Vim Help Files (vimhelp.org)

What it is

vimhelp.org publishes the help files that ship with Vim, the same text you get by typing :help inside the editor, as ordinary web pages with working links between topics. It is maintained by Carlo Teubner and updated automatically from the Vim source repository, so it tracks the current release rather than a book edition from years ago. It also hosts the Vim FAQ and a copy of the Neovim help.

Is it worth your time?

Yes, if you use Vim or Vim keys in any editor. Most blog posts and videos teach a handful of commands; the help files explain the model behind them: modes, motions, operators, text objects, registers and ranges. Once you understand that model, you stop memorising shortcuts and start combining them, which is where Vim actually gets fast.

Where to start

Three entry points cover most people:

• The user manual (usr_toc.txt): tutorial chapters that go from first steps to scripting. Chapters 1 to 10 cover everyday editing.
• The quick reference (quickref.txt): a dense overview of the most common commands, grouped by task. It works as a printable cheat sheet.
• The reference manual: the complete description of every command and option, best reached by search or by following links.

If you have never used Vim, run vimtutor in a terminal first. It takes about half an hour and makes the manual far easier to read.

How long it takes

The first few user manual chapters take an afternoon. After that, treat the site as a reference: whenever you wonder whether Vim can do something, search here before installing a plugin.

Prerequisites

None beyond a terminal with Vim or Neovim installed. Most Linux distributions and macOS include Vim, and the keys you learn also work in the Vim modes of VS Code and JetBrains IDEs.

Free or paid?

Completely free. Vim itself is open source and charityware: its authors ask users who find it useful to consider donating to help children in Uganda through the ICCF.

What you can do after it

Move through code with motions and searches instead of the mouse, make repeated edits with the dot command and macros, run substitutions across ranges, and set up a small vimrc you understand line by line.

Common questions

Is this the same as :help in Vim? Yes, the text is the same. The website is easier to search and share links from.

Does it cover Neovim? Neovim shares most of the core commands, and the site also hosts Neovim's help. Neovim-only features such as Lua configuration are documented there separately.