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Zep includes a Vim mode (ZepMode_Vim) that implements a subset of Vim’s commands and keybindings. This is designed to provide a comfortable editing experience for Vim users without attempting to fully replicate all of Vim’s features.
This is a practical implementation focused on commonly-used Vim commands. The goal is to make editing comfortable, not to perfectly emulate Vim’s behavior.

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Overview

Vim mode in Zep supports:
  • Normal, Insert, and Visual modes
  • Command counts and registers
  • The dot (.) command for repeating actions
  • Word and WORD motions
  • Text objects for efficient editing
  • Ex commands (:, /, ?)
  • Undo/redo with proper command grouping

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Character Movement

  • h, <Left> - Move left
  • j, <Down> - Move down
  • k, <Up> - Move up
  • l, <Right> - Move right

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Line Movement

  • 0, <Home> - Move to start of line
  • ^ - Move to first non-whitespace character
  • $, <End> - Move to end of line
  • <Return> - Move to first character of next line

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word motions (lowercase)

  • w - Move forward to start of next word
  • b - Move backward to start of previous word
  • e - Move to end of current/next word
  • ge - Move backward to end of previous word

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WORD motions (uppercase)

  • W - Move forward to start of next WORD (whitespace-delimited)
  • B - Move backward to start of previous WORD
  • E - Move to end of current/next WORD
  • gE - Move backward to end of previous WORD
WORDs are whitespace-separated tokens, while words break on punctuation. Use uppercase for faster navigation across code.

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Page Navigation

  • <C-f>, <PageDown> - Page forward
  • <C-b>, <PageUp> - Page backward
  • <C-d> - Half page forward
  • <C-u> - Half page backward

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File Navigation

  • gg - Jump to beginning of file
  • G - Jump to end of file (or line number with count: 42G)

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Moving Between Splits

  • <C-h> - Move to left split
  • <C-j> - Move to split below
  • <C-k> - Move to split above
  • <C-l> - Move to right split

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Search and Find

  • f<char> - Find character forward on current line
  • F<char> - Find character backward on current line
  • ; - Repeat last find
  • % - Jump to matching delimiter (parentheses, brackets, braces)
  • /[pattern] - Search forward in file
  • ?[pattern] - Search backward in file
  • n - Next search result
  • N - Previous search result

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Markers

  • <F8> - Jump to next marker
  • <S-F8> - Jump to previous marker

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Editing Commands

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Entering Insert Mode

  • i - Insert before cursor
  • I - Insert at first non-whitespace character of line
  • a - Append after cursor
  • A - Append at end of line
  • o - Open new line below
  • O - Open new line above

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Exiting Insert Mode

  • <Escape> - Return to normal mode
  • jk - Quick escape sequence (type j then k quickly)
The jk escape sequence provides a faster way to exit insert mode without reaching for the Escape key.

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Basic Deletion

  • x, <Del> - Delete character under cursor
  • dd - Delete entire line
  • D, d$ - Delete to end of line

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Word Deletion

  • dw - Delete word
  • dW - Delete WORD
  • diw - Delete inner word (word under cursor)
  • diW - Delete inner WORD
  • daw - Delete a word (including surrounding whitespace)
  • daW - Delete a WORD (including surrounding whitespace)

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Advanced Deletion

  • dt<char> - Delete to (but not including) character
  • di<delimiter> - Delete inside delimiters: di(, di{, di[, di", di'
Change commands delete text and enter insert mode.

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Basic Change

  • cc - Change entire line
  • C, c$ - Change to end of line
  • s - Substitute character
  • S - Substitute line

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Word Change

  • cw - Change word
  • cW - Change WORD
  • ciw - Change inner word
  • ciW - Change inner WORD
  • caw - Change a word (with whitespace)
  • caW - Change a WORD (with whitespace)

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Advanced Change

  • ct<char> - Change to character
  • ci<delimiter> - Change inside delimiters: ci(, ci{, ci[, ci", ci'

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Yanking (Copying)

  • yy - Yank (copy) entire line
  • Y - Yank line (linewise)
  • y (in visual mode) - Yank selected text

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Pasting

  • p - Paste after cursor/line
  • P - Paste before cursor/line

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Registers

Zep supports registers a-z, A-Z, 0-9, _, and " (default register).
  • "<register>y - Yank to specific register
  • "<register>p - Paste from specific register
Example: "ayy yanks current line to register a, "ap pastes it.

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Visual Mode

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Entering Visual Mode

  • v - Character-wise visual mode
  • V - Line-wise visual mode

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Visual Mode Operations

  • d - Delete selection
  • c - Change selection (delete and enter insert mode)
  • s - Substitute selection
  • y - Yank (copy) selection
  • x - Delete selection
  • C - Change to end of lines in selection

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Visual Mode Text Objects

  • aw - Select a word
  • aW - Select a WORD
  • iw - Select inner word
  • iW - Select inner WORD

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Advanced Features

Most commands accept a count prefix:
  • 3j - Move down 3 lines
  • 5w - Move forward 5 words
  • 2dd - Delete 2 lines
  • 4x - Delete 4 characters
The . command repeats the last change operation:
dd.  # Delete line, then delete another line
c2w # Change 2 words, then press . to change 2 more words elsewhere

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Miscellaneous

  • J - Join current line with next line
  • r<char> - Replace character under cursor
  • u, <C-z> - Undo
  • <C-r> - Redo

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Tab and Window Management

  • H - Previous tab window
  • L - Next tab window
  • <C-i><C-o> - Switch to alternate file

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Font Size

  • +, <C-=> - Increase font size
  • -, <C--> - Decrease font size

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Ex Commands

Enter ex command mode with:
  • : - Ex command
  • / - Forward search
  • ? - Backward search
  • <C-p>, <C-,> - Quick search (fuzzy file finder)

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Implementation Notes

Zep’s Vim mode is implemented in src/mode_vim.cpp:14-65 with a focus on the most commonly used commands. The implementation uses a keymap tree structure for efficient command parsing and supports command composition with counts, registers, and motions.
The mode uses relative line numbers (when enabled) and provides proper undo/redo grouping for complex commands.

Standard Mode

Learn about the alternative standard editing mode

Keymapping

Customize and extend Vim mode keybindings

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