Intro

Nvim:help pages,generated fromsource using thetree-sitter-vimdoc parser.

Introductionintro

Vim is a text editor which includes most commands from the Unix program "Vi"and many new ones.

An overview of this manual can be found in the file "help.txt",help.txt.It can be accessed from within Vim with the<Help> or<F1> key and with the:help command (just type ":help", without the bars or quotes). The'helpfile' option can be set to the name of the help file, in case itis not located in the default place. You can jump to subjects like with tags:UseCTRL-] to jump to a subject under the cursor, useCTRL-T to jump back.

pronounce
Vim is pronounced as one word, like Jim. So Nvim is "En-Vim", two syllables.

This manual is a reference for all Nvim editor and API features. It is not anintroduction; instead for beginners, there is a hands-ontutor,lua-guide,anduser-manual.

Resourcesresources

internetwwwdistributionNvim home page:

https://neovim.io/

book
There are many resources to learn Vi, Vim, and Nvim. We recommend:

"Practical Vim" by Drew Neil. Acclaimed for its focus on quickly learning common editing tasks with Vim.

"Modern Vim" by Drew Neil. Explores new features in Nvim and Vim 8.

https://vimcasts.org/publications/

"Vim - Vi Improved" by Steve Oualline. This was the first book dedicated to Vim. Parts of it were included in the Vim user manual.frombook ISBN: 0735710015

For more information try one of these:

https://iccf-holland.org/click5.html

https://www.vim.org/iccf/click5.html

Vim FAQ:https://vimhelp.org/vim_faq.txt.html

bugsbug-reportfeature-requestReport bugs and request features here:https://github.com/neovim/neovim/issuesBe brief, yet complete. Always give a reproducible example and try to findout which settings or other things trigger the bug. If Nvim crashed, try toget a backtrace (seedev-tools-backtrace).

Installing Nviminstall

downloadupgradeubuntuTo install or upgrade Nvim, you can...

Download a pre-built archive:https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases

Use your system package manager:https://github.com/neovim/neovim/blob/master/INSTALL.md#install-from-package

Build from source:https://github.com/neovim/neovim/blob/master/INSTALL.md#install-from-source

Un-installing Nvimuninstall

To uninstall Nvim:

If you downloaded a pre-built archive or built Nvim from source (e.g.make install), just delete its files, typically located in:

/usr/local/bin/nvim/usr/local/share/nvim

To find where Nvim is installed, run these commands:

:echo v:progpath:echo $VIMRUNTIME

If you installed via package manager, read your package manager's documentation. Common examples:

APT (Debian, Ubuntu, …):apt-get remove neovim

Homebrew (macOS):brew uninstall neovim

Scoop (Windows):scoop uninstall neovim

Sponsor Vim/Nvim developmentsponsorregister

Fixing bugs and adding new features takes a lot of time and effort. To showyour appreciation for the work and motivate developers to continue working onVim please send a donation.

The money you donated will be mainly used to help children in Uganda. Seeuganda. But at the same time donations increase the development teammotivation to keep working on Vim!

For the most recent information about sponsoring look on the Vim web site:

https://www.vim.org/sponsor/

Nvim development is funded separately from Vim:

https://neovim.io/#sponsor

Bram MoolenaarBramMoolenaarBram-Moolenaarbrammool

Nvim is a fork of the Vim ("Vi IMproved") text editor, which was originallydeveloped by Bram Moolenaar. Searching his name within the source code ofNvim will reveal just how much of his work still remains in Nvim.On August 3, 2023, he passed away at the age of 62. If Vim or Nvim have beenof use to you in your life, please readUganda and consider honoring hismemory however you may see fit.

Obituary Articles:https://github.com/vim/vim/discussions/12742

Say Farewell:https://github.com/vim/vim/discussions/12737

Notationnotation

When syntax highlighting is used to read this, text that is not typedliterally is often highlighted with the Special group. These are items in [],{} and <>, andCTRL-X.

Note that Vim uses all possible characters in commands. Sometimes the [], {}and <> are part of what you type, the context should make this clear.

[] Characters in square brackets are optional.

count[count]

[count] An optional number that may precede the command to multiply or iterate the command. If no number is given, a count of one is used, unless otherwise noted. Note that in this manual the [count] is not mentioned in the description of the command, but only in the explanation. This was done to make the commands easier to look up. If the'showcmd' option is on, the (partially) entered count is shown at the bottom of the window. You can use<Del> to erase the last digit (N<Del>).

[quotex]

["x] An optional register designation where text can be stored. Seeregisters. The x is a single character between 'a' and 'z' or 'A' and 'Z' or '"', and in some cases (with the put command) between '0' and '9', '%', '#', or others. The uppercase and lowercase letter designate the same register, but the lowercase letter is used to overwrite the previous register contents, while the uppercase letter is used to append to the previous register contents. Without the ""x" or with """" the stored text is put into the unnamed register.

{}

{} Curly braces denote parts of the command which must appear, but which can take a number of different values. The differences between Vim and Vi are also given in curly braces (this will be clear from the context).

{char1-char2}

{char1-char2} A single character from the range char1 to char2. For example:{a-z} is a lowercase letter. Multiple ranges may be concatenated. For example,{a-zA-Z0-9} is any alphanumeric character.

{motion}movement

{motion} A command that moves the cursor. These are explained inmotion.txt.

Examples:

w to start of next word

b to begin of current word

4j four lines down

/The<CR> to next occurrence of "The"

This is used after anoperator command to move over the text that is to be operated upon.

If the motion includes a count and the operator also has a count, the two counts are multiplied. For example: "2d3w" deletes six words.

The motion can be backwards, e.g. "db" to delete to the start of the word.

The motion can also be a mouse click. The mouse is not supported in every terminal though.

The ":omap" command can be used to map characters while an operator is pending.

Ex commands can be used to move the cursor. This can be used to call a function that does some complicated motion. The motion is always charwise exclusive, no matter what ":" command is used. This means it's impossible to include the last character of a line without the line break (unless'virtualedit' is set). If the Ex command changes the text before where the operator starts or jumps to another buffer the result is unpredictable. It is possible to change the text further down. Jumping to another buffer is possible if the current buffer is not unloaded.

{Visual}

{Visual} A selected text area. It is started with the "v", "V", orCTRL-V command, then any cursor movement command can be used to change the end of the selected text. This is used before anoperator command to highlight the text that is to be operated upon. SeeVisual-mode.

<character> A special character from the table below, optionally with modifiers, or a single ASCII character with modifiers.

'character'

'c' A single ASCII character.

CTRL-{char}

CTRL-{char}{char} typed as a control character; that is, typing{char} while holding the CTRL key down. The case of{char} is ignored; thusCTRL-A andCTRL-a are equivalent. But in some terminals and environments, using the SHIFT key will produce a distinct code (e.g.CTRL-SHIFT-a); in these environments using the SHIFT key will not trigger commands such asCTRL-A.

'option'

'option' An option, or parameter, that can be set to a value, is enclosed in single quotes. Seeoptions.

quotecommandquote

"command" A reference to a command that you can type is enclosed in double quotes.

command New style command, this distinguishes it from other quoted text and strings.

key-notationkey-codeskeycodesThese names for keys are used in the documentation. They can also be usedwith the ":map" command.

notation meaning equivalent decimal value(s)

<Nul> zeroCTRL-@ 0 (stored as 10)<Nul><BS> backspaceCTRL-H 8backspace<Tab> tabCTRL-I 9tabTablinefeed
<NL> linefeedCTRL-J 10 (used for<Nul>)<CR> carriage returnCTRL-M 13carriage-return<Return> same as<CR><Return>
<Enter> same as<CR><Enter>
<Esc> escapeCTRL-[ 27escape<Esc><Space> space 32space<lt> less-than < 60<lt><Bslash> backslash \ 92backslash<Bslash><Bar> vertical bar | 124<Bar><Del> delete 127<CSI> command sequence introALT-Esc 155<CSI>

<EOL> end-of-line (can be<CR>,<NL> or<CR><NL>, depends on system and'fileformat')<EOL><Ignore> cancel wait-for-character<Ignore>
<NOP> no-op: do nothing (useful in mappings)<Nop>

<Up> cursor-upcursor-upcursor_up<Down> cursor-downcursor-downcursor_down<Left> cursor-leftcursor-leftcursor_left<Right> cursor-rightcursor-rightcursor_right<S-Up> shift-cursor-up<S-Down> shift-cursor-down<S-Left> shift-cursor-left<S-Right> shift-cursor-right<C-Left> control-cursor-left<C-Right> control-cursor-right<F1> -<F12> function keys 1 to 12function_keyfunction-key<S-F1> -<S-F12> shift-function keys 1 to 12<S-F1><Help> help key<Undo> undo key<Find> find key<Select> select key<Insert> insert key<Home> homehome
<End> endend
<PageUp> page-uppage_uppage-up<PageDown> page-downpage_downpage-down<kUp> keypad cursor-upkeypad-cursor-up
<kDown> keypad cursor-downkeypad-cursor-down
<kLeft> keypad cursor-leftkeypad-cursor-left
<kRight> keypad cursor-rightkeypad-cursor-right
<kHome> keypad home (upper left)keypad-home<kEnd> keypad end (lower left)keypad-end
<kOrigin> keypad origin (middle)keypad-origin
<kPageUp> keypad page-up (upper right)keypad-page-up<kPageDown> keypad page-down (lower right)keypad-page-down<kDel> keypad deletekeypad-delete
<kPlus> keypad +keypad-plus
<kMinus> keypad -keypad-minus
<kMultiply> keypad *keypad-multiply
<kDivide> keypad /keypad-divide
<kPoint> keypad .keypad-point
<kComma> keypad ,keypad-comma
<kEqual> keypad =keypad-equal
<kEnter> keypad Enterkeypad-enter
<k0> -<k9> keypad 0 to 9keypad-0keypad-9<S-…> shift-keyshift<S-<C-…> control-keycontrolctrl<C-<M-…> alt-key or meta-keyMETAALT<M-<A-…> same as<M-…><A-
<T-…> meta-key when it's not alt<T-<D-…> command-key or "super" key<D-

Note:

Availability of some keys (<Help>,<S-Right>, …) depends on the UI or host terminal.

If numlock is on theTUI receives plain ASCII values, so mapping<k0>,<k1>, ...,<k9> and<kPoint> will not work.

Nvim supports mapping multibyte chars with modifiers such as<M-ä>. Which combinations actually work depends on the UI or host terminal.

When a key is pressed using a meta or alt modifier and no mapping exists for that keypress, Nvim may behave as though<Esc> was pressed before the key.

It is possible to notate combined modifiers (e.g.<M-C-T> forCTRL-ALT-T), but your terminal must encode the input for that to work.tui-input

<>
Examples are often given in the <> notation. Sometimes this is just to makeclear what you need to type, but often it can be typed literally, e.g., withthe ":map" command. The rules are:1. Printable characters are typed directly, except backslash and "<"2. Backslash is represented with "\\", double backslash, or "<Bslash>".3. Literal "<" is represented with "\<" or "<lt>". When there is no confusion possible, "<" can be used directly.4. "<key>" means the special key typed (see the table above). Examples:

<Esc> Escape key

<C-G>CTRL-G

<Up> cursor up key

<C-LeftMouse> Control- left mouse click

<S-F11> Shifted function key 11

<M-a> Meta- a ('a' with bit 8 set)

<M-A> Meta- A ('A' with bit 8 set)

The <> notation uses<lt> to escape the special meaning of key names. Using abackslash also works, but only when'cpoptions' does not include the 'B' flag.

Examples for mappingCTRL-H to the six characters "<Home>":

:imap <C-H> \<Home>:imap <C-H> <lt>Home>

The first one only works when the 'B' flag is not in'cpoptions'. The secondone always works.To get a literal "<lt>" in a mapping:

:map <C-L> <lt>lt>

The notation can be used in a double quoted strings, using "\<" at the start,e.g. "\<C-Space>". This results in a special key code. To convert this backto readable text usekeytrans().

Modes, introductionvim-modes-introvim-modes

Vim has seven BASIC modes:

NormalNormal-modecommand-mode

Normal mode: In Normal mode you can enter all the normal editor commands. If you start the editor you are in this mode. This is also known as command mode.

Visual mode: This is like Normal mode, but the movement commands extend a highlighted area. When a non-movement command is used, it is executed for the highlighted area. SeeVisual-mode. If the'showmode' option is on "-- VISUAL --" is shown at the bottom of the window.

Select mode: This looks most like the MS-Windows selection mode. Typing a printable character deletes the selection and starts Insert mode. SeeSelect-mode. If the'showmode' option is on "-- SELECT --" is shown at the bottom of the window.

Insert mode: In Insert mode the text you type is inserted into the buffer. SeeInsert-mode. If the'showmode' option is on "-- INSERT --" is shown at the bottom of the window.

Cmdline mode: In Command-line mode (also called Cmdline mode) you can enter one line of text at the bottom of the window. This is for the Ex commands, ":", the pattern search commands, "?" and "/", and the filter command, "!".Cmdline-mode

Ex mode: Like Command-line mode, but after entering a command you remain in Ex mode. Very limited editing of the command line.Ex-mode

Terminal-mode

Terminal mode: In Terminal mode all input (exceptCTRL-\) is sent to the process running in the currentterminal buffer. IfCTRL-\ is pressed, the next key is sent unless it isCTRL-N (CTRL-\_CTRL-N) orCTRL-O (t_CTRL-\_CTRL-O). If the'showmode' option is on "-- TERMINAL --" is shown at the bottom of the window.

There are six ADDITIONAL modes. These are variants of the BASIC modes:

Operator-pendingOperator-pending-mode

Operator-pending mode: This is like Normal mode, but after an operator command has started, and Vim is waiting for a{motion} to specify the text that the operator will work on.

Replace mode: Replace mode is a special case of Insert mode. You can do the same things as in Insert mode, but for each character you enter, one character of the existing text is deleted. SeeReplace-mode. If the'showmode' option is on "-- REPLACE --" is shown at the bottom of the window.

Virtual Replace mode: Virtual Replace mode is similar to Replace mode, but instead of file characters you are replacing screen real estate. SeeVirtual-Replace-mode. If the'showmode' option is on "-- VREPLACE --" is shown at the bottom of the window.

Insert Normal mode: Entered whenCTRL-O is typed in Insert mode (seei_CTRL-O). This is like Normal mode, but after executing one command Vim returns to Insert mode. If the'showmode' option is on "-- (insert) --" is shown at the bottom of the window.

Insert Visual mode: Entered when starting a Visual selection from Insert mode, e.g., by usingCTRL-O and then "v", "V" orCTRL-V. When the Visual selection ends, Vim returns to Insert mode. If the'showmode' option is on "-- (insert) VISUAL --" is shown at the bottom of the window.

Insert Select mode: Entered when starting Select mode from Insert mode. E.g., by dragging the mouse or<S-Right>. When the Select mode ends, Vim returns to Insert mode. If the'showmode' option is on "-- (insert) SELECT --" is shown at the bottom of the window.

Switching from mode to modemode-switching

If for any reason you do not know which mode you are in, you can always getback to Normal mode by typing<Esc> twice. This doesn't work for Ex modethough, use ":visual".You will know you are back in Normal mode when you see the screen flash orhear the bell after you type<Esc>. However, when pressing<Esc> after usingCTRL-O in Insert mode you get a beep but you are still in Insert mode, type<Esc> again.

i_esc

FROM mode      TO mode               Normal  Visual  Select  Insert    Replace   Cmd-line  Ex >Normal                 v V ^V    *4     *1        R gR     : / ? !   gQVisual          *2               ^G     c C        --        :       --Select          *5     ^O ^G            *6         --        --      --Insert          <Esc>    --      --              <Insert>    --      --Replace         <Esc>    --      --    <Insert>              --      --Command-line    *3       --      --     :start     --                --Ex              :vi      --      --     --         --        ---- not possible

1 Go from Normal mode to Insert mode by giving the command "i", "I", "a", "A", "o", "O", "c", "C", "s" or S".

2 Go from Visual mode to Normal mode by giving a non-movement command, which causes the command to be executed, or by hitting<Esc> "v", "V" or "CTRL-V" (seev_v), which just stops Visual mode without side effects.

3 Go from Command-line mode to Normal mode by:

Hitting<CR> or<NL>, which causes the entered command to be executed.

Deleting the complete line (e.g., withCTRL-U) and giving a final<BS>.

HittingCTRL-C or<Esc>, which quits the command-line without executing the command. In the last case<Esc> may be the character defined with the'wildchar' option, in which case it will start command-line completion. You can ignore that and type<Esc> again.

4 Go from Normal to Select mode by:

use the mouse to select text while'selectmode' contains "mouse"

use a non-printable command to move the cursor while keeping the Shift key pressed, and the'selectmode' option contains "key"

use "v", "V" or "CTRL-V" while'selectmode' contains "cmd"

use "gh", "gH" or "gCTRL-H"g_CTRL-H

5 Go from Select mode to Normal mode by using a non-printable command to move the cursor, without keeping the Shift key pressed.

6 Go from Select mode to Insert mode by typing a printable character. The selection is deleted and the character is inserted.

CTRL-\_CTRL-Ni_CTRL-\_CTRL-Nc_CTRL-\_CTRL-Nv_CTRL-\_CTRL-Nt_CTRL-\_CTRL-NAdditionally the commandCTRL-\CTRL-N or<C-\><C-N> can be used to go toNormal mode from any other mode. This can be used to make sure Vim is inNormal mode, without causing a beep like<Esc> would. However, this does notwork in Ex mode. When used after a command that takes an argument, such asf orm, the timeout set with'ttimeoutlen' applies.

CTRL-\_CTRL-Gi_CTRL-\_CTRL-Gc_CTRL-\_CTRL-Gv_CTRL-\_CTRL-GCTRL-\CTRL-G works the same asCTRL-\_CTRL-N for backward compatibility.

gQmode-ExEx-modeExEXE501gQ Switch to Ex mode. This is like typing ":" commands one after another, except:

You don't have to keep pressing ":".

The screen doesn't get updated after each command. Use the:vi command (:visual) to exit this mode.

Window contentswindow-contents

In Normal mode and Insert/Replace mode the screen window will show the currentcontents of the buffer: What You See Is What You Get. There are twoexceptions:

When the'cpoptions' option contains '$', and the change is within one line, the text is not directly deleted, but a '$' is put at the last deleted character.

When inserting text in one window, other windows on the same text are not updated until the insert is finished.

Lines longer than the window width will wrap, unless the'wrap' option is off(see below). The'linebreak' option can be set to wrap at a blank character.

If the window has room after the last line of the buffer, Vim will show '~' inthe first column of the last lines in the window, like this:

+-----------------------+|some line              ||last line              ||~                      ||~                      |+-----------------------+

Thus the '~' lines indicate that the end of the buffer was reached.

If the last line in a window doesn't fit, Vim will indicate this with a '@' inthe first column of the last lines in the window, like this:

+-----------------------+|first line             ||second line            ||@                      ||@                      |+-----------------------+

Thus the '@' lines indicate that there is a line that doesn't fit in thewindow.

When the "lastline" flag is present in the'display' option, you will not see'@' characters at the left side of window. If the last line doesn't fitcompletely, only the part that fits is shown, and the last three characters ofthe last line are replaced with "@@@", like this:

+-----------------------+|first line             ||second line            ||a very long line that d||oesn't fit in the wi@@@|+-----------------------+

If there is a single line that is too long to fit in the window, this is aspecial situation. Vim will show only part of the line, around where thecursor is. There are no special characters shown, so that you can edit allparts of this line.

Thehl-NonText highlight group can be used to set special highlightingfor the '@' and '~' characters. This makes it possible to distinguish themfrom real characters in the buffer.

The'showbreak' option contains the string to put in front of wrapped lines.

wrap-off
If the'wrap' option is off, long lines will not wrap. Only the part thatfits on the screen is shown. If the cursor is moved to a part of the linethat is not shown, the screen is scrolled horizontally. The advantage ofthis method is that columns are shown as they are and lines that cannot fiton the screen can be edited. The disadvantage is that you cannot see all thecharacters of a line at once. The'sidescroll' option can be set to theminimal number of columns to scroll.

All normal ASCII characters are displayed directly on the screen. The<Tab>is replaced with the number of spaces that it represents. Other non-printingcharacters are replaced with "^{char}", where{char} is the non-printingcharacter with 64 added. Thus character 7 (bell) will be shown as "^G".Characters between 127 and 160 are replaced with "~{char}", where{char} isthe character with 64 subtracted. These characters occupy more than oneposition on the screen. The cursor can only be positioned on the first one.

If you set the'number' option, all lines will be preceded with theirnumber. Tip: If you don't like wrapping lines to mix with the line numbers,set the'showbreak' option to eight spaces:

":set showbreak=\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ "

If you set the'list' option,<Tab> characters will not be shown as severalspaces, but as "^I". A '$' will be placed at the end of the line, so you canfind trailing blanks.

In Command-line mode only the command-line itself is shown correctly. Thedisplay of the buffer contents is updated as soon as you go back to Commandmode.

The last line of the window is used for status and other messages. Thestatus messages will only be used if an option is on:

status message                option       default    Unix defaultcurrent mode                  'showmode'      on          oncommand characters            'showcmd'       on          offcursor position               'ruler'         off         off

The current mode is "-- INSERT --" or "-- REPLACE --", see'showmode'. Thecommand characters are those that you typed but were not used yet.

If you have a slow terminal you can switch off the status messages to speedup editing:

:set nosc noru nosm

If there is an error, an error message will be shown for at least one second(in reverse video).

Some commands show how many lines were affected. Above which threshold thishappens can be controlled with the'report' option (default 2).

The name Vim and the full name of the current file name will be shown in thetitle bar. When the window is resized, Vim will automatically redraw thewindow. You may make the window as small as you like, but if it gets toosmall not a single line will fit in it. Make it at least 40 characters wideto be able to read most messages on the last line.

Definitionsdefinitionsjargon

buffer: Contains lines of text, usually from a file.

screen: The whole area that Nvim uses to display things.

window: A view on a buffer. There can be multiple windows for one buffer.

frame: Windows are kept in a tree of frames. Each frame contains a column, row, or window ("leaf" frame).

A screen contains one or more windows, separated by status lines and with thecommand line at the bottom.

       +-------------------------------+screen | window 1      | window 2      |       |               |               |       |               |               |       |= status line =|= status line =|       | window 3                      |       |                               |       |                               |       |==== status line ==============|       |command line                   |       +-------------------------------+

The command line is also used for messages. It scrolls up the screen whenthere is not enough room in the command line.

A difference is made between four types of lines:

buffer lines: The lines in the buffer. This is the same as the lines as they are read from/written to a file. They can be thousands of characters long.

logical lines: The buffer lines with folding applied. Buffer lines in a closed fold are changed to a single logical line: "+-- 99 lines folded". They can be thousands of characters long.

window lines: The lines displayed in a window: A range of logical lines with wrapping, line breaks, etc. applied. They can only be as long as the width of the window allows, longer lines are wrapped or truncated.

screen lines: The lines of the screen that Nvim uses. Consists of the window lines of all windows, with status lines and the command line added. They can only be as long as the width of the screen allows. When the command line gets longer it wraps and lines are scrolled to make room.

buffer lines    logical lines   window lines    screen lines-----------------------------------------------------------------------1. one          1. one          1. +-- folded   1.  +-- folded2. two          2. +-- folded   2. five         2.  five3. three        3. five         3. six          3.  six4. four         4. six          4. seven        4.  seven5. five         5. seven                        5.  === status line ===6. six                                          6.  aaa7. seven                                        7.  bbb                                                8.  ccc ccc c1. aaa          1. aaa          1. aaa          9.  cc2. bbb          2. bbb          2. bbb          10. ddd3. ccc ccc ccc  3. ccc ccc ccc  3. ccc ccc c    11. ~4. ddd          4. ddd          4. cc           12. === status line ===                                5. ddd          13. (command line)                                6. ~

API client

All external UIs and remote plugins (as opposed to regular Vim plugins) are"clients" in general; but we call something an "API client" if its purpose isto abstract or wrap the RPC API for the convenience of other applications(just like a REST client or SDK such as boto3 for AWS: you can speak AWS RESTusing an HTTP client like curl, but boto3 wraps that in a convenient pythoninterface). For example, the Nvim node-client is an API client:https://github.com/neovim/node-client

Host

A plugin "host" is both a client (of the Nvim API) and a server (of anexternal platform, e.g. python). It is a remote plugin that hosts otherplugins.

Remote plugin

Arbitrary code registered via:UpdateRemotePlugins, that runs in a separateprocess and communicates with Nvim via theapi.

Sponsor Vim/Nvim development