Vim/Neovim with LazyVim

A comprehensive reference for Vim/Neovim fundamentals and LazyVim-specific features. This cheat sheet covers essential motions, commands, and LazyVim's modern enhancements for efficient text editing.

Quick Start

LazyVim Installation

# Backup existing config
mv ~/.config/nvim ~/.config/nvim.bak
mv ~/.local/share/nvim ~/.local/share/nvim.bak

# Clone LazyVim starter
git clone https://github.com/LazyVim/starter ~/.config/nvim
rm -rf ~/.config/nvim/.git

# Start Neovim (plugins install automatically)
nvim

Essential LazyVim Settings

-- Disable animations (add to lua/config/options.lua)
vim.g.snacks_animate = false

-- Disable auto-formatting
vim.g.autoformat = false

-- Disable lazygit theme sync
vim.g.lazygit_config = false

-- Use basedpyright for Python (development version)
vim.g.lazyvim_python_lsp = "basedpyright"

Core Vim Concepts

Modes

• Normal Mode: Navigation and text manipulation (default)
• Insert Mode: Text insertion (i, I, a, A, o, O)
• Visual Mode: Text selection (v, V, Ctrl-v)
• Command Mode: Ex commands (:)

Mode Transitions

Normal → Insert: i, I, a, A, o, O, s, S, c, C
Insert → Normal: <Esc>, Ctrl-c
Normal → Visual: v, V, Ctrl-v
Normal → Command: :, /, ?
Any Mode → Normal: <Esc>

Navigation & Motions

Basic Movement

Key	Action
h	Left
j	Down
k	Up
l	Right
w	Next word start
W	Next WORD start (space-delimited)
e	Next word end
E	Next WORD end
b	Previous word start
B	Previous WORD start
ge	Previous word end

Line Navigation

Key	Action
0	Beginning of line
^	First non-blank character
$	End of line
g_	Last non-blank character
gj	Down by screen line (wrapped)
gk	Up by screen line (wrapped)
g0	Beginning of screen line
g$	End of screen line

File Navigation

Key	Action
gg	Go to first line
G	Go to last line
{number}G	Go to line number
:{number}	Go to line number
H	Top of screen
M	Middle of screen
L	Bottom of screen
Ctrl-u	Scroll up half screen
Ctrl-d	Scroll down half screen
Ctrl-b	Scroll up full screen
Ctrl-f	Scroll down full screen

Advanced Movement

Key	Action
f{char}	Find next character in line
F{char}	Find previous character in line
t{char}	Till next character
T{char}	Till previous character
;	Repeat last f/F/t/T
,	Repeat last f/F/t/T backward
*	Search word under cursor forward
#	Search word under cursor backward
%	Match parentheses/brackets
(	Previous sentence
)	Next sentence
{	Previous paragraph
}	Next paragraph

Text Objects & Selection

Text Objects

Key	Action
iw	Inner word
aw	A word (with space)
is	Inner sentence
as	A sentence
ip	Inner paragraph
ap	A paragraph
i"	Inside quotes
a"	Around quotes
i'	Inside single quotes
a'	Around single quotes
i(	Inside parentheses
a(	Around parentheses
i[	Inside brackets
a[	Around brackets
i{	Inside braces
a{	Around braces
it	Inside tag
at	Around tag

Visual Mode

Key	Action
v	Character-wise visual
V	Line-wise visual
Ctrl-v	Block-wise visual
o	Go to other end of selection
gv	Reselect last visual area

Editing Operations

Insert Mode Entry

Key	Action
i	Insert before cursor
I	Insert at beginning of line
a	Insert after cursor
A	Insert at end of line
o	Open line below
O	Open line above
s	Substitute character
S	Substitute line
c{motion}	Change text
C	Change to end of line

Delete Operations

Key	Action
x	Delete character under cursor
X	Delete character before cursor
d{motion}	Delete text
dd	Delete line
D	Delete to end of line
dw	Delete word
diw	Delete inner word
d$	Delete to end of line
d0	Delete to beginning of line

Copy & Paste

Key	Action
y{motion}	Yank (copy) text
yy	Yank line
Y	Yank to end of line
p	Put (paste) after cursor
P	Put before cursor
"{register}y	Yank to register
"{register}p	Put from register
"0p	Put from yank register

Undo & Redo

Key	Action
u	Undo
Ctrl-r	Redo
U	Undo all changes on line
.	Repeat last change

Search & Replace

Search

Key	Action
/pattern	Search forward
?pattern	Search backward
n	Next match
N	Previous match
*	Search word under cursor forward
#	Search word under cursor backward
g*	Search partial word forward
g#	Search partial word backward

Replace

:s/old/new/         " Replace first in line
:s/old/new/g        " Replace all in line
:%s/old/new/g       " Replace all in file
:%s/old/new/gc      " Replace all with confirmation
:10,20s/old/new/g   " Replace in lines 10-20

LazyVim Key Mappings

Leader Key

LazyVim uses <Space> as the leader key. Press <Space> to see all available mappings.

File Operations

Key	Action
<leader>ff	Find files
<leader>fg	Live grep
<leader>fb	Find buffers
<leader>fh	Find help
<leader>fr	Recent files
<leader>fn	New file
<leader>fe	File explorer

Buffer Management

Key	Action
<S-h>	Previous buffer
<S-l>	Next buffer
[b	Previous buffer
]b	Next buffer
<leader>bd	Delete buffer
<leader>bD	Delete buffer (force)
<leader>bb	Switch to other buffer

Window Management

Key	Action
<Ctrl-w>h	Move to left window
<Ctrl-w>j	Move to bottom window
<Ctrl-w>k	Move to top window
<Ctrl-w>l	Move to right window
<Ctrl-w>s	Split horizontally
<Ctrl-w>v	Split vertically
<Ctrl-w>q	Close window
<Ctrl-w>=	Equalize window sizes
<Ctrl-w>_	Maximize height
<Ctrl-w>|	Maximize width

Code Navigation

Key	Action
gd	Go to definition
gD	Go to declaration
gi	Go to implementation
gy	Go to type definition
gr	Go to references
K	Hover documentation
<leader>ca	Code actions
<leader>rn	Rename symbol
[d	Previous diagnostic
]d	Next diagnostic
<leader>cd	Line diagnostics

Git Integration

Key	Action
<leader>gg	LazyGit
<leader>gb	Git blame
<leader>gf	Git file history
<leader>gs	Git status
]h	Next hunk
[h	Previous hunk
<leader>ghs	Stage hunk
<leader>ghu	Undo hunk
<leader>ghp	Preview hunk

Terminal

Key	Action
<Ctrl-\>	Toggle terminal
<leader>ft	Terminal (root dir)
<leader>fT	Terminal (cwd)
<Ctrl-/>	Terminal (root dir)

Search & Navigation

Key	Action
<leader>/	Grep (root dir)
<leader>:	Command history
<leader><space>	Find files (root dir)
<leader>,	Switch buffer
<leader>fb	Buffers
<leader>fc	Find config file
<leader>ff	Find files (root dir)
<leader>fF	Find files (cwd)
<leader>fr	Recent
<leader>fR	Recent (cwd)

LazyVim Specific

Key	Action
<leader>l	Lazy (plugin manager)
<leader>L	LazyVim changelog
<leader>x	LazyVim extras

Advanced Features

Marks

Key	Action
m{a-z}	Set local mark
m{A-Z}	Set global mark
'{mark}	Jump to mark line
`{mark}`	Jump to mark position
''	Jump to previous line
``	Jump to previous position
:marks	List marks

Registers

Key	Action
"{a-z}	Named registers
"0	Yank register
"1-9	Delete registers
"+	System clipboard
"*	Primary selection
"%	Current filename
":	Last command
"/	Last search
".	Last inserted text

Macros

Key	Action
q{a-z}	Record macro
q	Stop recording
@{a-z}	Play macro
@@	Repeat last macro
{number}@{a-z}	Run macro n times

Folding

Key	Action
zf{motion}	Create fold
zd	Delete fold
zo	Open fold
zc	Close fold
za	Toggle fold
zR	Open all folds
zM	Close all folds
zj	Move to next fold
zk	Move to previous fold

Command Line & Ex Commands

File Operations

:w              " Save
:w filename     " Save as
:q              " Quit
:q!             " Quit without saving
:wq or :x       " Save and quit
:e filename     " Edit file
:e!             " Reload file
:enew           " New buffer

Buffer Management

:ls             " List buffers
:b {number}     " Switch to buffer
:bn             " Next buffer
:bp             " Previous buffer
:bd             " Delete buffer
:bufdo cmd      " Run command on all buffers

Window Management

:sp filename    " Horizontal split
:vs filename    " Vertical split
:new            " New horizontal split
:vnew           " New vertical split
:only           " Close all other windows
:resize {n}     " Resize window height
:vertical resize {n}  " Resize window width

Advanced Commands

:set option     " Set option
:set option?    " Show option value
:set option!    " Toggle option
:help topic     " Get help
:history        " Command history
:changes        " Show change list
:jumps          " Show jump list
:reg            " Show registers

Configuration Tips

Essential LazyVim Options

-- In lua/config/options.lua
vim.opt.relativenumber = true    -- Relative line numbers
vim.opt.clipboard = "unnamedplus" -- System clipboard
vim.opt.scrolloff = 8            -- Keep 8 lines visible
vim.opt.sidescrolloff = 8        -- Keep 8 columns visible
vim.opt.wrap = false             -- No line wrapping
vim.opt.expandtab = true         -- Use spaces instead of tabs
vim.opt.shiftwidth = 2           -- Indent width
vim.opt.tabstop = 2              -- Tab width
vim.opt.ignorecase = true        -- Ignore case in search
vim.opt.smartcase = true         -- Case sensitive if uppercase used

Custom Keymaps

-- In lua/config/keymaps.lua
local map = vim.keymap.set

-- Better window navigation
map("n", "<C-h>", "<C-w>h")
map("n", "<C-j>", "<C-w>j")
map("n", "<C-k>", "<C-w>k")
map("n", "<C-l>", "<C-w>l")

-- Stay in indent mode
map("v", "<", "<gv")
map("v", ">", ">gv")

-- Move text up and down
map("v", "J", ":m '>+1<CR>gv=gv")
map("v", "K", ":m '<-2<CR>gv=gv")

-- Better paste
map("v", "p", '"_dP')

Performance Tips

1. Use relative line numbers for efficient jumping
2. Learn text objects for precise editing
3. Master the . command for repetition
4. Use visual mode for complex selections
5. Leverage marks for quick navigation
6. Practice motions to avoid arrow keys
7. Use LazyVim's fuzzy finding instead of file trees
8. Learn LSP shortcuts for code navigation
9. Use multiple cursors with visual block mode
10. Customize based on your workflow

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

# Check LazyVim health
:checkhealth

# View logs
:messages

# Profile startup time
nvim --startuptime startup.log

# Reset LazyVim
rm -rf ~/.local/share/nvim
rm -rf ~/.local/state/nvim
rm -rf ~/.cache/nvim

Plugin Management

:Lazy              " Open Lazy.nvim
:Lazy sync         " Update plugins
:Lazy clean        " Remove unused plugins
:Lazy profile      " Profile plugin loading

This cheat sheet covers the essential Vim motions and LazyVim enhancements. Practice these commands daily to build muscle memory and improve your editing efficiency. Remember that Vim's power comes from combining simple commands into complex operations.