Vi / Vim / Neovim Cheatsheet — Fellow Analytics Engineer

vi = POSIX baseline (available everywhere).
vim-only = requires Vim 8+.
nvim-only = Neovim-specific.
<leader> defaults to \ — most configs remap it to , or <Space>.

---

The Mental Model: Modes

Vim is a language, not a list of shortcuts. Commands compose:
[count] [operator] [motion] → e.g. 3dw = delete 3 words, ci" = change inside quotes.

Mode	Enter With	Purpose
Normal	Esc / Ctrl+[	Navigate, issue commands — default mode
Insert	i a o I A O	Type text
Visual	v V Ctrl+V	Select characters / lines / blocks
Command	:	Ex commands (save, quit, search-replace)
Replace	R	Overwrite text
Operator-pending	after d c y etc.	Waiting for a motion

Analogy: Normal mode is like a CLI — you compose verbs (d, c, y) with nouns (motions like w, }, gg). Insert mode is just a dumb text field.

---

Saving & Exiting (Survival Kit)

Command	Action
:w	Save (write)
:wq or ZZ	Save and quit
:q! or ZQ	Quit without saving
:w !sudo tee %	Save with sudo (forgot to open as root)
:wa	Save all open buffers
:xa	Save all and exit

---

Navigation — Normal Mode

Character / Line

Key	Action
h j k l	Left / down / up / right
0 / ^ / $	Start of line / first non-blank / end of line
gg / G	First / last line of file
42G or :42	Jump to line 42
H / M / L	Top / middle / bottom of screen
Ctrl+D / Ctrl+U	Half-page down / up
Ctrl+F / Ctrl+B	Full-page forward / back
zz / zt / zb	Center / top / bottom cursor line on screen

Word Motion

Key	Action
w / W	Next word start (word / WORD)
b / B	Previous word start
e / E	Next word end
ge / gE	Previous word end

word = alphanumeric+underscore; WORD = anything delimited by whitespace. Use W/B to jump over my_column_name as one unit.

File / Block

Key	Action
%	Jump to matching bracket () [] {}
{ / }	Jump to previous / next blank line (paragraph)
[[ / ]]	Previous / next section (function/class in Python)
Ctrl+O / Ctrl+I	Jump back / forward in jump list
'' or ``	Jump to position before last jump
'.	Jump to last edit position
gd	Go to local definition
gf	Open file under cursor (great for source paths)

---

Entering Insert Mode

Key	Action
i / a	Insert before / after cursor
I / A	Insert at line start / end
o / O	Open new line below / above
s / S	Substitute char / whole line
C	Change to end of line
gi	Re-enter Insert at last insert position

---

Operators (Verbs)

Combine with any motion or text object: [operator][motion/object]

Operator	Action
d	Delete (cut)
c	Change (delete + enter Insert)
y	Yank (copy)
> / <	Indent right / left
=	Auto-indent
gU / gu / g~	Uppercase / lowercase / toggle case
!	Filter through external command

Text Objects (Nouns)

Object	Meaning
iw / aw	Inner word / a word (includes surrounding space)
is / as	Inner sentence / a sentence
ip / ap	Inner paragraph / a paragraph
i" i' i`	Inside quotes
i( i[ i{	Inside brackets
i<	Inside <tag>
it	Inside HTML/XML tag

Analytics examples:
ci" → change SQL string literal
da{ → delete a Jinja {% block %} body including braces
=ip → re-indent a Python function block
gUiw → uppercase a SQL keyword under cursor

---

Common Edit Patterns

Command	Action
dd	Delete (cut) current line
yy or Y	Yank current line
p / P	Paste after / before cursor
x / X	Delete char under / before cursor
r{c}	Replace char under cursor with c
R	Enter Replace mode (overwrite)
u / Ctrl+R	Undo / redo
U	Undo all changes on current line
.	Repeat last change — the most powerful key in Vim
J	Join next line to current
~	Toggle case of char under cursor
Ctrl+A / Ctrl+X	Increment / decrement number under cursor

---

Search & Replace

Search (Normal mode)

Command	Action
/pattern	Search forward
?pattern	Search backward
n / N	Next / previous match
* / #	Search word under cursor forward / backward
g* / g#	Like */# but partial match
:noh	Clear search highlight

Regex flavour

Vim uses its own regex. Key differences from Python re:

• \+ = one or more (not +)
• \| = alternation (not |)
• Use \v (very magic) for Python-like syntax: /\vref\(\w+\)/

Substitute (Command mode)

:[range]s/pattern/replacement/[flags]

Example	Action
:s/foo/bar/	Replace first match on current line
:s/foo/bar/g	Replace all on current line
:%s/foo/bar/g	Replace all in file
:%s/foo/bar/gc	Replace all, confirm each
:'<,'>s/foo/bar/g	Replace in visual selection
:5,20s/foo/bar/g	Replace in lines 5–20
:%s/\v(ref|source)\(/func(/g	Regex: rename dbt macros
:%s/foo/bar/gI	Case-sensitive (override ignorecase)

Analytics tip: :5,42s/^/-- / comments out a SQL block from lines 5 to 42.

---

Visual Mode

Key	Mode
v	Character-wise visual
V	Line-wise visual
Ctrl+V	Block (column) visual
gv	Re-select last visual selection
o	Move to other end of selection

With block visual (Ctrl+V):

Action	How
Insert same text in every selected line	Ctrl+V → select lines → I → type → Esc
Delete a column	Ctrl+V → select column → d
Indent a block	V → select lines → > (repeat with .)

dbt tip: Block-insert -- across 10 lines to bulk-comment a CTE block.

---

Registers & Macros

Registers

Register	Content
"	Default (unnamed)
0	Last yank
1–9	Delete history (1 = most recent)
a–z	Named — use deliberately
+ / *	System clipboard / primary selection
%	Current filename
:	Last command
/	Last search pattern

Usage: "ayy = yank line into register a; "ap = paste from a.
System clipboard: "+y to copy, "+p to paste. (vim-only: requires +clipboard build.)

Macros

1. q{a} — start recording into register a
2. Perform actions
3. q — stop recording
4. @a — replay; @@ — replay last; 10@a — replay 10 times

Example: Record a macro to convert a Python print(x) to logger.info(x) across 50 lines, then 50@a.

---

Marks

Command	Action
m{a-z}	Set local mark
m{A-Z}	Set global mark (cross-file)
`{mark}	Jump to exact position of mark
'{mark}	Jump to line of mark
:marks	List all marks
`[ / `]	Start / end of last yank or change
`< / `>	Start / end of last visual selection

---

Buffers, Windows & Tabs

Buffers

Command	Action
:e file	Open file in new buffer
:ls or :buffers	List open buffers
:b{n}	Switch to buffer n
:bn / :bp	Next / previous buffer
:bd	Delete (close) buffer
:b#	Alternate (last) buffer

Windows (splits)

Command	Action
:sp file or Ctrl+W s	Horizontal split
:vsp file or Ctrl+W v	Vertical split
Ctrl+W hjkl	Move between windows
Ctrl+W =	Equalise window sizes
Ctrl+W _ / Ctrl+W |	Maximise height / width
Ctrl+W r	Rotate windows
Ctrl+W q	Close window

Tabs (vim-only)

Command	Action
:tabnew file	Open file in new tab
gt / gT	Next / previous tab
:tabclose	Close current tab
:tabmove n	Move tab to position n

---

Ex Commands (Command Mode)

Command	Action
:!{cmd}	Run shell command
:r !{cmd}	Insert shell output at cursor
:%!python3 -m json.tool	Pretty-print JSON in buffer
:%!sqlformat -r -k upper -	Format SQL via sqlformat
:g/pattern/d	Delete all lines matching pattern
:g/pattern/y A	Yank all matching lines into register a
:v/pattern/d	Delete all lines NOT matching pattern
:sort	Sort lines
:sort u	Sort and deduplicate
:sort n	Numeric sort
:set ft=sql	Force filetype (syntax highlighting) for current buffer
:syntax on	Enable syntax highlighting

Analytics tip: :%!python3 -m json.tool is a fast in-place JSON formatter — useful when inspecting API responses or Airflow task instance JSON.

---

.vimrc — Analytics Engineer Config

" ============================================================
" BASICS
" ============================================================
set nocompatible               " Disable vi compatibility
filetype plugin indent on      " Enable filetype detection
syntax enable                  " Syntax highlighting

" ============================================================
" DISPLAY
" ============================================================
set number                     " Absolute line numbers
set relativenumber             " Relative numbers for motion planning
set cursorline                 " Highlight current line
set colorcolumn=88             " PEP8/Black line length guide
set signcolumn=yes             " Always show sign column (for git/lsp signs)
set scrolloff=8                " Keep 8 lines above/below cursor
set sidescrolloff=8
set wrap                       " Soft wrap
set linebreak                  " Wrap at word boundaries
set showmatch                  " Highlight matching brackets
set termguicolors              " 24-bit colour

" ============================================================
" EDITING BEHAVIOUR
" ============================================================
set tabstop=4
set softtabstop=4
set shiftwidth=4
set expandtab                  " Spaces not tabs
set autoindent
set smartindent
set backspace=indent,eol,start " Sane backspace
set hidden                     " Allow unsaved buffers in background
set updatetime=300             " Faster CursorHold (used by plugins)
set timeoutlen=500             " Key sequence timeout

" ============================================================
" SEARCH
" ============================================================
set incsearch                  " Incremental search
set hlsearch                   " Highlight matches
set ignorecase                 " Case-insensitive...
set smartcase                  " ...unless uppercase used
set grepprg=rg\ --vimgrep\ --smart-case  " Use ripgrep for :grep

" ============================================================
" FILES & HISTORY
" ============================================================
set undofile                   " Persistent undo across sessions
set undodir=~/.vim/undo//
set backup
set backupdir=~/.vim/backup//
set directory=~/.vim/swap//
set history=1000

" Create dirs if absent
silent !mkdir -p ~/.vim/undo ~/.vim/backup ~/.vim/swap

" ============================================================
" LEADER KEY
" ============================================================
let mapleader = " "            " Space as leader

" ============================================================
" KEY MAPPINGS
" ============================================================
" Clear search highlight
nnoremap <leader>h :noh<CR>

" Save / quit shortcuts
nnoremap <leader>w :w<CR>
nnoremap <leader>q :q<CR>

" Switch buffers
nnoremap <leader>bn :bn<CR>
nnoremap <leader>bp :bp<CR>
nnoremap <leader>bd :bd<CR>

" Window navigation (no Ctrl+W prefix)
nnoremap <C-h> <C-w>h
nnoremap <C-j> <C-w>j
nnoremap <C-k> <C-w>k
nnoremap <C-l> <C-w>l

" Keep visual selection after indent
vnoremap < <gv
vnoremap > >gv

" Y consistent with D and C (yank to end of line)
nnoremap Y y$

" Centre cursor after search jumps
nnoremap n nzzzv
nnoremap N Nzzzv

" Paste over selection without clobbering register
vnoremap p "_dP

" ============================================================
" PLUGIN MANAGER — vim-plug
" ============================================================
" Bootstrap: curl -fLo ~/.vim/autoload/plug.vim --create-dirs \
"   https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junegunn/vim-plug/master/plug.vim

call plug#begin('~/.vim/plugged')

" --- Statusline ---
Plug 'itchyny/lightline.vim'         " Lightweight statusline
" Alternative: Plug 'vim-airline/vim-airline'

" --- File navigation ---
Plug 'junegunn/fzf', { 'do': { -> fzf#install() } }
Plug 'junegunn/fzf.vim'              " :Files :Rg :Buffers :Lines

" --- Git ---
Plug 'tpope/vim-fugitive'            " :Git blame, :Gdiff, :GBrowse
Plug 'airblade/vim-gitgutter'        " Inline diff signs in gutter

" --- Editing utilities ---
Plug 'tpope/vim-surround'            " cs"' — change surrounding " to '
Plug 'tpope/vim-commentary'          " gc{motion} — toggle comments
Plug 'tpope/vim-repeat'              " Extend . to plugin commands
Plug 'jiangmiao/auto-pairs'          " Auto-close brackets

" --- Syntax / Language ---
Plug 'sheerun/vim-polyglot'          " 100+ language packs (Python, SQL, YAML…)
Plug 'Vimjas/vimindent'              " Better Python indentation

" --- LSP / Completion (vim8 async) ---
Plug 'dense-analysis/ale'            " Async lint + fix (flake8, sqlfluff, yamllint)

" --- Theme ---
Plug 'catppuccin/vim', { 'as': 'catppuccin' }
" Alternative: Plug 'gruvbox-community/gruvbox'

call plug#end()

" ============================================================
" PLUGIN CONFIG
" ============================================================

" --- lightline ---
set laststatus=2
set noshowmode
let g:lightline = { 'colorscheme': 'catppuccin_mocha' }

" --- fzf ---
nnoremap <leader>f  :Files<CR>
nnoremap <leader>r  :Rg<CR>
nnoremap <leader>b  :Buffers<CR>
nnoremap <leader>/  :Lines<CR>
nnoremap <leader>gc :Commits<CR>
" fzf layout
let g:fzf_layout = { 'down': '40%' }

" --- vim-fugitive ---
nnoremap <leader>gs :Git<CR>
nnoremap <leader>gb :Git blame<CR>
nnoremap <leader>gd :Gdiffsplit<CR>

" --- ALE (linting + fixing) ---
let g:ale_linters = {
\  'python':     ['flake8', 'pylint'],
\  'sql':        ['sqlfluff'],
\  'yaml':       ['yamllint'],
\  'dockerfile': ['hadolint'],
\}
let g:ale_fixers = {
\  'python': ['black', 'isort'],
\  'sql':    ['sqlfluff'],
\  '*':      ['remove_trailing_lines', 'trim_whitespace'],
\}
let g:ale_fix_on_save = 1
let g:ale_sign_error   = '✘'
let g:ale_sign_warning = '⚠'
nnoremap <leader>an :ALENextWrap<CR>
nnoremap <leader>ap :ALEPreviousWrap<CR>

" --- Colorscheme ---
colorscheme catppuccin_mocha

---

Neovim Section

Why Switch?

Feature	Vim 8	Neovim
Lua config	✗	✓ init.lua
Built-in LSP	✗	✓ vim.lsp
Tree-sitter	plugin	built-in
Async everywhere	partial	✓
vim.fn / vim.api	✗	✓

Config Layout (~/.config/nvim/)

nvim/
├── init.lua              ← entry point
└── lua/
    └── config/
        ├── options.lua   ← set options
        ├── keymaps.lua   ← key bindings
        ├── lazy.lua      ← plugin manager bootstrap
        └── plugins/
            ├── lsp.lua
            ├── treesitter.lua
            ├── fzf.lua
            └── ...

init.lua (entry point)

require("config.options")
require("config.keymaps")
require("config.lazy")

lua/config/options.lua

local opt = vim.opt

opt.number         = true
opt.relativenumber = true
opt.tabstop        = 4
opt.softtabstop    = 4
opt.shiftwidth     = 4
opt.expandtab      = true
opt.autoindent     = true
opt.smartindent    = true
opt.termguicolors  = true
opt.scrolloff      = 8
opt.signcolumn     = "yes"
opt.updatetime     = 300
opt.undofile       = true
opt.ignorecase     = true
opt.smartcase      = true
opt.hlsearch       = true
opt.incsearch      = true
opt.colorcolumn    = "88"
opt.hidden         = true
opt.completeopt    = { "menuone", "noselect" }

lua/config/lazy.lua — Plugin Manager Bootstrap

-- Auto-install lazy.nvim
local lazypath = vim.fn.stdpath("data") .. "/lazy/lazy.nvim"
if not vim.loop.fs_stat(lazypath) then
  vim.fn.system({ "git", "clone", "--filter=blob:none",
    "https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim.git",
    "--branch=stable", lazypath })
end
vim.opt.rtp:prepend(lazypath)

require("lazy").setup("config.plugins")

Key Analytics Plugins (lua/config/plugins/)

-- lua/config/plugins/init.lua
return {

  -- Statusline
  { "nvim-lualine/lualine.nvim",
    opts = { options = { theme = "catppuccin" } } },

  -- Fuzzy finder
  { "nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim",
    dependencies = { "nvim-lua/plenary.nvim" },
    keys = {
      { "<leader>f",  "<cmd>Telescope find_files<cr>" },
      { "<leader>r",  "<cmd>Telescope live_grep<cr>" },   -- needs ripgrep
      { "<leader>b",  "<cmd>Telescope buffers<cr>" },
      { "<leader>gs", "<cmd>Telescope git_status<cr>" },
    }
  },

  -- Treesitter (better syntax highlighting + text objects)
  { "nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter",
    build = ":TSUpdate",
    config = function()
      require("nvim-treesitter.configs").setup({
        ensure_installed = { "python", "sql", "yaml", "toml",
                             "json", "bash", "lua", "dockerfile" },
        highlight = { enable = true },
        indent    = { enable = true },
      })
    end
  },

  -- Git
  { "tpope/vim-fugitive" },
  { "lewis6991/gitsigns.nvim", opts = {} },

  -- Editing
  { "tpope/vim-surround" },
  { "tpope/vim-commentary" },
  { "windwp/nvim-autopairs", opts = {} },

  -- Theme
  { "catppuccin/nvim", name = "catppuccin", priority = 1000,
    config = function() vim.cmd("colorscheme catppuccin-mocha") end },
}

lua/config/plugins/lsp.lua — Built-in LSP

return {
  -- LSP installer
  { "williamboman/mason.nvim", opts = {} },
  { "williamboman/mason-lspconfig.nvim",
    opts = {
      ensure_installed = {
        "pyright",       -- Python (type checking, go-to-def)
        "ruff_lsp",      -- Python linting (replaces flake8/isort)
        "yamlls",        -- YAML (dbt profiles, GitHub Actions)
        "jsonls",        -- JSON
        "sqlls",         -- SQL (basic)
        "dockerls",      -- Dockerfile
      }
    }
  },
  -- LSP config
  { "neovim/nvim-lspconfig",
    config = function()
      local lsp = require("lspconfig")
      local on_attach = function(_, bufnr)
        local map = function(k, v)
          vim.keymap.set("n", k, v, { buffer = bufnr })
        end
        map("gd",         vim.lsp.buf.definition)
        map("gr",         vim.lsp.buf.references)
        map("K",          vim.lsp.buf.hover)
        map("<leader>rn", vim.lsp.buf.rename)
        map("<leader>ca", vim.lsp.buf.code_action)
        map("[d",         vim.diagnostic.goto_prev)
        map("]d",         vim.diagnostic.goto_next)
      end
      for _, server in ipairs({ "pyright", "ruff_lsp", "yamlls",
                                 "jsonls", "dockerls" }) do
        lsp[server].setup({ on_attach = on_attach })
      end
    end
  },
  -- Completion engine
  { "hrsh7th/nvim-cmp",
    dependencies = {
      "hrsh7th/cmp-nvim-lsp",
      "hrsh7th/cmp-buffer",
      "hrsh7th/cmp-path",
      "L3MON4D3/LuaSnip",
      "saadparwaiz1/cmp_luasnip",
    },
    config = function()
      local cmp = require("cmp")
      cmp.setup({
        snippet = { expand = function(a) require("luasnip").lsp_expand(a.body) end },
        mapping = cmp.mapping.preset.insert({
          ["<Tab>"]   = cmp.mapping.select_next_item(),
          ["<S-Tab>"] = cmp.mapping.select_prev_item(),
          ["<CR>"]    = cmp.mapping.confirm({ select = true }),
          ["<C-Space>"] = cmp.mapping.complete(),
        }),
        sources = {
          { name = "nvim_lsp" },
          { name = "luasnip" },
          { name = "buffer" },
          { name = "path" },
        }
      })
    end
  },
}

---

Analytics Workflow Recipes

" Format SQL in buffer via sqlformat
:%!sqlformat -r -k upper --indent_width 4 -

" Pretty-print JSON (e.g. Airflow task metadata)
:%!python3 -m json.tool

" Strip trailing whitespace across file
:%s/\s\+$//e

" Comment out dbt SQL block (lines 10-25)
:10,25s/^/-- /

" Uncomment dbt SQL block
:10,25s/^-- //

" Find all {{ ref( calls in dbt model
/\v\{\{[ ]*ref\(

" Global yank all lines containing 'TODO' into register t
:let @t = "" | :g/TODO/y T

" Count occurrences of a pattern
:%s/pattern//gn

" Open a vertical split with the current dbt model's schema.yml
:vsp schema.yml

---

Quick Reference Card

MODES          i=Insert  v=Visual  V=Line-V  ^V=Block-V  :=Command  Esc=Normal

NAVIGATION     gg/G=top/bot  ^D/^U=half-page  %=match  gd=definition  gf=open-file
               {/}=paragraph  Ctrl+O/I=jump back/fwd  '.=last edit

OPERATORS      d=delete  c=change  y=yank  >=indent  gu/gU=case  .=repeat
TEXT OBJECTS   iw/aw  i"/i'  i(/i[/i{  it=inside-tag  ip=paragraph

SEARCH         /pat  n/N=next/prev  */#=word-under-cursor  :noh=clear
REPLACE        :%s/foo/bar/gc   :'<,'>s/foo/bar/g   :g/pat/d

REGISTERS      "ay=yank→a  "ap=paste←a  "+y/p=clipboard  @a=macro  @@=repeat
MARKS          ma=set  `a=jump  mA=global  ''=before-jump  '.=last-edit

WINDOWS        ^W s/v=split  ^W hjkl=navigate  ^W ==equalise
BUFFERS        :ls  :bn/:bp  :bd  :b#=alternate
FILES (fzf)    <Space>f=files  <Space>r=grep  <Space>b=buffers

SAVE/QUIT      :w  :wq / ZZ  :q! / ZQ  :wa  :xa

---

External Tools Worth Pairing

Tool	Install	Use
ripgrep	brew install ripgrep	Powers :Rg / Telescope grep
fd	brew install fd	Fast file find for fzf/Telescope
sqlfluff	pip install sqlfluff	SQL lint + fix via ALE/LSP
black / ruff	pip install black ruff	Python format/lint on save
yamllint	pip install yamllint	dbt profiles.yml, GHA workflows
tree-sitter-cli	npm i -g tree-sitter-cli	Build custom TS grammars
pyright	npm i -g pyright	Python type checker via LSP

---

Last updated: 2026-04 | Vim 9+ / Neovim 0.10+ assumed