Vim Mode

Ariv includes a full Vim emulation layer for the editor, powered by CodeMirror 6’s Vim extension. If you’re comfortable with Vim, you can edit notes using the motions and commands you already know.

Enabling Vim Mode

Open Settings > Editor and toggle Vim Mode on. The setting key is editor.vimMode.

Once enabled, the editor immediately switches to Normal mode and the cursor changes to a block. No restart required.

Modes

Vim Mode supports the four core Vim modes:

Mode	How to enter	Purpose
Normal	Escape from any mode	Navigate and manipulate text
Insert	i, a, o, A, I, O, etc.	Type and edit text directly
Visual	v, V, or Ctrl+V from Normal mode	Select text for operations
Command-line	: from Normal mode	Run Ex commands

Motions

Standard Vim motions work as expected:

Motion	Action
h / j / k / l	Move left / down / up / right
w / b / e	Next word / previous word / end of word
0 / $	Start / end of line
^	First non-blank character of line
gg / G	Top / bottom of document
{ / }	Previous / next paragraph
f{char} / F{char}	Jump to next / previous occurrence of character
t{char} / T{char}	Jump to just before next / previous occurrence of character
%	Jump to matching bracket

Common operations

Command	Action
dd	Delete the current line
yy	Yank (copy) the current line
p / P	Paste after / before cursor
cc	Change the current line (delete and enter Insert mode)
x	Delete the character under the cursor
r{char}	Replace the character under the cursor
u	Undo
Ctrl+R	Redo
.	Repeat the last command
>> / <<	Indent / outdent the current line
J	Join the current line with the next

Search

Command	Action
/pattern	Search forward for pattern
?pattern	Search backward for pattern
n	Jump to the next match
N	Jump to the previous match
*	Search forward for the word under the cursor
#	Search backward for the word under the cursor

Text objects

Text objects let you operate on structured chunks of text. Combine them with operators like d (delete), c (change), or y (yank).

Text object	What it selects
iw / aw	Inner word / a word (including surrounding space)
is / as	Inner sentence / a sentence
ip / ap	Inner paragraph / a paragraph
i" / a"	Inside double quotes / including the quotes
i' / a'	Inside single quotes / including the quotes
i( / a(	Inside parentheses / including the parentheses
i[ / a[	Inside brackets / including the brackets
i{ / a{	Inside braces / including the braces

For example, ci" changes the text inside double quotes, and dap deletes an entire paragraph.

Visual mode

Command	Action
v	Enter character-wise Visual mode
V	Enter line-wise Visual mode
Ctrl+V	Enter block-wise Visual mode

Once in Visual mode, use any motion to extend the selection, then apply an operator:

• d to delete the selection
• y to yank the selection
• c to change the selection
• > / < to indent / outdent the selection
• ~ to toggle case

Ex commands

Press : in Normal mode to open the command line. Supported commands include:

Command	Action
:w	Save the current note
:q	Close the current note
:wq	Save and close
:s/old/new/	Replace first occurrence on the current line
:s/old/new/g	Replace all occurrences on the current line
:%s/old/new/g	Replace all occurrences in the document
:noh	Clear search highlighting

How Vim Mode works with Ariv shortcuts

Vim Mode handles text editing inside the note. Ariv’s own shortcuts handle everything outside the editor — navigation, panels, search, and commands. The two layers work together without conflict.

Layer	Examples	When it applies
Vim	dd, yy, /search, :w	While the editor has focus
Ariv	Cmd+P, Cmd+E, Cmd+O	Always

Ariv shortcuts that use Cmd (or Ctrl on Windows) as a modifier continue to work normally in Vim mode. For example, Cmd+P still opens the Command Palette, and Cmd+E still toggles the sidebar, even when you’re in Normal mode.

Tip

Think of it as two layers: Vim controls what happens inside the editor, Ariv controls what happens around it. You get the best of both worlds.

Recommended settings for Vim users

When you enable Vim Mode, you may also want to adjust these editor settings for a more authentic experience:

• Cursor style: Set to Block. In Normal mode the cursor automatically displays as a block, but setting this ensures consistency.
• Cursor blink: Turn off. A blinking block cursor is distracting in Normal mode, and traditional Vim uses a steady cursor.

Both settings are available in Settings > Editor.

Note

Vim Mode is purely an editor enhancement. It does not affect how notes are saved, organized, or displayed. Your vault, tags, backlinks, and all other Ariv features work exactly the same whether Vim Mode is on or off.

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Related: Shortcut Reference — Complete list of all Ariv keyboard shortcuts | Scratchpad — Persistent scratch space for temporary text