Helix

Cheatsheet

Action	Command
Save and quit	:wq (like vim)
Delete/cut a line (select line, delete selection).	x d
Empty a line (select line, change)	x c
Select multiple lines	Press x repeatedly
Select all	%
Copy (“yank”) the selection into the register	y
Copy into the system clipboard (Space mode)	space y
Insert a tab (when smart-tab is enabled)	shift tab
Undo	u
Redo	U
Indent	>
Unindent	<

Modes

Main Modes

Mode	Enter	Exit	Purpose
Normal	Default mode (or Esc)	—	Navigation and editing commands. This is the default when you launch Helix
Insert	i (before), a (after), o (below), O (above), I (line start), A (line end)	Esc	Type text directly into the document
Select / Extend	v	v or Esc	Extend selections. All movements extend the selection instead of replacing it

Minor Modes

Minor modes are accessed from Normal mode and typically switch back to Normal mode after one command (except View/Sticky and Space which can persist) 2.

Mode	Key	Purpose
View	z	Scroll and reposition the view without moving the cursor. Center, top, bottom alignment, page up/down
Sticky View	Z	Same as View mode but persistent — stays active until you press Esc. Useful when reading/scrolling through a lot of text
Goto	g	Jump to various locations (e.g., gg = top of file, ge = end of file, gd = definition)
Match	m	Jump to matching brackets, select text objects (e.g., mm = matching bracket, miw = inner word, ma( = around parens)
Window	Ctrl-w	Split and manage windows (e.g., Ctrl-w v = vertical split, Ctrl-w s = horizontal split, Ctrl-w w = cycle windows)
Space	Space	Access higher-level commands: file picker (Space f), search (Space /), symbol picker (Space s), etc. This is the “leader” key
Command	:	Enter a command-line prompt (e.g., :w = write, :q = quit, :wq = write and quit)