Vim Mode

Vim motions, text objects, registers, marks, and search inside the SQL editor

Vim mode is scoped to the SQL editor. The data grid, the find field and every other control in the window keep their own keys, and a Cmd or Option chord passes through in any mode, so Cmd+Enter still runs the query.

Turn it on in Settings > Editor > Vim mode, which is also the only way to turn it off: there is no :set. A badge next to the editor shows the current mode.

Mode badge in the SQL editor

Modes

Mode	How to enter
Normal	Esc
Insert	i, I, a, A, o, O, s, S, c, C, gi
Replace	R
Visual	v
Visual Line	V
Command line	:, /, ?

gi puts you back where you last left insert.

Move the cursor

Characters

Key	Goes to
h j k l	Left, down, up, right
0	Start of line
^ _	First non-blank on line
$	End of line

Words

Key	Goes to
w b e	Next word, prev word, word end
W B E	Same, whitespace-only word boundary
ge gE	Prev word end, prev WORD end

Lines

Key	Goes to
gg	First line
G	Last line
5G	Line 5
H M L	Top, middle, bottom of view
gj gk	The same lines as j k. Wrapped display lines have no motion of their own
%	Matching (), [], {}

Find a character

Key	Goes to
f{c}	Next {c} on this line
F{c}	Prev {c} on this line
t{c}	Just before next {c}
T{c}	Just after prev {c}
; ,	Repeat last find, reverse last find

Sentences and paragraphs

Key	Goes to
( )	Prev sentence, next sentence
{ }	Prev blank line, next blank line
[[ ]]	Prev {-at-col-0, next {-at-col-0

Counts work: 3w moves three words, 5j moves five lines down.

Edit

Key	Action
d{m}	Delete (with motion)
c{m}	Change (delete then enter insert)
y{m}	Yank
dd cc yy	Same on the whole line
D C Y	Same as d$, c$, yy
x X	Delete one char under, one before cursor
s S	Replace one char or whole line, then insert
r{c}	Replace one char with {c}, stay in normal
~	Toggle case under cursor
g~{m} gu{m} gU{m}	Toggle, lower, upper with motion
g~~ guu gUU	Same on the whole line
>> <<	Indent, outdent line
>{m} <{m}	Indent, outdent with motion
J	Join next line with a space
gJ	Join next line, no space

2d3w deletes six words. 3yy yanks three lines. 5>> indents five lines.

Yank, delete, and change all write to the system clipboard.

Text objects

Use after d, c, y, or in visual mode.

Object	Inside	Around
Word	iw	aw
WORD	iW	aW
" ' ` string	i" i' i`	a" a' a`
( ) parens	i( ib	a( ab
{ } braces	i{ iB	a{ aB
[ ] brackets	i[	a[
< > angles	i<	a<
HTML tag	it	at
Paragraph	ip	ap

ciw rewrites the current word. da" removes a quoted string and its trailing space. yip copies the current paragraph.

Paste

Key	Action
p	After cursor (or below the line for linewise yank)
P	Before cursor (or above the line)
3p	Paste three times

In visual mode, p and P replace the selection with the register.

Registers

Prefix with "{a-z} to pick a register.

Register	Holds
"	Last yank or delete
"a … "z	Named, overwrite
"A … "Z	Same, append
"0	Last yank only
"1 … "9	Delete ring, rotates on each delete

"ayy stores a line in a. "ap pastes it back later.

Marks

Key	Action
m{a-z}	Set mark
`{a-z}	Jump to exact mark
'{a-z}	Jump to first non-blank of the mark’s line
`< `>	Start, end of last visual selection
'' “	Back to position before the last jump

Marks shift when you insert or delete text before them.

Search

Key	Action
/pattern Enter	Forward search
?pattern Enter	Backward search
n N	Next, previous match
* #	Search word under cursor, forward or back

The pattern is a literal, case-sensitive substring, not a regex. Searches wrap around.

Repeat and undo

Key	Action
.	Repeat last change
u	Undo
U	Undo all edits on this line
Ctrl+R	Redo

5. repeats the last change five times.

Macros

Key	Action
q{a-z}	Start recording into a register
q	Stop recording
@{a-z}	Play back
@@	Play back the last macro
3@a	Play three times

A macro that calls itself stops after 50 rounds.

Control keys

Ctrl+R in normal mode is the only control combination vim mode intercepts, and it redoes. Every other one reaches the editor and gets the editor’s own binding, so these vim meanings are not available:

Keys	What you do not get
Ctrl+D Ctrl+U Ctrl+F Ctrl+B Ctrl+E Ctrl+Y	Scrolling. Ctrl+D deletes the character after the cursor and Ctrl+E goes to the end of the paragraph instead
Ctrl+A Ctrl+X	Increment and decrement the number under the cursor. Ctrl+A goes to the start of the paragraph instead
Ctrl+W Ctrl+U Ctrl+T Ctrl+D	Insert-mode delete word, delete to line start, indent, outdent. Ctrl+H still backspaces, through the editor’s binding rather than vim’s

zt, zz and zb are read and discarded, so there is no way to move the viewport from the keyboard at all.

Visual mode

Motions extend the selection. Then:

Key	Action
d x	Delete
c	Delete and insert
y	Yank
J gJ	Join lines
~ u U	Toggle, lower, upper case
r{c}	Replace each char with {c}
o	Move cursor to the other end
I A	Insert at start, end of selection
gv	Reselect the last visual selection

Indent and outdent work in normal mode only (>>, <<, >{m}, <{m}).

Insert mode

Esc goes back to normal mode. Nothing else is intercepted while you type; see Control keys.

Command line

Command	Action
:w	Run the current query
:q	Close the tab

/ and ? are search. Every other : command is parsed and ignored, :wq, :x and :set among them. :10 does not jump to line 10 either; use 10G or 10gg.