Summary

• The basics:
  • Start: vi
  • Insert: i
  • Exit insert mode (to use movement keys): <esc>
  • Left: h
  • Up: j
  • Down: k
  • Right: l
  • Save: <esc>:wq!

Details

Many heated debates have been had over editors, vi vs emacs, graphical vs. console, etc.

Any network or unix engineer worth their weight in salt should know vi.  Why you ask? Unix-based systems with a CLI will have vi. It is simple, lightweight, works over a terminal or console session, and does not require any special dependencies.

While vi may be intimidating at first, the basics are easy. For those people starting out in vi these few commands will accomplish 80% of your needs:

Operating modes

The first thing to know about vi is there are 2 operating modes:

• Command mode: When vi starts, this is the default operating mode.  Everything except inserting text will be done here. Pressing <esc> at any time will put the editor into command mode.
• Insert mode: Start insert mode by pressing i - This is how to enter text. Note: while the arrow keys work in insert mode, get used to pressing <esc> and using the h (left), j (down), k (up), and l (right) keys for navigation, you will thank me later.

Starting

To start vi run the command:

jemurray@mbp-2019:~/www $ vi content/posts/readmefirstvi.md

The screen will look like this:

---
title: "vi basics every engineer should know"
date: 2020-05-19T17:53:15-05:00
draft: true
toc: false
images:
tags: 
  - vi
---

# Summary


- The basics:
  - Start: `vi`
  - Insert: `i`
  - Exit insert mode (to use movement keys): `<esc>`
  - Left: `h`
  - Up: `j`
  - Down: `k`
  - Right: `l`
  - Save: `<esc>:wq!`


# Details
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“content/posts/readmefirstvi.md” 26L, 842C

Movement

Moving the cursor can be done in one of two ways:

• The arrow keys will move up, down, left, and right, don’t do it. Learn to exit insert mode and use the home row keys.
• The better way is, h (left), j (down), k (up), and l (right)

Editing / Inserting

Press i to insert text.

Press <esc> when you are finished adding text. Be liberal with the <esc> key, it won’t hurt anything. 25 years of muscle memory has me pressing <esc> a lot, even when I am not editing text with vi.

Quit and Save

Press: <esc>:wq!

• <esc> exit insert mode
• : enter command mode
• w write changes
• q quit
• ! force

Next…

Google is your friend, vi can do a lot. Start with these basics, then branch out. Becoming a master with vi will improve your text editing workflows by orders of magnitude. You will be glad you learned it. 25 years later, it is still my primary text editor.