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Vim Guide

This config targets Vim 8+ and Neovim with sensible defaults for modern development. No plugins required.

Appearance

  • Color scheme: desert on a dark background
  • True color (24-bit) enabled when the terminal supports it
  • Line numbers: hybrid (absolute on current line, relative on others)
  • Cursor line highlighted
  • Status line always visible

Status Line

 1 filename.py [+][python]           12,45/200 22%
 ^     ^        ^    ^                ^    ^    ^
 |     |        |    |                |    |    |
buf  name   modified filetype       col line  pct

Indentation

Default: 2 spaces, tabs expanded to spaces.

Per-language overrides:

Language Indent
Python, PHP, Java, JavaScript 4 spaces
TypeScript, JSON, YAML, Scala 2 spaces
Markdown Wraps at word boundaries

Trailing whitespace is stripped automatically on save.

Navigation

Finding Files

Command Description
:find filename Search recursively from project root
:e path/to/file Open a file by path

Completion ignores node_modules, .git, __pycache__, .class, and .pyc files.

Tags (ctags)

If a tags file exists, you can jump to definitions:

Command Description
Ctrl-] Jump to definition under cursor
Ctrl-t Jump back
:tag name Jump to a tag by name

Vim searches for tags files up the directory tree.

Search

Setting Behavior
/pattern Highlights all matches, jumps as you type
Case Case-insensitive unless pattern has uppercase
Ctrl-L Clear search highlights (and redraw screen)
n / N Next / previous match
* / # Search for word under cursor forward / backward

Editing

Motions Quick Reference

Key Motion
w / b Forward / back by word
e End of word
0 / $ Start / end of line
gg / G Top / bottom of file
{ / } Previous / next blank line
% Matching bracket

Common Operations

Command Description
dd Delete line
yy Copy (yank) line
p / P Paste after / before cursor
ciw Change inner word
ci" Change inside quotes
>> / << Indent / unindent line
. Repeat last change
u / Ctrl-R Undo / redo

Persistent Undo

Undo history is saved to ~/.vim/undo/ and persists across sessions. You can undo changes even after closing and reopening a file.

Windows & Splits

Command Description
:sp Horizontal split (opens below)
:vsp Vertical split (opens right)
Ctrl-w h/j/k/l Navigate between splits
Ctrl-w = Equalize split sizes
Ctrl-w _ Maximize current split height
Ctrl-w | Maximize current split width
:q Close current split
:only Close all other splits

New splits open below (horizontal) and to the right (vertical).

Buffers

Buffers can be switched without saving (hidden buffers enabled).

Command Description
:ls List open buffers
:b name Switch to buffer (tab-completes)
:bn / :bp Next / previous buffer
:bd Close buffer

Tabs

Up to 50 tabs supported.

Command Description
:tabnew New tab
gt / gT Next / previous tab
:tabclose Close tab

Mouse

Mouse is enabled in all modes. You can click to position the cursor, select text, drag to resize splits, and scroll.

Completion

Key Description
Ctrl-n / Ctrl-p Next / previous completion match
Ctrl-x Ctrl-f Complete file paths
Ctrl-x Ctrl-l Complete whole lines

Tab in command mode (:) opens the wildmenu with longest-match-first completion. Filename completion is case-insensitive.

Command Mode

Command Description
:w Save
:q Quit
:wq Save and quit
:x Save and quit (only writes if changed)
:%s/old/new/g Replace all in file
:%s/old/new/gc Replace all with confirmation
:!command Run a shell command
:r !command Insert shell command output

Templates

New .py files are auto-populated from ~/.vim/skel/skeleton.py if that file exists.

GUI Settings (MacVim / GVim)

When running in a GUI:

  • Font: Fira Code 16pt
  • No toolbar or scrollbars
  • Default window: 120 columns x 50 lines

Codespaces

In GitHub Codespaces, swap and backup files are disabled for better performance with cloud storage.