Terminal Text Editors: Nano and Vim

What You'll Learn

You don't always have a graphical text editor on Linux — especially on servers. This guide teaches you two terminal-based editors: Nano (beginner-friendly) and Vim (powerful, everywhere).

Nano — The Beginner's Choice

Nano is simple and shows all available shortcuts at the bottom of the screen.

Opening Nano

nano filename.txt                 # Open or create a file
sudo nano /etc/hosts              # Edit a system file with root privileges

Essential Nano Shortcuts

Nano will ask if you want to save changes when you try to exit. Say yes, confirm the filename, and you're done.

Vim — The Power User's Editor

Vim is pre-installed on almost every Linux system. It has a steep learning curve but is incredibly powerful once you know the basics.

Vim Has Modes

• Normal mode: Default mode. Used for navigation and commands.
• Insert mode: Press i to start typing/editing text.
• Command mode: Press : from Normal mode to run commands.

Essential Vim Commands

The "How Do I Exit Vim?" Cheat Sheet

Press Esc                     # Make sure you're in Normal mode
Type :q!                      # Quit without saving (if you messed up)
Type :wq                      # Save and quit (if you're happy)

New to Vim? Run vimtutor for a built-in 30-minute tutorial.

Which Should You Use?

• Nano: Quick edits, beginners, simple config changes.
• Vim: Heavy editing, servers where Nano isn't installed, when you want speed.

Practice Exercise

# With Nano
nano my-notes.txt
# Type some text, Ctrl+O to save, Ctrl+X to exit

# With Vim
vim my-notes.txt
# Press i to type, Esc to leave insert mode, :wq to save and quit
vimtutor                    # Run the interactive tutorial

Troubleshooting

• Stuck in Vim: Press Esc, type :q!, press Enter.
• Nano says "File not found" on save: Check the filename and make sure you have write permission in that directory.

What's Next?

You can edit files — now learn how Linux manages users and access: