Keymap

• Normal mode
  • Movement
  • Changes
    • Shell
  • Selection manipulation
  • Search
  • Minor modes
    • View mode
    • Goto mode
    • Match mode
    • Window mode
    • Space mode
      • Popup
    • Unimpaired
• Insert mode
• Select / extend mode
• Picker
• Prompt

💡 Mappings marked (LSP) require an active language server for the file.

💡 Mappings marked (TS) require a tree-sitter grammar for the file type.

Normal mode

Normal mode is the default mode when you launch helix. You can return to it from other modes by pressing the Escape key.

Movement

NOTE: Unlike Vim, f, F, t and T are not confined to the current line.

Changes

Shell

Selection manipulation

Search

Search commands all operate on the / register by default. To use a different register, use "<char>.

Minor modes

These sub-modes are accessible from normal mode and typically switch back to normal mode after a command.

These modes (except command mode) can be configured by remapping keys.

View mode

Accessed by typing z in normal mode.

View mode is intended for scrolling and manipulating the view without changing the selection. The "sticky" variant of this mode (accessed by typing Z in normal mode) is persistent and can be exited using the escape key. This is useful when you're simply looking over text and not actively editing it.

Goto mode

Accessed by typing g in normal mode.

Jumps to various locations.

Match mode

Accessed by typing m in normal mode.

See the relevant section in Usage for an explanation about surround and textobject usage.

TODO: Mappings for selecting syntax nodes (a superset of [).

Window mode

Accessed by typing Ctrl-w in normal mode.

This layer is similar to Vim keybindings as Kakoune does not support windows.

Space mode

Accessed by typing Space in normal mode.

This layer is a kludge of mappings, mostly pickers.

💡 Global search displays results in a fuzzy picker, use Space + ' to bring it back up after opening a file.

Popup

Displays documentation for item under cursor.

Unimpaired

These mappings are in the style of vim-unimpaired.

Insert mode

Accessed by typing i in normal mode.

Insert mode bindings are minimal by default. Helix is designed to be a modal editor, and this is reflected in the user experience and internal mechanics. Changes to the text are only saved for undos when escaping from insert mode to normal mode.

💡 New users are strongly encouraged to learn the modal editing paradigm to get the smoothest experience.

These keys are not recommended, but are included for new users less familiar with modal editors.

As you become more comfortable with modal editing, you may want to disable some insert mode bindings. You can do this by editing your config.toml file.

[keys.insert]
up = "no_op"
down = "no_op"
left = "no_op"
right = "no_op"
pageup = "no_op"
pagedown = "no_op"
home = "no_op"
end = "no_op"

Select / extend mode

Accessed by typing v in normal mode.

Select mode echoes Normal mode, but changes any movements to extend selections rather than replace them. Goto motions are also changed to extend, so that vgl, for example, extends the selection to the end of the line.

Search is also affected. By default, n and N will remove the current selection and select the next instance of the search term. Toggling this mode before pressing n or N makes it possible to keep the current selection. Toggling it on and off during your iterative searching allows you to selectively add search terms to your selections.

Picker

Keys to use within picker. Remapping currently not supported.

Prompt

Keys to use within prompt, Remapping currently not supported.