Tips and Tricks

Level up your Neovim skills with these essential techniques and productivity tips.

Essential Motions

Motions are the foundation of Vim efficiency. Master these to navigate code like a pro.

Character Movement

Motion	Description
h	Left
j	Down
k	Up
l	Right

Tip: Avoid arrow keys! Your fingers stay on home row with hjkl.

Word Movement

Motion	Description
w	Next word start
W	Next WORD start (space-separated)
b	Previous word start
B	Previous WORD start
e	Next word end
E	Next WORD end

Example: 3w moves 3 words forward.

Line Movement

Motion	Description
0	Start of line
^	First non-blank character
$	End of line
g_	Last non-blank character

Screen Movement

Motion	Description
gg	First line of file
G	Last line of file
{number}G	Go to line number
Ctrl+d	Half page down
Ctrl+u	Half page up
Ctrl+f	Full page down
Ctrl+b	Full page up
H	Top of screen
M	Middle of screen
L	Bottom of screen
zz	Center current line

Find Movement

Motion	Description
f{char}	Find char forward
F{char}	Find char backward
t{char}	Till char forward
T{char}	Till char backward
;	Repeat find forward
,	Repeat find backward

Example: f( jumps to next (, ; jumps to the one after that.

Search Movement

Motion	Description
/{pattern}	Search forward
?{pattern}	Search backward
n	Next match
N	Previous match
*	Search word under cursor
#	Search word under cursor (backward)

Operators

Operators perform actions on text. Combine them with motions for powerful editing.

Basic Operators

Operator	Description
d	Delete
c	Change (delete + insert)
y	Yank (copy)
>	Indent right
<	Indent left
=	Auto-indent
gU	Uppercase
gu	Lowercase

Operator + Motion Examples

Command	Description
dw	Delete word
d$	Delete to end of line
d0	Delete to start of line
cw	Change word
c$	Change to end of line
yy	Yank entire line
y3j	Yank 3 lines down
>j	Indent current + next line
gUw	Uppercase word

Double Operator (Line)

Command	Description
dd	Delete line
cc	Change line
yy	Yank line
>>	Indent line
<<	Unindent line

Text Objects

Text objects let you operate on structured text. This is Vim's superpower!

Syntax: {operator}{a|i}{object}

• a = "around" (includes delimiters)
• i = "inside" (excludes delimiters)

Common Text Objects

Object	Description
w	Word
s	Sentence
p	Paragraph
"	Double quotes
'	Single quotes
`	Backticks
( or ) or b	Parentheses
[ or ]	Square brackets
{ or } or B	Curly braces
< or >	Angle brackets
t	HTML/XML tag

Text Object Examples

Command	Description
diw	Delete inner word
daw	Delete around word (includes spaces)
ci"	Change inside quotes
ca"	Change around quotes
di(	Delete inside parentheses
da{	Delete around braces
cit	Change inside tag
vip	Select inner paragraph

Treesitter Text Objects (FtVim)

FtVim adds smart text objects via Treesitter:

Command	Description
daf	Delete around function
cif	Change inside function
vac	Select around class
daa	Delete around argument

The Dot Command

The . command repeats your last change. It's incredibly powerful!

Example: Changing Multiple Words

1. ciw - Change inner word
2. Type the new word
3. Esc - Return to normal mode
4. n - Find next occurrence (if searching)
5. . - Repeat the change

Example: Adding Semicolons

1. A; - Append semicolon to line
2. Esc
3. j - Move down
4. . - Add semicolon to this line too

Macros

Macros record and replay keystrokes. Perfect for repetitive tasks.

Recording a Macro

1. q{register} - Start recording (e.g., qa)
2. Perform your edits
3. q - Stop recording

Playing a Macro

Command	Description
@{register}	Play macro (e.g., @a)
@@	Repeat last macro
5@a	Play macro 5 times

Macro Tips

• Use 0 to start at line beginning (consistent starting point)
• Use j to move to next line at end (for multi-line replay)
• Test on one line before running on many

Example: Add Quotes Around Words

1. Position cursor on first word
2. qa - Start recording to register a
3. ciw"Ctrl+r"" - Change word, add quotes, paste original
4. j0w - Move to next line, first word
5. q - Stop recording
6. 10@a - Repeat 10 times

Registers

Registers are like multiple clipboards.

Types of Registers

Register	Description
"	Default register
0	Yank register (last yank)
1-9	Delete history
a-z	Named registers
A-Z	Append to named register
+	System clipboard
*	Primary selection (Linux)
_	Black hole (delete without saving)

Using Registers

Command	Description
"ay	Yank to register a
"ap	Paste from register a
"+y	Yank to system clipboard
"+p	Paste from system clipboard
"_d	Delete without saving
:reg	View all registers

Tip: Access Last Yank

After yanking then deleting, your yank is in register 0:

"0p

Marks

Marks save positions you can jump back to.

Setting Marks

Command	Description
m{a-z}	Set local mark
m{A-Z}	Set global mark (across files)

Jumping to Marks

Command	Description
'{mark}	Jump to mark's line
`{mark}	Jump to exact position
''	Jump to last position
``	Jump to exact last position

Automatic Marks

Mark	Description
`.	Last change
`"	Last position when file closed
`[	Start of last yank/change
`]	End of last yank/change
`<	Start of last visual selection
`>	End of last visual selection

Search and Replace

Basic Replace

:s/old/new/      " Replace first on line
:s/old/new/g     " Replace all on line
:%s/old/new/g    " Replace all in file
:%s/old/new/gc   " Replace all with confirmation

Replace Tips

Pattern	Description
\<word\>	Whole word only
.*	Any characters
\n	Newline
&	The matched text
\1	First capture group

Visual Mode Replace

1. Select text with v
2. :s/old/new/g - Replace in selection

Replace Word Under Cursor

1. * - Search for word
2. :%s//new/g - Replace (empty pattern = last search)

Splits and Navigation

Creating Splits

Command	Description
<leader>|	Vertical split
<leader>-	Horizontal split
:vs {file}	Vertical split with file
:sp {file}	Horizontal split with file

Navigating Splits

Keymap	Description
<C-h>	Move to left window
<C-j>	Move to window below
<C-k>	Move to window above
<C-l>	Move to right window

Resizing Splits

Command	Description
<C-w>=	Equal size
<C-w>>	Increase width
<C-w><	Decrease width
<C-w>+	Increase height
<C-w>-	Decrease height

Productivity Tips

1. Use Relative Line Numbers

FtVim enables relative line numbers by default. Use them with motions:

• 5j - Jump 5 lines down
• 3k - Jump 3 lines up

2. Stay in Normal Mode

Spend most time in normal mode. Enter insert mode briefly, make changes, return to normal.

3. Avoid Repetitive Keystrokes

Bad: jjjjjjj
Good: 7j or use search/find

4. Use Visual Block Mode

Ctrl+v enters visual block mode. Great for:

• Adding text to multiple lines: Ctrl+v, select, I, type, Esc
• Removing columns: Ctrl+v, select, d

5. Quick Substitution

:%s/\<old\>/new/g - Replace whole words only

6. Jump to Matching Bracket

% jumps between matching (), [], {}

7. Indent Blocks Quickly

>i{ - Indent inside braces
<i{ - Unindent inside braces

8. Sort Lines

Visual select lines, then :sort

9. Remove Trailing Whitespace

:%s/\s\+$//e

10. Increment/Decrement Numbers

Ctrl+a - Increment number under cursor
Ctrl+x - Decrement number under cursor

Practice Resources

• Run :Tutor in Neovim for interactive tutorial
• Vim Adventures - Game to learn Vim
• VimGolf - Challenges to improve efficiency
• Practice daily - muscle memory takes time!