Intro
macOS ships with an old, minimal Vim build in Terminal.app, current enough for every shortcut on this page, but missing newer features some plugins expect. Homebrew's vim or MacVim cover those cases.
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Only meaningful in Visual mode or right after an operator, e.g. daw deletes a word.
macOS ships with an old, minimal Vim build in Terminal.app, current enough for every shortcut on this page, but missing newer features some plugins expect. Homebrew's vim or MacVim cover those cases.
The built-in Vim is old. macOS's system vim is frequently several major versions behind current Vim, fine for the shortcuts on this page, but brew install vim or MacVim gets you the current release if a plugin needs it.
Terminal.app vs iTerm2. Both run the same Vim, but iTerm2 passes more key combinations through cleanly, some Ctrl-combinations that trigger macOS system behavior in Terminal.app work without conflict in iTerm2.
Case matters more than the modifier. Almost every shortcut here is a bare letter or Shift+letter, not a Cmd or Option chord, dd and D are different commands, not the same one with an optional modifier.
The Vim Mac shortcut list is available as a printable PDF. The motions, operators, and text objects are worth learning first.
Yes, but it's an old build. Terminal.app's system vim is fine for everything on this page; brew install vim or MacVim gets you a current release if you need newer features or plugins.
Either works with every shortcut on this page. iTerm2 passes some key combinations through more cleanly than Terminal.app, which matters more for custom Vim key mappings than for the defaults listed here.
No. Vim's shortcuts are built from bare letters, Shift, and Control, the same set it uses on every platform. Command isn't part of Vim's own bindings.
Need more than shortcuts?
Visit the Vim app page for an overview and helpful links.
Want to suggest a new app, report a bug, or get help? Email us at info@hkeys.app.
For anything else or just a quick hello, write to us at info@hkeys.app.