How To: Vi / Vim Save And Quit The Editor Command

I am a new vi / vim text editor user. How do I quit the vi editor and save my changes under a Linux or Unix like operating systems? Can you tell me command to save and quit file in vim?

vi or vim (Vi IMproved) is text editor or a programmers text editor. You can edit programs or configuration files on the Linux/Unix server. Vim is upwards compatible to Vi. This page explains how to save a file in Vim or vi and quit the editor under Linux or Unix-like systems.

Tutorial details
Difficulty level	Easy
Root privileges	No
Requirements	Linux or Unix terminal
Category	Text Editor
OS compatibility	BSD • Linux • macOS • Unix • WSL
Est. reading time	4 minutes

Vim Save And Quit The Editor Command

The procedure to save a file in vim / vi and quit the editor is as follows:

1. Open the terminal application in Linux or Unix
2. Next, open a file in vim / vi, type: vim filename
3. To save a file in Vim / vi, press Esc key, type :w and hit Enter key
4. One can save a file and quit vim / Vi by pressing Esc key, type :x and hit Enter key

Let us see all commands and examples in details.

How to open a file in Vim / Vi

You can start vi/vim by typing the following command:
$ vim file
$ vi file
$ vim [options] filename
$ vim helloworld.sh

Understanding vim modes

When we start vim/vi text editor, we are in normal mode. This mode allows use to use vim commands and navigate around the file as per our needs. In order to edit text, you need to enter the insert mode by pressing i key. This way, we can edit our program or configuration files such as /etc/nginx/nginx.conf.

Of course, you can go back to normal mode by pressing Esc key again.

How to save and quit the vi or vim text editor

To save and quit the vi or vim editor with saving any changes you have made:

1. If you are currently in insert or append mode, press Esc key.
2. Press : (colon). The cursor should reappear at the lower left corner of the screen beside a colon prompt.
3. Enter the following command (type :x and press Enter key):

   :x

   OR

   :x!

   OR

   :wq!

4. Press ENTER key
5. This will quit the editor, and all changes you have made to the document will be saved to the file.

Use x to save a file and exit:

How to trash all changes in vi/vim

If you do not want to save any changes, first press Esc key. To exit Vim without saving changes press :q! followed by ENTER key.

Getting more help about vim commands

Want to learn vim text editor? Start the vim tutor by typing the following command at the Linux, macOS, *BSD, and Unix-like system. For example:
$ vimtutor
$ vimtutor {language}
$ vimtutor it
$ vimtutor fr

The keyword it or fr is for Italian and French languages. It is the two-letter name of a language. Of course, you can read local documentation about vim text editor using the man command or help command. For instance:
$ man vim
$ man vi
$ vim --help

Summary of vim/vi commands

Command	Description
Press the ESC key Type :q! Press the ENTER key	Exit vim without saving changes i.e. discards any changes you made.
Press the ESC key Type :wq Press the ENTER key	Save a file and exit.
Press the ESC key Type :x Press the ENTER key	Save a file and exit.

Are “vi” and “vim” text editor commands different?

Vi and Vim are two different text editors. Vi is an older text editor created in the 1970s, while Vim is a newer editor that builds on Vi with additional features and improvements. Bill Joy is the original creator of the vi editor. Tim Thompson is the original creator of vim. Here are some of the key differences between vi and vim text editors:

• Vim offers a wider range of features than vi, including syntax highlighting, code folding, and the ability to use multiple windows and tabs.
• Additionally, Vim can be customized to a greater extent through plugins and configuration files.
• In terms of efficiency, Vim is generally faster than vi, particularly when dealing with large files, thanks to its optimized text editing engine.
• Choose vi for simplicity, or vim for flexibility and customization, when selecting a text editor. On most moder Linux distro vi is just symbolic link to vim.

Conclusion

You learned how to save a file in vim and exit the text editor using various vim commands. See the vim site and the traditional vi site here, or the following pages for more information.

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