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Learning Vim Motions Everywhere!

June 19, 2024

Motivation

I started using Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux seriously around 3 years ago. During most of which, I have been using VSCode as my main text editor. Although I learned the basics of Vim (mainly how to exit it) and some basic commands, I never really took the time to learn it properly. I love having a keyboard centric operating system, which is the main reason I use i3, so why not try to recreate that everywhere else!

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VSCode alongside Neovim

I was not keen on the idea of customizing and setting up Neovim from scratch. I opted for NvChad, a premade config very easy to use for new users. It makes Neovim feel like a typical IDE with all the productivity benefits of Vim keybindings.

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Now I have to admit that a lot more setup is necessary to make Neovim my new IDE, in the meantime, I will stick to using it for editing isolated files here and there. I simply do not have the time to set up the proper language servers and formatters for my current workflow as of the time of writing this. As a compromise, I installed the Vim extension, which gives me the power of Vim inside VSCode.

Browser Integration

To force myself to learn the vim keybindings, I decided to install the Vimium extension. Vimium allows you to browse the web almost exclusively mouse-less with Vim keybindings. I have to admit, being able to switch between my terminal and my browser without having to move my hands off of the keyboard has felt like magic at times.

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On pressing the [F] key, each link on the page gets assigned its own key combination which then leads you to said page, surprisingly intuitive. You can also use [Shift + F] to open in a new tab.

Note Taking with Obsidian

Obsidian is my software of choice when it comes to note-taking and maintaining an organized knowledge base. Thankfully it comes with a built-in Vim mode which can be toggled in the settings

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Conclusion

The journey to learn Vim will be a long one, however, I do believe it will be beneficial later on. Interacting with remote shell while knowing the intricacies of Vim should be a huge time saver later on in my career.