Neovim Keys, decoded

Your NvChad setup. Start with the legend once the notation clicks, the rest is just vocabulary.

How to read this

Spaceleader — the prefix you tap first
Ctrlwritten C- in configs
Shiftwritten S-
Optwritten A- / M- (Alt/Meta)
⏎<CR> = Enter  ·  Esc = Escape
/textgreen = text you literally type
+Chord — keys joined by + are held together  (Ctrl+l)
›Sequence — keys joined by › are pressed one after another  (Space›f›w)
AaCase matters. g and G do different things.
⌁Vim has modes. Most keys below need NORMAL mode — press Esc (or your jk) to get there.
modes: NORMALINSERTTERMINAL

◆ Claude Code — in-editor diffs

Launch with Space a c so edits arrive as diffs in the code.

Space›a›c
Toggle Claude (connected to nvim)
Space›a›a
Accept the proposed diff ★
Space›a›d
Reject the proposed diff ★
Space›a›f
Focus the Claude window
Space›a›b
Add current file to its context
Space›a›s
Send selection (in visual mode)
:w/:q
Accept / reject the diff (alt)

◆ Windows & tabs

Move between file tree ↔ code ↔ terminal.

Ctrl+h/j/k/l
Move ←/↓/↑/→ between windows — even from the terminal ★
Ctrl+n
Toggle the file tree
Space›e
Focus the file tree
Tab/Shift+Tab
Next / previous open file
Space›x
Close current file
Space›v/h
Open vertical / horizontal terminal
Ctrl+x
In terminal: drop to NORMAL without moving

◆ Search

Inside one file, or across the whole codebase.

/text⏎
Search forward in file
?text⏎
Search backward in file
n/N
Next / previous match
*/#
Search word under cursor fwd / back
:noh
Clear the search highlight
Space›f›w
Grep across the codebase ★
Space›f›f
Find files by name
Space›f›z
Fuzzy-find inside current file
Space›f›o
Recently opened files

◆ Move — line & file

Jumping around the document.

0
Start of line (column 1)
^
First non-blank character
$
End of line
g›g
Top of file
G
Bottom of file
:42⏎
Go to line 42
Ctrl+d/u
Half page down / up
Ctrl+f/b
Full page down / up
z›z
Center current line on screen
H/M/L
Top / middle / bottom of screen

◆ Move — words & chars

Fine movement within and across lines.

w/b
Next / previous word start
e
End of word
fx/Fx
Jump to next / prev char x on line
tx/Tx
Jump just before char x
;/,
Repeat last f/t fwd / back
%
Jump to matching bracket ( ) [ ] { }
{/}
Previous / next paragraph
Ctrl+o/i
Jump back / forward in history

◆ Essentials & editing

The survival kit — incl. your custom maps.

i/a
Insert before / after cursor
o/O
New line below / above
v/V
Visual select / select whole line
dd/yy/p
Delete line / copy line / paste
u/Ctrl+r
Undo / redo
.
Repeat last change
ciw
Change word under cursor
:w/:q/:wq
Save / quit / save & quit
jk
Your map: exit INSERT → NORMAL
;
Your map: enter command mode (= :)