Neovim Keybinding Reference

Leader key = Space
Keybindings shown as <leader> mean hold nothing — just press Space then the next key.
<C-x> means Ctrl + x. <S-x> means Shift + x.

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Table of Contents

1. Custom Keybindings
   • Global
   • LSP — Language Features
   • Git — Gitsigns
   • File Navigation — Harpoon
   • Fuzzy Finding — Telescope
   • Completion — nvim-cmp
   • Surround — nvim-surround
2. Built-in Neovim Keybindings
   • Navigation — Basic
   • Navigation — Intermediate
   • Navigation — Advanced
   • Selecting Lines and Code Blocks
   • Text Objects
   • Editing
   • Search & Replace
   • Marks & Registers
   • Folds
   • Visual Mode
   • Insert Mode
   • Command Mode
   • Windows & Splits
   • Tabs

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Custom Keybindings

Global

Key	Mode	Action
<leader>cd	Normal	Open file explorer (netrw)
p	Visual	Paste over selection without losing your yanked text
<leader>d	Normal / Visual	Delete without overwriting the yank register

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LSP — Language Features

These only activate when a language server has attached to the buffer (i.e. when you open a supported file type like .ts, .py, .lua, .cpp, etc.).

Key	Mode	Action
K	Normal	Show hover documentation for symbol under cursor
gd	Normal	Go to definition
gD	Normal	Go to declaration
gi	Normal	Go to implementation
go	Normal	Go to type definition
gr	Normal	Show all references
gs	Normal	Show signature help (function parameters)
gl	Normal	Open diagnostics float (show error/warning detail)
<F2>	Normal	Rename symbol across the project
<F3>	Normal / Visual	Format buffer or selection (async)
<F4>	Normal	Code action (quick fixes, imports, etc.)

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Git — Gitsigns

Only active when the file is inside a git repository.
A "hunk" is a contiguous block of changed lines.

Key	Mode	Action
]h	Normal	Jump to next hunk (change)
[h	Normal	Jump to previous hunk
<leader>hs	Normal	Stage hunk under cursor
<leader>hr	Normal	Reset hunk under cursor
<leader>hS	Normal	Stage entire buffer
<leader>hu	Normal	Undo last staged hunk
<leader>hR	Normal	Reset entire buffer to HEAD
<leader>hp	Normal	Preview hunk inline
<leader>hb	Normal	Show full git blame for current line
<leader>tb	Normal	Toggle inline blame on every line

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File Navigation — Harpoon

Harpoon lets you "pin" files and jump between them instantly without Telescope.

Key	Mode	Action
<leader>a	Normal	Add current file to Harpoon list
<C-e>	Normal	Toggle Harpoon quick menu
<C-p>	Normal	Jump to previous file in Harpoon list
<C-n>	Normal	Jump to next file in Harpoon list
<leader>fl	Normal	Open Harpoon list inside Telescope

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Fuzzy Finding — Telescope

Key	Mode	Action
<leader>ff	Normal	Find files in project
<leader>fg	Normal	Live grep — search text across all files
<leader>fb	Normal	Browse open buffers
<leader>fh	Normal	Search Neovim help tags

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Completion — nvim-cmp

These work in Insert mode while a completion menu is open.
Note: <C-e> closes the completion menu here, but in Normal mode <C-e> opens the Harpoon menu — no conflict.

Key	Mode	Action
<Tab>	Insert / Select	Select next completion item, or expand / jump through snippet
<S-Tab>	Insert / Select	Select previous item, or jump snippet backward
<CR>	Insert	Confirm selection (only if you explicitly highlighted an item)
<C-Space>	Insert	Force-open the completion menu
<C-e>	Insert	Close / abort the completion menu
<C-b>	Insert	Scroll documentation popup up
<C-f>	Insert	Scroll documentation popup down

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Surround — nvim-surround

Surround text with brackets, quotes, tags, or any character pair.

Key	Mode	Action
ys<motion><char>	Normal	Add surround — e.g. ysiw" wraps word in "..."
cs<old><new>	Normal	Change surround — e.g. cs"' changes " to '
ds<char>	Normal	Delete surround — e.g. ds" removes surrounding "
S<char>	Visual	Surround the visual selection

Examples:

ysiw"     →  hello  becomes  "hello"
ysi("     →  (foo)  becomes  ("foo")
cs"'      →  "hi"   becomes  'hi'
ds"       →  "bye"  becomes  bye
VS"       →  (visual line) becomes  "..."

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Built-in Neovim Keybindings

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Navigation — Basic (learn these first)

These are the foundation. Master these before anything else.

Key	Action
h j k l	Move left / down / up / right
w	Jump forward to start of next word
b	Jump backward to start of previous word
e	Jump to end of current word
0	Go to start of line (column 0)
^	Go to first non-blank character of line
$	Go to end of line
gg	Go to top of file
G	Go to bottom of file
:<n>	Go to line number (e.g. :42)
i	Enter Insert mode before cursor
a	Enter Insert mode after cursor
o	Open new line below and enter Insert mode
O	Open new line above and enter Insert mode
I	Enter Insert mode at start of line
A	Enter Insert mode at end of line
Esc	Return to Normal mode
dd	Delete (cut) current line
yy	Yank (copy) current line
p	Paste after cursor
P	Paste before cursor
u	Undo
<C-r>	Redo
/	Search forward — type pattern, press Enter
?	Search backward
n	Jump to next search match
N	Jump to previous search match
:w	Save file
:q	Quit
:wq	Save and quit
:q!	Quit without saving

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Navigation — Intermediate

Once basics feel natural, add these to move much faster.

Key	Action
<C-u>	Scroll half a page up
<C-d>	Scroll half a page down
<C-f>	Scroll full page forward (down)
<C-b>	Scroll full page backward (up)
zz	Center the screen on the cursor
zt	Scroll so cursor is at the top
zb	Scroll so cursor is at the bottom
{	Jump to previous blank line (paragraph up)
}	Jump to next blank line (paragraph down)
*	Search for the word under cursor (forward)
#	Search for the word under cursor (backward)
%	Jump to matching bracket / paren / brace
f<char>	Jump forward to next occurrence of <char> on the line
F<char>	Jump backward to <char> on the line
t<char>	Jump forward to just before <char>
T<char>	Jump backward to just after <char>
;	Repeat the last f/F/t/T forward
,	Repeat the last f/F/t/T backward
ge	Jump to end of previous word
W B E	Same as w/b/e but ignore punctuation (WORD)
( )	Jump backward / forward one sentence
[[ ]]	Jump to previous / next function / section
.	Repeat the last change
~	Toggle case of character under cursor
>> <<	Indent / un-indent current line
J	Join current line with the line below

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Navigation — Advanced

These separate experienced users from beginners.

Key	Action
<C-o>	Jump back in the jump list (previous cursor positions)
<C-i>	Jump forward in the jump list
m<letter>	Set a mark at the cursor (e.g. ma sets mark a)
'<letter>	Jump to marked line (e.g. 'a)
`<letter>	Jump to exact mark position
''	Jump back to the line you were on before the last jump
``	Jump back to the exact position before the last jump
gf	Open the file whose name is under the cursor
<C-^>	Switch to the alternate (previously edited) file
"<letter>	Select a register — prefix yank/delete/paste (e.g. "ayy yanks into register a)
"<letter>p	Paste from a named register (e.g. "ap)
"0p	Paste from yank register (always the last y, never overwritten by d)
"+y / "+p	Yank to / paste from system clipboard
q<letter>	Record a macro into register (e.g. qa starts recording into a)
q	Stop recording macro
@<letter>	Play a macro (e.g. @a)
@@	Replay last macro
5@a	Replay macro a five times
:g/pattern/d	Delete every line matching a pattern
:g/pattern/norm @a	Run macro on every line matching a pattern
gv	Reselect the previous visual selection
<C-w>o	Close all windows except the current one
<C-w>=	Equalize all window sizes

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Selecting Lines and Code Blocks

This is how you select, copy, and delete whole lines or entire blocks of code.

Selecting Whole Lines

Key sequence	What it does
V	Select the current line in line-visual mode
Vj or Vk	Extend the selection one line down or up
V5j	Select 5 lines downward
VG	Select from current line to bottom of file
ggVG	Select entire file

After selecting with V:

• d — delete selected lines
• y — copy selected lines
• c — cut and enter insert mode
• > / < — indent / un-indent
• p (after y) — paste the copied lines anywhere

Selecting Code Blocks (by bracket/brace)

Key sequence	What it does
vi{	Select everything inside { } (function body, object literal)
va{	Select { } block including the braces
vi(	Select everything inside ( )
va(	Select ( ) including the parens
vi[	Select everything inside [ ]
va[	Select [ ] including brackets
vit	Select inside an HTML/XML tag
vat	Select around an HTML/XML tag

Selecting Paragraphs and Functions

Key sequence	What it does
vip	Select inner paragraph (contiguous block of non-blank lines)
vap	Select around paragraph (including surrounding blank lines)
dip	Delete the paragraph your cursor is inside
yap	Copy the whole paragraph (including surrounding blank lines)

Practical Copy-Paste Workflows

-- Copy a whole function body:
1. Place cursor anywhere inside the { }
2. yi{   →  yank everything inside the braces
3. Move to destination, press p

-- Copy the entire function including its signature:
1. Place cursor on the opening { of the function body
2. V       →  start line selection
3. %       →  jump to matching closing } (selects whole function body)
4. y       →  yank
5. p       →  paste
(Note: % finds the nearest bracket — cursor must be on { not on the function keyword)

-- Delete a whole block and re-type it:
1. Place cursor inside { }
2. ci{     →  delete contents and enter Insert mode

-- Duplicate a paragraph:
1. yap     →  yank paragraph
2. }       →  jump past it
3. p       →  paste

-- Select then delete lines 10-20:
:10,20d    (command mode — fastest way)
-- or visually:
:10        →  go to line 10  (or 10G in normal mode)
V          →  start visual
20G        →  jump to line 20 (extends selection)
d          →  delete
-- or count-based:
10G        →  go to line 10
V10j       →  select 10 lines down
d          →  delete

Column / Block Selection (Visual-Block)

Key	Action
<C-v>	Enter Visual-Block mode (select a rectangular column)
<C-v>jj$	Select to end of multiple lines at once
<C-v>I<text>Esc	Insert <text> at the start of every selected line
<C-v>A<text>Esc	Append <text> at the end of every selected line
<C-v>d	Delete a column of characters

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Text Objects — The Key to Fast Editing

Text objects are used after an operator (d, y, c, v).
i = inner (just the content), a = around (content + delimiters).

Object	Inner (i)	Around (a)
w	word	word + surrounding space
W	WORD (incl. punctuation)	WORD + space
s	sentence	sentence + space
p	paragraph	paragraph + blank lines
"	inside "..."	including the "
'	inside '...'	including the '
`	inside `...`	including the backticks
( or )	inside (...)	including parens
{ or }	inside {...}	including braces
[ or ]	inside [...]	including brackets
< or >	inside <...>	including angle brackets
t	inside HTML tag	including the tags

Examples:

diw   →  delete word under cursor
ciw   →  change word (delete + insert mode)
yi"   →  copy everything inside quotes
da(   →  delete the entire ( ) including parens
ci{   →  delete function body, enter insert mode
vap   →  visually select the whole paragraph
dt"   →  delete from cursor to (not including) next "

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Editing

Key	Action
x	Delete character under cursor
X	Delete character before cursor
D	Delete from cursor to end of line
C	Change from cursor to end of line
r<char>	Replace single character
R	Enter Replace mode (overwrite characters)
s	Delete character and enter Insert mode
S	Delete entire line and enter Insert mode
cc	Delete current line and enter Insert mode
gu<motion>	Convert to lowercase (e.g. guiw)
gU<motion>	Convert to uppercase (e.g. gUiw)
g~<motion>	Toggle case
=<motion>	Auto-indent
==	Auto-indent current line

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Search & Replace

Key / Command	Action
/pattern	Search forward
?pattern	Search backward
n / N	Next / previous match
*	Search word under cursor (forward)
#	Search word under cursor (backward)
:noh	Clear search highlight
:%s/old/new/g	Replace all occurrences in file
:%s/old/new/gc	Replace all with confirmation prompt
:s/old/new/g	Replace on current line only
:10,20s/old/new/g	Replace in lines 10–20
:%s/\<word\>/new/g	Replace whole word only (not partial matches)

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Marks & Registers

Key	Action
m<a-z>	Set a local mark (e.g. ma)
m<A-Z>	Set a global mark (persists across files)
'<letter>	Jump to marked line
`<letter>	Jump to exact mark position
:marks	List all marks
"<letter>y	Yank into named register
"<letter>p	Paste from named register
"0p	Paste last yank (not overwritten by delete)
"+y	Yank to system clipboard
"+p	Paste from system clipboard
:registers	Show all register contents

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Folds

Key	Action
za	Toggle fold under cursor
zo	Open fold
zc	Close fold
zR	Open all folds in file
zM	Close all folds in file
zr	Open one fold level
zm	Close one fold level

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Visual Mode

Key	Action
v	Character-wise visual mode
V	Line-wise visual mode
<C-v>	Block-wise (column) visual mode
gv	Reselect previous selection
o	Move to other end of selection
d	Delete selection
y	Copy (yank) selection
c	Change (delete + insert)
> / <	Indent / un-indent
~	Toggle case of selection
gu / gU	Lowercase / uppercase selection
J	Join selected lines
=	Auto-indent selection

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Insert Mode

Key	Action
Esc or <C-c>	Exit Insert mode
<C-w>	Delete word before cursor
<C-u>	Delete from cursor to start of line
<C-h>	Delete character before cursor (same as Backspace)
<C-t>	Indent current line
<C-d>	Un-indent current line
<C-r><register>	Paste from a register (e.g. <C-r>" pastes default register)
<C-a>	Insert the last inserted text again

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Command Mode

Command	Action
:w	Save
:wa	Save all open buffers
:q	Quit
:qa	Quit all
:q!	Force quit without saving
:wq or ZZ	Save and quit
:e <file>	Open file
:r <file>	Insert file contents below cursor
:bn / :bp	Next / previous buffer
:bd	Delete (close) current buffer
:ls	List all open buffers
:split / :sp	Split window horizontally
:vsplit / :vsp	Split window vertically
:tabnew	Open a new tab
:tabclose	Close current tab
:.!<cmd>	Replace current line with shell command output
:sort	Sort selected lines
:noh	Clear search highlights
:checkhealth	Run Neovim health checks

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Windows & Splits

Key	Action
<C-w>h	Move to left window
<C-w>j	Move to window below
<C-w>k	Move to window above
<C-w>l	Move to right window
<C-w>w	Cycle to next window
<C-w>s	Split horizontally
<C-w>v	Split vertically
<C-w>c	Close current window
<C-w>o	Close all other windows
<C-w>=	Equalize window sizes
<C-w>+ / <C-w>-	Increase / decrease height
<C-w>> / <C-w><	Increase / decrease width

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Tabs

Key / Command	Action
:tabnew	Open new tab
:tabnew <file>	Open file in new tab
gt	Go to next tab
gT	Go to previous tab
<n>gt	Go to tab number n (e.g. 2gt)
:tabclose	Close current tab
:tabonly	Close all other tabs
:tabs	List all tabs