After you see the : at the lower left, enter q!. To do this, enter command mode by pressing esc followed by shift +. If you start working on a file, but you change your mind, you can exit without saving. To save and quit vim in one command, type wq after the : and then press enter. You can also enter both the save and quit functions at the same time. You should see your usual terminal screen again. To quit, press shift + again, type q and then press enter. Then, you can either type i again to go back into insert mode if you want to continue writing, or you can quit the file. You now see a : where the -INSERT- was.Īfter you see the : in the lower left-hand corner of your vim editor, type w and then press enter to save your work. The bottom of your terminal screen changes to reflect that you did it correctly. Then you can save your work.Īfter you press escape, press shift +. Press the escape ( esc) key, which places you back in command mode.

When you are finished typing, and you want to save your work, you need to exit insert mode. You should see -INSERT- at the bottom of your terminal page if you did it correctly. To start writing or editing, you must enter insert mode by pressing the letter i on your keyboard (“I” for insert). To open the vim editor, use the following syntax at the command line: $ vim (name of the file) It does this through the use of two different modes:īy default, the vim editor opens in command mode. You can use vim to edit, write, and save a document from the command line. Vim is typically used by people who are familiar with Linux because it can have a bit of an uphill learning curve. Because this editor (through its predecessor) has been around a long time, Linux Administrators or coders usually favor it. Vim comes from Vi Improved because it is the successor of an older editor called vi. This article covers the basics of each editing tool and how they differ. Ask any Linux Administrator or regular user, and you soon find that everyone has their favorite.

While these tools might seem daunting at first, any Linux user should become accustomed to using at least one. These are but a few examples of what you can do with these tools. You can use one of these two available options should you ever need to write a script, edit a configuration file, create a virtual host, or jot down a quick note for yourself. There are two command-line text editors in Linux®: vim and nano.

How to edit text file in terminal nano