You can also split this command up - for example, type :w and press enter to write the file to disk without quitting or type :q to quit vi without saving the file. Type :wq and press enter to write the file to disk and quit vi. First, ensure you’re in command mode by pressing the escape key (pressing the escape key again does nothing if you’re already in command mode.) You can save and quit vi from command mode. RELATED: How to Install Notepad++ on Linux (and 5 Alternatives to Try) Saving and Quitting Once you’re done in insert mode, press the escape key to return to command mode. Start typing and Vi will insert the characters you type into the file rather than trying to interpret them as commands. Entering insert mode is easy once you know it exists - just press the i key once after you’ve positioned the cursor in command mode. Position your cursor at the desired location and press the p key to paste the text you copied or cut.Īside from command mode, the other mode you need to know about is insert mode, which allows you to insert text in Vi. Move your cursor to select text, and then press y to copy the selected text or x to cut it. Position the cursor at the left or right side of the text you want to copy and press the v key. You can select, copy, cut and paste text in command mode. There are a variety of other delete commands - for example, typing dd (press the d key twice) deletes an entire line of text. Press the x key to delete the character under the cursor. While in command mode, you can move the cursor around with the arrow keys. Trying to type at this screen will result in unexpected behavior. Vi is a modal text editor, and it opens in command mode. It looks like you can just start typing, but you can’t.

This is what you’ll see when you open a file in vi. Use the su command instead if you’re using a non-Ubuntu version of Linux that doesn’t use sudo. So, for example, you’d type sudo vi /etc/fstab if you wanted to edit your fstab file. Remember to use sudo if you want to edit a system file. The vi /path/to/file command also works if the file doesn’t exist yet Vi will create a new file and write it to the specified location when you save. Use the vi /path/to/file command to open an existing file with Vi. Vi is a terminal application, so you’ll have to start it from a terminal window.

Edit text file in terminal