By Alvin Alexander. Last updated: June 4, 2016
Here's a quick list of the most common vi and vim editor navigation commands I use every day.
Moving on the current line
Here are the most common navigation commands for moving around the current line:
0 Move to the beginning of the current line $ Move to the end of the current line 5[RightArrow] Move to the right 5 spaces 5[LeftArrow] Move to the left 5 spaces
Moving around the current screen
Here are the most common navigation commands for moving around the current screen:
H Move to the first line on the screen M Move to the middle line of the screen L Move to the last line of the screen w Move to the beginning of the next word b Move backwards to the beginning of the previous word 5[RightArrow] Move to the right 5 spaces 5[LeftArrow] Move to the left 5 spaces< 9[UpArrow] Move up 9 lines 7[DownArrow] Move down 7 lines
Moving around the file
Finally, here are the most common navigation commands for moving around the overall file:
1G Move to the first line of the file G Move to the last line of the file 31G Move to the 31st line of the file [Ctrl]f Move forward one screen [Ctrl]d Move forward one-half screen [Ctrl]b Move backward one screen
Of course there are a zillion other vi/vim navigation commands, but on a daily basis, these are the ones I use.