Introduction:

Are you a DevOps or a Linux Enthusiast, spending countless hours crafting and editing scripts in Vi or Vim? Well, fret not! You're in for a treat, as we've compiled a treasure trove of essential commands and tips that will supercharge your productivity and save you loads of time.

🌟 Vi and Vim: What's the Buzz About?

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty commands, let's understand what makes Vi and Vim so special:

• Vi is one of the most venerable text editors in the Linux world, offering simplicity and efficiency.

• Vim (Vi Improved) is an extended and enhanced version of Vi, loaded with powerful features and capabilities.

🔍 Searching and Navigation Made Easy

When you're knee-deep in code, efficient navigation is key. Vi and Vim provide a plethora of commands to make your life easier:

• 🚶‍♂️ Navigation: Move seamlessly with h, j, k, and l, or use shortcuts like 0 and $.

• 📜 Scrolling: Press Ctrl + f to scroll forward or Ctrl + b to scroll backward.

✍️ Supercharged Editing

Editing text in Vi and Vim is a breeze with these essential commands:

• 📝 Inserting Text: Use i to insert before the cursor, I to insert at the line's beginning, and a to append after the cursor.

• ➕ Adding Lines: Employ o to open a new line below the cursor, and O for a line above.

• ✂️ Deleting: Quickly delete characters with x, or the entire line with dd.

• 📋 Copying and Pasting: Yank (yy) and paste (p) text effortlessly.

🔍 Search and Replace Like a Pro

DevOps tasks often involve replacing code snippets. Vi and Vim have you covered:

• 🔎 Searching: Initiate a search with /, and press n to find the next occurrence.

• 🔄 Replacing: Replace text with :s/old/new/g for the current line or :%s/old/new/g for the entire file.

• Jump to Line Number:

  • Use :<line_number> to jump to a specific line in the file (e.g., :25 to go to line 25).

💾 Saving and Exiting

Don't forget to save your precious scripts:

• 💾 Save: Use :w to save your work.

• 🚪 Quit: Exit with :q, or save and exit with :wq or :x.

• 🚫 Force Quit: In case of emergencies, use :q! to exit without saving.

🔁 Undo and Redo

Mistakes happen, but Vi and Vim have got your back:

• 🔙 Undo: Press u to undo your last change.

• 🔄 Redo: Redo an undone action with Ctrl + r.

🖼️ Visual Mode

Unlock the power of Vi and Vim's Visual Mode for text manipulation:

• ✏️ Enter Visual Mode with v, select text, and perform operations like yanking or deleting.

➕ Some More Tips:

• Indent Multiple Lines:

  • Select multiple lines in Visual Mode (Shift + V) and then press > to indent them right or < to indent them left.

• Repeat Previous Change:

  • The . (period) key repeats the last change you made. This is incredibly useful for applying the same action multiple times.

• Replace Mode:

  • Enter Replace Mode by pressing R. You can then type over the existing text, and it will replace characters as you type.

• Quickly Navigate to Matching Parentheses:

  • Place your cursor on a parenthesis, and press % to jump to its matching parenthesis.

• Toggle Case:

  • Select text in Visual Mode and press ~ to toggle the case (uppercase to lowercase and vice versa).

• Copy to System Clipboard:

  • On systems with clipboard support, you can copy selected text to the system clipboard with "+y (e.g., "+yy to copy a line).

• Switch Case Sensitivity in Search:

  • When searching with /, you can toggle case sensitivity with \c and \C. For example, /search\c performs a case-insensitive search.

• Repeat Last Search:

  • Press n to repeat the last search forward or N to repeat it backward.

• Navigate by Word:

  • Move between words quickly by pressing w to move forward or b to move backward.

• Delete to End of Line:

  • In Normal Mode, use D to delete from the cursor position to the end of the line.

• Execute Shell Commands:

  • You can execute shell commands from within Vim by typing :! followed by the command (e.g., :!ls to list files).

• Navigate Undo Tree:

  • Use g- and g+ in Normal Mode to navigate backward and forward through the undo tree.

• Swap Two Words:

  • In Normal Mode, place your cursor on the first word and type daw to delete the word and p to paste it after the cursor position.

🤩 Conclusion

In your DevOps journey, mastering Vi and Vim is like having a trusty Swiss Army knife in your toolkit. These editors offer unparalleled efficiency, and with these essential commands at your fingertips, you're ready to tackle any script or code with finesse.

So, the next time you find yourself knee-deep in scripts, remember these Vi and Vim gems. They're your secret weapon for productivity, ensuring you spend less time on editing and more time on what truly matters - your DevOps magic! 🎩✨

🔍 Checkout GitHub Repository for projects:

🔗 github.com/sumanprasad007

🔍 Check out my YouTube channel - Prasad Suman Mohan:

🔗 youtube.com/@sumanprasad007