vi(1)

Suppress all interactive-user feedback. This is useful when editor commands are taken from scripts.

Set the lisp editor option (see ex(1)). Provides indents appropriate for lisp code. The (, ), {, }, [[, and ]] commands in vi are modified to function with lisp source code.

Recover the specified files after an editor or system crash. If no file is specified, a list of all saved files is printed. You must be the owner of the saved file in order to recover it (superuser cannot recover files owned by other users).

Set the readonly editor option to prevent overwriting a file inadvertently (see ex(1)).

Execute the tag tag command to load and position a predefined file. See the tag command and the tags editor option in ex(1).

Invoke visual mode (vi). Useful with ex, it has no effect on vi.

Set verbose mode. Editor commands are displayed as they are executed when input from a .exrc file or a source file (see the source command in ex(1)).

Set the value of the window editor option to size. If size is omitted, it defaults to 3.

Set encryption mode. You are prompted for a key to allow for the creation or editing of an encrypted file. This command makes an educated guess to determine whether text read in is encrypted or not. The temporary buffer file is encrypted also, using a transformed version of the key typed in for the -x option (see the crypt command in ex(1)).

Encryption option. Same as the -x option, except that all text read in is assumed to have been encrypted.

(Under UNIX Standard only, see standards(5))

(Obsolescent) Begin editing by executing the specified ex command-mode commands. As with the normal ex command-line entries, the command option-argument can consist of multiple ex commands separated by vertical-line commands (|). The use of commands that enter input mode in this manner produces undefined results.

Specify the file or files to be edited. If more than one file is specified, they are processed in the order given. If the -r option is also specified, the files are read from the recovery area.

Scroll backward to display the previous window of text. A preceding count specifies the number of windows to go back. Two lines of overlap are kept if possible.

Scroll forward a half-window of text. A preceding count gives the number of (logical) lines to scroll, and is remembered for future ^D and ^U commands.

(input mode) Backs up over the indentation provided by autoindent or ^T to the next multiple of shiftwidth spaces. Whitespace inserted by ^T at other than the beginning of a line cannot be backed over using ^D. A preceding ^ removes all indentation for the current and subsequent input lines of the current input mode until new indentation is established by inserting leading whitespace, either by direct input or by using ^T.

Scroll forward one line, leaving the cursor where it is if possible.

Scroll forward to display the window of text following the current one. A preceding count specifies the number of windows to advance. Two lines of overlap are kept if possible.

(Under UNIX Standard only, see standards(5) The current line is displayed and the cursor is moved to the first nonblank character of the current line or the first character if the line is a blank line.

Print the current file name and other information, including the number of lines and the current position (equivalent to the ex command f).

Move one space to the left (stops at the left margin). A preceding count specifies the number of spaces to back up. (Same as h).

(input mode) Move the cursor left to the previous input character without erasing it from the screen. The character is deleted from the saved text.

Move the cursor down one line in the same column, if possible. A preceding count specifies the number of lines to move down. (Same as ^N and j).

Clear and redraw the screen. Use when the screen is scrambled for any reason.

Move to the first nonwhitespace character in the next line. A preceding count specifies the number of lines to advance.

Same as ^J and j.

Move the cursor up one line in the same column. A preceding count specifies the number of lines to move up (same as k).

Redraw the current screen, eliminating the false lines marked with @ (which do not correspond to actual lines in the file).

Pop the tag stack. See the pop command in ex(1).

(input mode) Insert shiftwidth whitespace. If at the beginning of the line, this inserted space can only be backed over using ^D.

Scroll up a half-window of text. A preceding count gives the number of (logical) lines to scroll, and is remembered for future ^D and ^U commands.

In input mode, ^V quotes the next character to permit the insertion of special characters (including ESC) into the file.

In input mode, ^W backs up one word; the deleted characters remain on the display.

Scroll backward one line, leaving the cursor where it is, if possible.

Cancel a partially formed command; ^[ sounds the bell if there is no partially formed command.

In input mode, ^[ terminates input mode. However, two consecutive ESC characters are required to terminate input mode if the doubleescape editor option is set (see ex(1)).

When entering a command on the bottom line of the screen (ex command line or search pattern with \ or ?), terminate input and execute command.

On many terminals, ^[ can be entered by pressing the ESC or ESCAPE key.

Exit vi and enter ex command mode. If in input mode, terminate the input first.

Take the word at or after the cursor as a tag and execute the tagMbobC editor command (see ex(1)).

Return to the previous file (equivalent to :ex #).

Move one space to the right (stops at the end of the line). A preceding count specifies the number of spaces to go forward (same as l).

Erase, where erase is the user-designated erase character (see stty(1)). Same as ^H.

Kill, where kill is the user-designated kill character (see stty(1)). In input mode, kill backs up to the beginning of the current input line without erasing the line from the screen display.

Suspend the editor session and return to the calling shell, where susp is the user-designated process-control suspend character (see stty(1)). See ex(1) for more information on the suspend editor command.

An operator that passes specified lines from the buffer as standard input to the specified system command, and replaces those lines with the standard output from the command. The ! is followed by a movement command specifying the lines to be passed (lines from the current position to the end of the movement) and then the command (terminated as usual by a return). A preceding count is passed on to the movement command after !.

Doubling ! and preceding it by count causes that many lines, starting with the current line, to be passed.

Use to precede a named buffer specification. There are named buffers 1 through 9 in which the editor places deleted text. The named buffers a through z are available to the user for saving deleted or yanked text; see also y, below.

Move to the end of the current line. A preceding count specifies the number of lines to advance (for example, 2$ causes the cursor to advance to the end of the next line).

Move to the parenthesis or brace that matches the parenthesis or brace at the current cursor position.

Same as the ex command & (that is, & repeats the previous substitute command).

When followed by a ', vi returns to the previous context, placing the cursor at the beginning of the line. (The previous context is set whenever a nonrelative move is made.) When followed by a letter a-z, returns to the line marked with that letter (see the m command), at the first nonwhitespace character in the line.

When used with an operator such as d to specify an extent of text, the operation takes place over complete lines (see also `).

When followed by a `, vi returns to the previous context, placing the cursor at the character position marked (the previous context is set whenever a nonrelative move is made). When followed by a letter a z, returns to the line marked with that letter (see the m command), at the character position marked.

When used with an operator such as d to specify an extent of text, the operation takes place from the exact marked place to the current position within the line (see also ').

Back up to the previous section boundary. A section is defined by the value of the sections option. Lines that start with a form feed (^L) or { also stop [[.

If the option lisp is set, the cursor stops at each ( at the beginning of a line.

Move forward to a section boundary (see [[).

Move to the first nonwhitespace position on the current line.

Move backward to the beginning of a sentence. A sentence ends at a ., !, or ? followed by either the end of a line or by two spaces. Any number of closing ), ], ", and ' characters can appear between the ., !, or ? and the spaces or end of line. If a count is specified, the cursor moves back the specified number of sentences.

If the lisp option is set, the cursor moves to the beginning of a lisp s-expression. Sentences also begin at paragraph and section boundaries (see { and [[).

Move forward to the beginning of a sentence. If a count is specified, the cursor advances the specified number of sentences (see ().

Move back to the beginning of the preceding paragraph. A paragraph is defined by the value of the paragraphs option. A completely empty line and a section boundary (see [[ above) are also interpreted as the beginning of a paragraph. If a count is specified, the cursor moves backward the specified number of paragraphs.

Move forward to the beginning of the next paragraph. If a count is specified, the cursor advances the specified number of paragraphs (see {).

Requires a preceding count; the cursor moves to the specified column of the current line (if possible).

Move to the first nonwhitespace character in the next line. If a count is specified, the cursor advances the specified number of lines (same as ^M).

The comma (,) performs the reverse action of the last f, F, t, or T command issued, by searching in the opposite direction on the current line. If a count is specified, the cursor repeats the search the specified number of times.

The hyphen character (-) moves the cursor to the first nonwhitespace character in the previous line. If a count is specified, the cursor moves back the specified number of times.

The underscore character (_) moves the cursor to the first nonwhitespace character in the current line. If a count is specified, the cursor advances the specified number of lines, with the current line being counted as the first line; no count or a count of 1 specifies the current line.

Repeat the last command that changed the buffer. If a count is specified, the command is repeated the specified number of times.

Read a string from the last line on the screen, interpret it as a regular expression, and scan forward for the next occurrence of a matching string. The search begins when the user types a carriage return to terminate the pattern; the search can be terminated by sending SIGINT (or the user-designated interrupt character).

When used with an operator to specify an extent of text, the defined region begins with the current cursor position and ends at the beginning of the matched string. Entire lines can be specified by giving an offset from the matched line (by using a closing / followed by a +n or -n ).

Move to the first character on the current line (the 0 is not interpreted as a command when preceded by a nonzero digit).

The colon character (:) begins an ex command. The : and the entered command are echoed on the bottom line; the ex command is executed when the user types a carriage return.

Repeat the last single character find using f, F, t, or T. If a count is specified, the search is repeated the specified number of times.

An operator that shifts lines to the left by one shiftwidth. The < can be followed by a move to specify lines. A preceding count is passed through to the move command.

When repeated (<<), shifts the current line (or count lines starting at the current one).

An operator that shifts lines right one shiftwidth (see <).

If the lisp option is set, = reindents the specified lines, as if they were typed in with lisp and autoindent set. = can be preceded by a count to indicate how many lines to process, or followed by a move command for the same purpose.

Scan backwards, the reverse of / (see /).

Execute the commands stored in the named buffer. Be careful not to include a <return> character at the end of the buffer contents unless the <return> is part of the command stream. Commands to be executed in ex mode should be preceded by a colon (:).

The tilde (~) switches the case of the character under the cursor (if it is a letter), then moves one character to the right, stopping at the end of the line). A preceding count specifies how many characters in the current line are switched.

Append at the end of line (same as $a).

Back up one word, where a word is any nonblank sequence, placing the cursor at the beginning of the word. If a count is specified, the cursor moves back the specified number of words.

Change the rest of the text on the current line (same as c$).

Delete the rest of the text on the current line (same as d$).

Move forward to the end of a word, where a word is any nonblank sequence. If a count is specified, the cursor advances the specified number of words.

Must be followed by a single character; scans backwards in the current line, searching for that character and moving the cursor to it, if found. If a count is specified, the search is repeated the specified number of times.

Go to the line number given as preceding argument, or the end of the file if no preceding count is given.

Move the cursor to the top line on the screen. If a count is given, the cursor moves to count number of lines from the top of the screen. The cursor is placed on the first nonwhitespace character on the line. If used as the target of an operator, entire lines are affected.

Insert at the beginning of a line (same as ^ followed by i).

Join the current line with the next one, supplying appropriate whitespace: one space between words, two spaces after a period, and no spaces at all if the first character of the next line is a closing parenthesis ()). A preceding count causes the specified number of lines to be joined, instead of just two.

Move the cursor to the first nonwhitespace character of the last line on the screen. If a count is given, the cursor moves to count number of lines from the bottom of the screen. When used with an operator, entire lines are affected.

Move the cursor to the middle line on the screen, at the first nonwhitespace position on the line.

Scan for the next match of the last pattern given to / or ?, but in the opposite direction; this is the reverse of n.

Open a new line above the current line and enter input mode.

Put back (replace) the last deleted or yanked text before/above the cursor. Entire lines of text are returned above the cursor if entire lines were deleted or yanked. Otherwise, the text is inserted just before the cursor.

(Under UNIX Standard only, see standards(5)) In this case, the cursor is moved to last column position of the inserted characters.

If P is preceded by a named buffer specification (x), the contents of that buffer are retrieved instead.

Exit vi and enter ex command mode.

Replace characters on the screen with characters entered, until the input is terminated with ESC.

Change entire lines (same as cc). A preceding count changes the specified number of lines.

Must be followed by a single character; scan backwards in the current line for that character, and, if found, place the cursor just after that character. A count is equivalent to repeating the search the specified number of times.

Restore the current line to its state before the cursor was last moved to it.

(Under UNIX Standard only, see standards(5)) The cursor position is set to the column position 1 or to the position indicated by the previous line if the autoindent is set.

Move forward to the beginning of a word in the current line, where a word is a sequence of nonblank characters. If the current position is at the beginning of a word, the current position is within a bigword or the character at that position cannot be a part of a bigword, the current position shall move to the first character of the next bigword. If no subsequent bigword exists on the current line, the current position shall move to the first character of the first bigword on the first following line that contains the bigword. For this command, an empty or blank line is considered to contain exactly one bigword. The current line is set to the line containing the bigword selected and the current position is set to the first character of the bigword selected. A preceding count specifies the number of words to advance.

Delete the character before the cursor. A preceding count repeats the effect, but only characters on the current line are deleted.

Place (yank) a copy of the current line into the unnamed buffer (same as yy). If a count is specified, count lines are copied to the buffer. If the Y is preceded by a buffer name, the lines are copied to the named buffer.

Exit the editor, writing out the buffer if it was changed since the last write (same as the ex command x). Note that if the last write was to a different file and no changes have occurred since, the editor exits without writing out the buffer.

Enter input mode, appending the entered text after the current cursor position. A preceding count causes the inserted text to be replicated the specified number of times, but only if the inserted text is all on one line.

Back up to the previous beginning of a word in the current line. A word is a sequence of alphanumerics or a sequence of special characters. A preceding count repeats the effect.

Must be followed by a movement command. Delete the specified region of text, and enter input mode to replace deleted text with new text. If more than part of a single line is affected, the deleted text is saved in the numeric buffers. If only part of the current line is affected, the last character deleted is marked with a $. A preceding count passes that value through to the move command. If the command is cc, the entire current line is changed.

Must be followed by a movement command. Delete the specified region of text. If more than part of a line is affected, the text is saved in the numeric buffers. A preceding count passes that value through to the move command. If the command is dd, the entire current line is deleted.

Move forward to the end of the next word, defined as for b. A preceding count repeats the effect.

Must be followed by a single character; scan the rest of the current line for that character, and moves the cursor to it if found. A preceding count repeats the action that many times.

Move the cursor one character to the left (same as ^H). A preceding count repeats the effect.

Enter input mode, inserting the entered text before the cursor (see a).

Move the cursor one line down in the same column (same as ^J and ^N).

Move the cursor one line up (same as ^P).

Move the cursor one character to the right (same as <space>).

Mark the current position of the cursor. x is a lowercase letter, a-z, that is used with the ` and ' commands to refer to the marked line or line position.

Repeat the last / or ? scanning commands.

Open a line below the current line and enter input mode; otherwise like O.

Put text after/below the cursor; otherwise like P.

Must be followed by a single character; the character under the cursor is replaced by the specified one. (The new character can be a new-line.) If r is preceded by a count, count characters are replaced by the specified character.

Delete the single character under the cursor and enter input mode; the entered text replaces the deleted character. A preceding count specifies how many characters on the current line are changed. The last character being changed is marked with a $, as for c.

Must be followed by a single character; scan the remainder of the line for that character. The cursor moves to the column prior to the character if the character is found. A preceding count is equivalent to repeating the search count times.

Reverse the last change made to the current buffer. If repeated, u alternates between these two states; thus is its own inverse. When used after an insertion of text on more than one line, the lines are saved in the numerically named buffers.

Move forward to the beginning of the next word (where word is defined as in b). A preceding count specifies how many words the cursor advances.

Delete the single character under the cursor. When x is preceded by a count, x deletes the specified number of characters forward from the cursor position, but only on the current line.

Must be followed by a movement command; the specified text is copied (yanked) into the unnamed temporary buffer. If preceded by a named buffer specification, "x, the text is placed in that buffer also. If the command is yy, the entire current line is yanked.

Redraw the screen with the current line placed as specified by the following options: z<return> specifies the top of the screen, z. the center of the screen, and z- the bottom of the screen. The commands z^ and z+ are similar to ^B and ^F, respectively. However, z^ and z+ do not attempt to maintain two lines of overlap. A count after the z and before the following character to specifies the number of lines displayed in the redrawn screen. A count before the z gives the number of the line to use as the reference line instead of the default current line.