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July 13, 2007

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UNIX/Linux VI made easy with this reference

The most common editor used in UNIX/Linix type operating systems is without a doubt VI. But it can be a pain to remember all the commands used to edit text files/configs and the like.

Here is a quick reference for more than enough commands to keep you busy.

My favourite ‘get out of trouble’ command is the ESC :wq! sequence which will quit without saving the changes I have made 🙂


VI commands
VI Reference

VI Reference

Modes of Operation
Entering and Leaving vi Files
Basic Cursor Movement
Inserting Text
Deleting, Retrieving, and Undoing
Changing, Replacing,and Copying Text
Moving Around in a File
File Manipulation
Searching For Text
Setting Options
Common Option Settings

Modes of Operation


vi, the Unix visual editor, has two modes of operation:

  1. Command mode--This is vi's initial and normal state. In
    this mode, most commands you type are not displayed. Only commands
    preceded by :, /, or !
    are displayed on the status line, which also gives feedback about input,
    output, and large changes. Execute these commands with
    or . Use
    to change from text input mode to command
    mode (when in doubt, press ).

     

  2. Text input (Insert) mode--This mode is entered by
    pressing a, A, i,
    I, o, or O. Press
    to end text input mode and return to
    command mode.

For more information about using vi, see the online help note
(on Uniform Access Unix computers, enter help vi).

The following notations are used in this document (variables
appear in italics):

 
x
represents a single character
 
x
control character: while holding down the
key, press x
 
text
one or more characters
 
n
represents a number
 
pat
text and pattern matching characters
 

Return key on your terminal
 

Escape key on your terminal
 
Entering and Leaving vi
Files
 
vi filename(s)
edit a file or files
 
vi -r filename
retrieve saved version of file after system or editor crash
 
vi -x filename
edit encrypted file
 
vi -wn filename
set default window size to n (useful for dial-ups)
 
:wq
save (write) file and exit to system prompt
 
ZZ
save file and exit to system prompt
 
:q!
discard all changes and exit to system prompt
 
Basic Cursor Movement
Use h, j,
k, and l to move the cursor--using
arrow keys may result in undesirable consequences
 
h
move cursor left one character
 
j
move cursor down one line
 
k
move cursor up one line
 
l
move cursor right one character

(Any of the above commands preceded by n will move the
cursor n spaces or lines in the indicated direction.)
 
Inserting Text

(If n precedes an insert character, n copies of
inserted text are added upon escape from insertion mode.)
 
a
begin insert at right of cursor
 
A
begin insert at end of line
 
i
begin insert at left of cursor
 
I
insert at beginning of line
 
o
open line below, ready for insertion
 
O
open line above, ready for insertion
 
S
replace text with blank line; begin insertion at beginning of that line
 
i
insert tab
 
v
insert non-printing character
 

erase character (invisible until over-typed or insert mode escaped)
 

terminate insert mode; also terminates unwanted commands
 
Deleting,
Retrieving, and Undoing
 
dw
delete word
 
dd
delete line
 
yw
yank word into buffer
 
yy
yank line into buffer
 
x
delete character
 
D
delete characters from cursor to end of line
 
ndw
delete n words into buffer
  ndd
delete n lines into buffer
  nyw
yank n words into buffer
  nyy
yank n lines into buffer
  nx
delete n characters into buffer
 
p
put buffer contents after cursor
 
P
put buffer contents before cursor
 
u
undo last single change
 
U
restore current line
 
Changing, Replacing,
and Copying Text
 
.
repeat last change
  n.
repeat last change n times
 
cwtext
mark end of a word with $ and change to text
(press to end)
 
rx
replace character under cursor with character x
  nrx
replace n characters with character x
  Rtext
write over existing text, ( to end)
 
J
join succeeding line to current cursor line
  :s/pat1/pat2
on the current line, substitute the first occurence of pattern 1 with
pattern 2
  :s/pat1/pat2/g
on the current line, substitute all occurences of pattern 1 with pattern 2
 
:&
;repeat the last :s request
  :%s/pat1/pat2/g
substitute all occurences of pattern 1 with pattern 2 throughout the file
  :.,$s/pat1/pat2/g
substitute all occurences of pattern 1 with pattern 2 from cursor to end
of file
 
Moving Around in a
File
 
g
ascertain line number of current line
 
G
go to end of file
  nG
go to line n
 
or +
move cursor to beginning of next line
 
-
move to beginning of previous line
  w
or nw
move one word or n words to the right
  b
or nb
move one word or n words to the left
 
)
move to next sentence
 
(
move to previous sentence
 
}
move to next paragraph
 
{
move to previous paragraph
 
d
scroll down one-half screen
 
u
scroll up one-half screen
 
l
clear and redraw the screen
  mx
mark cursor position with character x
  `x
move to position marked with x
  d`x
delete text from marked x to cursor
  y`x
yank text from marked x to cursor

Note: If you precede the mark letter with '
(apostrophe) instead of ` (grave accent), the action will
apply to the entire line the mark is in, not the exact marked
location.
 
File
Manipulation
  :rfile
read in a file beginning on the line below the current line
 
:w
save and remain in current file
 
:wq
save file and quit
 
:q
quit (leave unedited file)
 
:q!
quit and do not save changes
  :!command
run single Unix command while editing (press
to return to file)
 
:sh
obtain temporary shell (D to return to
file being edited)
  :n,mml
move lines numbered n through m after line l
  :n,mtl
make a copy of lines numbered n through m and put
after line l
  :n,mwfile
write lines numbered n through m to file
  :n,mw>>file
append lines numbered n through m to end of file
  :'a,'bwfile
write block, marked with a and b, to file
 
Searching For Text
  /pat
go to pattern pat (forward in file from current cursor position)
  ?pat
go to pattern pat (backward in file from current cursor position)
 
n
repeat last search, looking in direction of initial search
 
N
repeat last search, looking in reverse direction of initial search
 
%
find matching ( ) or { } or
[ ] (can be used in combination with
/,?,n, or
N to search for matching brackets throughout file)
 
Setting Options

Options are either toggled on and off, or given values. When
editing, set options for a file with the set command.
If you want options to be permanent in a particular directory, create a
.exrc file in that directory and set options in that
file: set option option option=n. (For
example, set ai sm sw=4.) If you want certain option
settings to apply throughout your Unix environment, edit your
.login file by entering setenv
EXINIT'set option option option=n' (for example,
setenv EXINIT'set ai sw wm=10').

The values in a .exrc file for a directory will
override the values of EXINIT in the .login file. If no
.exrc file exists, any option values set in the
.login are used. If some option values are set in the
.exrc file and others are set in the
.login file, values from both files are used.
 
:set all
displays all option settings on your terminal
 
:set
displays settings set by EXINIT, the
.exrc file, and any current changes
  :set option
sets option
  :set option=n
sets option and assigns it the value of n
  :set nooption
unsets option
  :set option?
displays setting of option on screen status line
 
Common Option
Selections

(To see a complete list of options, enter :set all.)
 
Option Name
Default
What Option Does
  autoindent (ai)
noai
provides automatic indentation during text entry
  autowrite (aw)
noaw
automatically saves file (write) before searches, control codes, escapes
to shell
  ignorecase (ic)
noic
ignore case during searchs
 
lisp
nolisp
modify )( }{ ][ to be compatible with lisp
 
list
nolist
show tabs (^I) and ends of lines ($)
 
magic
magic
allows metacharacters; with nomagic, these only include
and $
  number (nu)
nonu
show line numbers
  readonly (ro)
noro
make file status read only
  redraw (re)
nore
simulate smart terminal on dumb
 
shell
sh=/bin/sh
pathname of new shell for ! and :sh
(default from $SHELL if present)
  showmatch (sm)
nosm
show matching ( or { when
) or } is entered
 
term
$TERM
name of terminal being used; set by Unix $TERM
 
terse
noterse
provide shorter error diagnostics
  wrapmargin (wm)
wm=0
cause lines to be broken at least n spaces from right edge of
screen

 


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