Vim Mastery
Vim Mastery
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
Goal |
Expert-level Vim proficiency |
Interest Link |
Systems Tools > Vim/Neovim |
Status |
In Progress |
Editor |
Neovim (instrumentum-nvim config) |
Philosophy |
Text as data, composable commands |
Documentation |
Principia/02_Assets/LRN-VIM/, domus-captures codex |
Skill Areas
| Area | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|
Motions |
Efficient cursor movement (w, W, f, t, %, etc.) |
[x] Proficient |
Text Objects |
iw, aw, ip, ap, i", a", custom objects |
[x] Proficient |
Operators |
d, c, y, > with motions |
[x] Proficient |
Registers |
Named registers, clipboard, expression register |
[ ] In Progress |
Macros |
Recording, editing, running across files |
[ ] In Progress |
Substitution |
:s, :g, regex patterns |
[x] Proficient |
Ex Commands |
:norm, :g, :v, ranges, patterns |
[ ] In Progress |
Plugins |
LSP, Telescope, mini.nvim ecosystem |
[ ] In Progress |
Vimscript/Lua |
Custom functions and configurations |
[ ] In Progress |
Resources
Books:
-
Practical Vim - Drew Neil
-
Modern Vim - Drew Neil
-
Learn Vimscript the Hard Way
Practice:
-
Codex vim section
-
Daily editing consciousness
-
vimgolf.com exercises
Configuration:
-
instrumentum-nvim (personal config)
-
mini.nvim ecosystem
-
LSP integration
Quick Reference
" ESSENTIAL MOTIONS CHEATSHEET
" HORIZONTAL
0 ^ $ g_ " Line start/end variants
w b e " Word movement
W B E " WORD movement
f F t T " Character find
; , " Repeat character find
" VERTICAL
j k " Line up/down
{ } " Paragraph
( ) " Sentence
H M L " Screen position
gg G {n}G " File position
" SEARCH
/ ? " Pattern search
n N " Next/prev match
* # " Word search
% " Matching bracket
" JUMPS
<Ctrl+O> <Ctrl+I> " Jump list
g; g, " Change list
'' `` " Previous position
'\{mark} `\{mark} " To mark
" SCROLL
<Ctrl+F> <Ctrl+B> " Page
<Ctrl+D> <Ctrl+U> " Half page
<Ctrl+E> <Ctrl+Y> " Line
zt zz zb " Reposition screenQuick Reference
" ESSENTIAL MACRO COMMANDS
qa " Record to 'a'
q " Stop recording
@a " Play 'a'
@@ " Repeat last macro
5@a " Play 5 times
" MACRO EDITING
"ap " Paste macro (to edit)
"ay$ " Yank line to macro
:let @a = "..." " Set macro directly
qA " Append to macro 'a'
" WITH :global
:g/pattern/normal @a " Apply to matches
:v/pattern/normal @a " Apply to non-matches
:'<,'>g/./normal @a " Apply to visual selection
" ROBUST MACRO PATTERN
0 " 1. Known start position
f\{char} " 2. Find target
c\{motion}text<Esc> " 3. Make change
j " 4. Position for next
@a " 5. (Optional) recurse
" SPECIAL KEY SEQUENCES (:let)
\<Esc> " Escape
\<CR> " Enter
\<Tab> " Tab
\<C-R> " Ctrl+RInfrastructure Automation Macros
" CONVERT CSV TO YAML
" Input: hostname,10.50.1.60,vault
" Output: - name: hostname
" ip: 10.50.1.60
" role: vault
qa
0 " Start of line
i- name: <Esc> " Insert prefix
f, " Find comma
s<CR> ip: <Esc> " Replace with newline + ip:
f, " Find comma
s<CR> role: <Esc> " Replace with newline + role:
jo<Esc> " Add blank line, move down
q
" GENERATE HOST ENTRIES
" Input: vault-01
" Output: 10.50.1.60 vault-01 vault-01.inside.domusdigitalis.dev
qa
0 " Start
I10.50.1.<Esc> " Add IP prefix
A <Esc> " Add space at end
yiw " Yank hostname
$p " Paste at end
a.inside.domusdigitalis.dev<Esc> " Add domain
j " Next line
q
" FIX SSH CONFIG INDENTATION
" Input: HostName value (wrong indent)
" Output: HostName value (4 spaces)
qa
^ " First non-blank
d0 " Delete leading space
I <Esc> " Insert 4 spaces
j " Next line
q
" WRAP YAML VALUES IN QUOTES
qa
f:w " Find colon, move to value
i"<Esc> " Insert opening quote
$a"<Esc> " Append closing quote
j " Next line
q
" ADD ATTRIBUTE MARKERS
" Input: server: 10.50.1.60
" Output: server: {vault-ip}
qa
f:w " Move to value
ciw{vault-ip}<Esc> " Replace with attribute
j
qMotion Gotchas
" WRONG: j/k skip wrapped lines
" Long line that wraps...
j " Goes to next actual line, not visual
" CORRECT: Use gj/gk for wrapped lines
gj " Move within wrapped display line
gk " Same, upward
" WRONG: w/W confusion with punctuation
" hello-world.example
w " hello → - → world → . → example
W " hello-world.example (one move)
" CORRECT: Understand word vs WORD
" word = alphanumeric sequences
" WORD = non-blank sequences
" WRONG: f doesn't cross lines
f) " Only searches current line!
" CORRECT: Use /pattern for multi-line
/) " Searches entire buffer
" WRONG: Forgetting search is a motion
d/pattern " Deletes up to pattern (exclusive)
" CORRECT: Use operator + search
d/pattern<CR> " Delete to match (exclusive)
dn " Delete to next match
" WRONG: % on non-matching brackets
" (unbalanced (parens)
% " Behavior is undefined
" CORRECT: Ensure balanced delimiters before using %
" WRONG: Expecting { } to work like other editors
" Vim { } = blank line, not brace
" CORRECT: Use [{, ]} for brace pairs
[{ " Previous unmatched {
]} " Next unmatched }
" WRONG: Marks disappear
ma " Local mark
:edit other_file
'a " Mark 'a' not here!
" CORRECT: Use uppercase for global marks
mA " Global mark
:edit other_file
'A " Works across files