Vim Mode

Turn on vim mode in Settings > Editor > Vim mode. A badge next to the editor shows the current mode.

Vim mode badge — Mode badge in the SQL editor

Modes

Mode	How to enter
Normal	`Esc`
Insert	`i`, `I`, `a`, `A`, `o`, `O`, `s`, `S`, `c`, `C`, `gi`
Replace	`R`
Visual	`v`
Visual Line	`V`
Command line	`:`, `/`, `?`

gi puts you back where you last left insert.

Move the cursor

Characters

Key	Goes to
`h` `j` `k` `l`	Left, down, up, right
`0`	Start of line
`^` `_`	First non-blank on line
`$`	End of line

Words

Key	Goes to
`w` `b` `e`	Next word, prev word, word end
`W` `B` `E`	Same, whitespace-only word boundary
`ge` `gE`	Prev word end, prev WORD end

Lines

Key	Goes to
`gg`	First line
`G`	Last line
`5G`	Line 5
`H` `M` `L`	Top, middle, bottom of view
`gj` `gk`	Same as `j` `k` (logical lines, not wrapped display lines)
`%`	Matching `()`, `[]`, `{}`

Find a character

Key	Goes to
`f{c}`	Next `{c}` on this line
`F{c}`	Prev `{c}` on this line
`t{c}`	Just before next `{c}`
`T{c}`	Just after prev `{c}`
`;` `,`	Repeat last find, reverse last find

Sentences and paragraphs

Key	Goes to
`(` `)`	Prev sentence, next sentence
`{` `}`	Prev blank line, next blank line
`[[` `]]`	Prev `{`-at-col-0, next `{`-at-col-0

Counts work: 3w moves three words, 5j moves five lines down.

Edit

Key	Action
`d{m}`	Delete (with motion)
`c{m}`	Change (delete then enter insert)
`y{m}`	Yank
`dd` `cc` `yy`	Same on the whole line
`D` `C` `Y`	Same as `d$`, `c$`, `yy`
`x` `X`	Delete one char under, one before cursor
`s` `S`	Replace one char or whole line, then insert
`r{c}`	Replace one char with `{c}`, stay in normal
`~`	Toggle case under cursor
`g~{m}` `gu{m}` `gU{m}`	Toggle, lower, upper with motion
`g~~` `guu` `gUU`	Same on the whole line
`>>` `<<`	Indent, outdent line
`>{m}` `<{m}`	Indent, outdent with motion
`J`	Join next line with a space
`gJ`	Join next line, no space

2d3w deletes six words. 3yy yanks three lines. 5>> indents five lines. Yank, delete, and change all write to the system clipboard.

Text objects

Use after d, c, y, or in visual mode.

Object	Inside	Around
Word	`iw`	`aw`
WORD	`iW`	`aW`
`"` `'` ` string	`i"` `i'` i`	`a"` `a'` a`
`(` `)` parens	`i(` `ib`	`a(` `ab`
`{` `}` braces	`i{` `iB`	`a{` `aB`
`[` `]` brackets	`i[`	`a[`
`<` `>` angles	`i<`	`a<`
HTML tag	`it`	`at`
Paragraph	`ip`	`ap`

ciw rewrites the current word. da" removes a quoted string and its trailing space. yip copies the current paragraph.

Paste

Key	Action
`p`	After cursor (or below the line for linewise yank)
`P`	Before cursor (or above the line)
`3p`	Paste three times

In visual mode, p and P replace the selection with the register.

Registers

Prefix with "{a-z} to pick a register.

Register	Holds
`"`	Last yank or delete
`"a` … `"z`	Named, overwrite
`"A` … `"Z`	Same, append
`"0`	Last yank only
`"1` … `"9`	Delete ring, rotates on each delete

"ayy stores a line in a. "ap pastes it back later.

Marks

Key	Action
`m{a-z}`	Set mark
`{a-z}	Jump to exact mark
`'{a-z}`	Jump to first non-blank of the mark’s line
`< `>	Start, end of last visual selection
`''` “	Back to position before the last jump

Marks shift when you insert or delete text before them.

Search

Key	Action
`/pattern` `Enter`	Forward search
`?pattern` `Enter`	Backward search
`n` `N`	Next, previous match
`*` `#`	Search word under cursor, forward or back

The pattern is a literal, case-sensitive substring, not a regex. Searches wrap around.

Repeat and undo

Key	Action
`.`	Repeat last change
`u`	Undo
`U`	Undo all edits on this line
`Ctrl+R`	Redo

5. repeats the last change five times.

Macros

Key	Action
`q{a-z}`	Start recording into a register
`q`	Stop recording
`@{a-z}`	Play back
`@@`	Play back the last macro
`3@a`	Play three times

Recursion is capped at 50 to keep self-calling macros safe.

Control keys

Ctrl+R in normal mode is the only control combination vim mode intercepts. It redoes. Every other control combination passes straight through to the editor, which applies its own binding:

No scrolling from the keyboard. Ctrl+D, Ctrl+U, Ctrl+F, Ctrl+B, Ctrl+E, and Ctrl+Y do not move the viewport. Ctrl+D deletes the character after the cursor and Ctrl+E jumps to the end of the paragraph.
No increment or decrement. Ctrl+A and Ctrl+X leave the number under the cursor alone; Ctrl+A jumps to the start of the paragraph.
No insert-mode editing keys. Ctrl+W, Ctrl+U, Ctrl+T, and Ctrl+D do not delete a word, delete to line start, indent, or outdent. Ctrl+H still backspaces, through the editor’s binding rather than vim’s.

zt, zz, and zb are swallowed without moving the viewport.

Visual mode

Motions extend the selection. Then:

Key	Action
`d` `x`	Delete
`c`	Delete and insert
`y`	Yank
`J` `gJ`	Join lines
`~` `u` `U`	Toggle, lower, upper case
`r{c}`	Replace each char with `{c}`
`o`	Move cursor to the other end
`I` `A`	Insert at start, end of selection
`gv`	Reselect the last visual selection

Indent and outdent work in normal mode only (>>, <<, >{m}, <{m}).

Insert mode

Esc goes back to normal mode. Nothing else is intercepted while you type; see Control keys.

Command line

Command	Action
`:w`	Run the current query
`:q`	Close the tab

/ and ? are search. Other : commands, including :wq and :x, are parsed and ignored.

Getting Started

Database Connections

Features

Customization

External API

Modes

Move the cursor

Characters

Words

Lines

Find a character

Sentences and paragraphs

Edit

Text objects

Paste

Registers

Marks

Search

Repeat and undo

Macros

Control keys

Visual mode

Insert mode

Command line

​Modes

​Move the cursor

​Characters

​Words

​Lines

​Find a character

​Sentences and paragraphs

​Edit

​Text objects

​Paste

​Registers

​Marks

​Search

​Repeat and undo

​Macros

​Control keys

​Visual mode

​Insert mode

​Command line

Modes

Move the cursor

Characters

Words

Lines

Find a character

Sentences and paragraphs

Edit

Text objects

Paste

Registers

Marks

Search

Repeat and undo

Macros

Control keys

Visual mode

Insert mode

Command line