Change Terminal Keys to VIM

So I have been struggling with my terminal lately, having done a lot of tweaks to improve my productivity, like using Tmux as a multiplexer, setting an alias for reoccurring commands and the likes.

I find it hard to use my terminal because to edit a command, you have to scroll with your arrow keys or press some weird key bindings. It has been frustrating so far.

I thought of using vim keys but don't know if it exists, just a little search online and I saw the command I needed.

set -o vi

This will set your terminal to use Vim key bindings, the default mode is insert mode so you can type anything you want. To go to command mode, just click escape key and you are good.

Important VIM keys I use while in command mode

• 0 or ^ - to move to the first character
• $ - to move to the last character
• f and a letter - search for a letter through the current line
• F and a letter - search for a letter backwards

This setting will not persist, it will only be available for the life cycle of the terminal. To persists it, you have to add set -o vi to your .bashrc or .zshrc or other profiles.

After that, close your terminal and open it. Enjoy your super cool terminal.