set expandtab	Convert tabs to spaces
:set noexpandtab	Keep real tab characters
:set autoindent	Copy indent from previous line
:set smartindent	Smart indentation for code
:set syntax=on	Enable syntax highlighting
:set number relativenumber	Show both absolute and relative numbers
:set cursorline	Highlight current line
:set background=dark	Optimize colors for dark background

For Syntax highlighting

syntax on
filetype plugin indent on
set termguicolors
set t_Co=256
set background=dark
colorscheme desert

To set the settings permanently just save inside $VIM/.vimrc or in Windows $VIM/_vimrc (without the colon symbol at beginning)

Vim Navigation

Keys	Action
w / b	Next / previous word
gg / G	Go to start / end of file
0 / $	Start / end of line
:n	Go to line number n (e.g., :10)

 

Editing

Keys	Action
o / O	New line below / above
x	Delete character
dd / yy / p	Delete / yank (copy) / paste line
u / Ctrl + r	Undo / redo
r<char>	Replace character
cw / dw	Change word / delete word

 

Search and Replace

Command	Description
/text	Search forward for "text"
?text	Search backward for "text"
n / N	Repeat search (next / previous)
:%s/foo/bar/g	Replace all “foo” with “bar”
:s/foo/bar/g	Replace on current line

 

File Operations

Command	Description
:w	Save file
:q	Quit
:wq	Save and quit
:q!	Quit without saving
:e filename	Open file
:vs filename	Vertical split open file
:sp filename	Horizontal split open file

 

Split & Tab Management

Command	Description
:sp / :vsp	Split window (horizontal / vertical)
Ctrl + w + w	Switch between splits
:tabnew file	Open file in new tab
gt / gT	Next / previous tab
:close	Close current split

 

 Summary on how to work with Vim :

• Vim is a highly configurable, modal text editor used for efficient text editing

• Modes include Normal (default), Insert (typing), Visual (selection), and Command (colon commands)

• Normal Mode is used for navigation and manipulation (e.g., dd, yy, p)

• Insert Mode is entered with i, a, o to insert text

• Visual Mode allows selecting text with v, V, or Ctrl+v

• Command Mode is accessed with : to run commands like :w, :q, :e

• Highly customizable via vimrc file to set behavior and preferences

• Supports plugins to extend features like autocompletion, syntax checking, and themes

• Lightweight and fast, ideal for remote development and scripting

• Available on most systems, including Unix, Linux, Windows, and macOS

• Great for coding, system administration, and general text editing tasks