Helix cheat sheet

112 shortcuts in 16 lessons

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Reading a list won't make them stick. ShortcutFoo has you type each shortcut, then brings it back just before you'd forget it.

Essentials I

7 shortcuts

h
Move left
j
Move down
k
Move up
l
Move right
w
Move to the next word start
b
Move to the previous word start
e
Move to the next word end

Essentials II

7 shortcuts

i
Insert before the selection
a
Append after the selection
i
Insert at the start of the line
a
Insert at the end of the line
o
Open a new line below
o
Open a new line above
ESC
Return to normal mode

Editing I

7 shortcuts

d
Delete the selection
c
Change the selection
y
Yank the selection
p
Paste after the selection
p
Paste before the selection
u
Undo
u
Redo

Selections I

7 shortcuts

x
Select the current line
%
Select the entire file
;
Collapse to a single cursor
⌥;
Flip the cursor and anchor
,
Keep only the primary selection
c
Add a cursor below
⌥⇧C
Add a cursor above

Long words and characters

7 shortcuts

w
Move to the next long word start
b
Move to the previous long word start
e
Move to the next long word end
f
Find the next character
t
Move till the next character
f
Find the previous character
⌥.
Repeat the last motion

Editing II

7 shortcuts

r
Replace with a character
r
Replace with yanked text
j
Join lines
>
Indent the selection
<
Unindent the selection
⌥D
Delete without yanking
.
Repeat the last insert

Case and numbers

7 shortcuts

`
Switch case
`
Make lowercase
⌥`
Make uppercase
^A
Increment the number
^X
Decrement the number
^C
Toggle comments
=
Format the selection

Search

7 shortcuts

/
Search forward
?
Search backward
n
Select the next match
n
Select the previous match
*
Search for the selection
v
Enter select mode
:
Enter command mode

Selections II

7 shortcuts

s
Select regex matches in the selection
s
Split the selection on a regex
⌥S
Split the selection on newlines
k
Keep selections matching a regex
⌥⇧K
Remove selections matching a regex
&
Align selections in columns
_
Trim whitespace from selections

Goto mode I

7 shortcuts

gg
Go to the start of the file
ge
Go to the end of the file
gh
Go to the start of the line
gl
Go to the end of the line
gs
Go to the first non-blank character
gd
Go to the definition
gr
Go to references

Match mode

7 shortcuts

mm
Go to the matching bracket
ms(
Surround with parentheses
md(
Delete surrounding parentheses
mr([
Replace parentheses with brackets
miw
Select inside a word
mi(
Select inside parentheses
maf
Select around a function

Space mode I

7 shortcuts

f
Open the file picker
b
Open the buffer picker
/
Search the workspace
k
Show documentation
r
Rename the symbol
a
Apply a code action
s
Open the symbol picker

Space mode II

7 shortcuts

d
Open the diagnostics picker
e
Open the file explorer
y
Yank to the clipboard
p
Paste from the clipboard
'
Open the last picker
?
Open the command palette
j
Open the jumplist picker

Windows

7 shortcuts

wv
Split vertically
ws
Split horizontally
ww
Switch to the next window
wh
Move to the left split
wl
Move to the right split
wq
Close the window
wo
Close all other windows

Code navigation

7 shortcuts

]d
Go to the next diagnostic
[d
Go to the previous diagnostic
]f
Go to the next function
[f
Go to the previous function
]g
Go to the next change
[g
Go to the previous change
]
Add a newline below

View, jumps and macros

7 shortcuts

zz
Center the line
zt
Align the line to the top
zb
Align the line to the bottom
^O
Jump back on the jumplist
q
Record a macro
q
Play back a macro
|
Pipe selections through a shell command

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