• $ cat "

    Minimal VI Newbie Survival Guide

    "

    If you find yourself ssh:ing into a server where VI is the only text editor available, here is a minimal survival guide to get your editing job done:

    • Open your file in VI, for example vi /path/to/your/file
    • Move the cursor to the position where you want to start editing using the arrow keys
    • Trigger insert mode by pressing i
    • Do your editing
    • Exit insert mode by pressing Esc
    • Exisd and save your changes by executing the command :wq (write and quit)
    • If you want to exit without saving any changes execute the command :q! instead


    For the advanced newbie:

    • Copy (yank) a line by executing the command yy
    • Paste the yanked line by positioning the cursor and executing the p or P command
    • Go to end of file: G
    • Go to end of line: $
    • Go to beginning of line: 0
    • Go to end of word: e
    • Go to beginning of word: b
    • Go to next word: w