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Getting Started with Vid

A quick introduction to vid, the minimal vim-like text editor.

Opening Files

vid file.txt              # Open a file
vid file1.txt file2.txt   # Open multiple files (as buffers)
vid                       # Open empty buffer
vid .                     # Open file browser in current directory
vid somefolder            # Open file browser in specified directory

The Basics

Vid operates in different modes, just like vim:

  • Normal mode — navigate and manipulate text (default)
  • Insert mode — type text directly
  • Visual mode — select text
  • Command mode — run commands like save/quit

Switching Modes

From Normal To Key
Normal Insert i (before cursor), a (after cursor)
Normal Visual v (character), V (line)
Normal Command :
Any Normal Escape

Essential Commands

Moving Around

h j k l     ←  ↓  ↑  →       Arrow-style movement
w b         Word forward/back
0 $         Start/end of line
gg G        Start/end of file
Ctrl+D/U    Half-page down/up

Editing

i           Insert before cursor
a           Append after cursor
o           Open new line below
dd          Delete line
yy          Yank (copy) line
p           Paste
u           Undo
U           Redo

The Operator + Motion Pattern

Vid follows vim's composable grammar: {operator}{motion} or {operator}{text-object}

Example Meaning
dw Delete word
d$ Delete to end of line
ci" Change inside quotes
yap Yank around paragraph

Operators: d (delete), c (change), y (yank), gu (lowercase), gU (uppercase)

Saving and Quitting

:w          Save
:q          Quit
:wq         Save and quit
ZZ          Save and quit (shortcut)
:q!         Quit without saving

Working with Multiple Files

Buffers

Open files become buffers. Navigate between them:

:bn         Next buffer
:bp         Previous buffer
:ls         List all buffers
:b name     Switch to buffer by name
Ctrl+F      Open buffer picker

File Picker

Press Ctrl+P to open the fuzzy file picker. Type to filter, Enter to open.

Search

/pattern    Search forward
?pattern    Search backward
n           Next match
N           Previous match
*           Search word under cursor

Multi-Cursor Normal Mode

Vid supports multiple cursors for powerful simultaneous editing.

Ctrl-J      Add cursor below (also works with Enter)
Ctrl+K      Add cursor above
Tab         Cycle to next cursor
Shift+Tab   Cycle to previous cursor

This lets you use regular motions and operators at multiple positions simultaneously:

  • w — move all cursors forward by word
  • dw — delete a word at each cursor
  • i — enter insert mode at all cursor positions
  • A — append at end of line for each cursor's line

Press Escape (or use :selclear) to collapse back to a single cursor.

Multi-Cursor Visual Mode

You can also work with multiple selections in visual mode.

Creating Selections

Ctrl+N      Select word under cursor (enters visual mode)
Ctrl+A      Select all matches of current selection (in visual mode)
Tab         Cycle to next selection
Shift+Tab   Cycle to previous selection

Regex Select (:select)

One of vid's most powerful features is the :select command (or :s / :sel). It performs a regex search on the current buffer and creates a selection for every match:

:select pattern     Select all matches of pattern
:s foo              Select all occurrences of "foo"
:s \d+              Select all numbers
:s TODO|FIXME       Select all TODO and FIXME comments

After running :select, you'll be in visual mode with all matches selected. Now you can:

  • c — Change all selections (type replacement, press Escape)
  • d — Delete all selections
  • y — Yank all selections

Example workflow: To rename a variable across a file:

  1. :s oldName — select all occurrences
  2. c — enter change mode
  3. Type newName
  4. Escape — done!

Press Escape to return to normal mode with collapsed cursors at each selection position.

LSP Integration

If you have LSP servers configured (see lsp_servers.example.yaml), you get:

gd          Go to definition
gr          Find references
K           Hover documentation
ga          Code actions
Ctrl+N      Completion (in insert mode)
:format     Format document

Customization

Vid loads configuration from ~/.config/vid/config.yaml. See config.example.yaml for options.

Themes

Press Ctrl+T or run :themes to open the theme selector. Available themes:

  • mono (default)
  • rosepine
  • ayu
  • unicorn

Next Steps