Key Bindings

Onivim's keyboard configuration is designed to be mostly compatible with VSCode's Key Bindings.

Editing the keybindings

• Press Command+Shift+P (Mac) or Control+Shift+P (Windows, Linux) to bring up the command palette
• Select Preferences: Open keybindings File

Keybinding Format

Keybindings are defined as a JSON array, like:

[
  { "key": "<C-P>", "command": "quickOpenFiles", "when": "editorTextFocus" }
]

Each rule consists of:

• A key that describes the pressed keys

NOTE: Today, our key format is expressed as a Vim-style key-binding. Our plan, though, is to support both Vim-style (<C-K>) and VSCode-style key specifies (ctrl+k)

• A command containing the identifier of the command to execute
• An optional when clause containing a boolean expression that will be evaluated depending on the current editor state.

When a key is pressed:

• The rules are evaluated from bottom to top
• The first rule that matches, both the key and in terms of when is accepted
• If a rule is found and has a command set, the command is executed.
• If no matching rules are found, we pass the input key through to libvim to be handled by Vim.

There are a set of default rules provided by Onivim, but the customized rules are appended to the bottom - thus, user key bindings are esxecuted first.

key format

The key parameter supports both Vim style and VSCode style key bindings.

Vim style

Vim-style keybindings are surrounded by < and >, and allow the following modifiers:

Modifier	Description	Example
C-	Control key	<C-P>
S-	Shift key	<S-P>
A-	Alt key	<A-P>
D-	Command key	<D-P>

Note: A difference between Vim and Onivim is that D- also handles the 'Meta' and 'Win' keys on Linux and Windows, respectively

Modifiers may be combined, for example:

[
  { "key": "<C-S-P>", "command": "quickOpenFiles", "when": "editorTextFocus" }
]

The <C-S-P> key binding would require the Control, Shift, and P keys to be pressed.

VSCode style

VSCode-style keybindings feature friendly names, like:

Modifier	Description	Example
Ctrl+	Control key	Ctrl+P
Shift+	Shift key	Shift+P
Alt+	Alt key	Alt+J
Meta+	Meta/Command/Windows key
Cmd+	Same as above	Cmd+P
Win+	Same as above	Win+P

Key Sequences

Onivim supports binding to key sequences, which require multiple key-presses in succession to engage.

Example:

  { "key": "jk", "command": "vim.esc", "when": "insertMode" }

This would require a key-press of 'j', followed by 'k'.

command arguments

when clause contexts

Onivim 2 gives you control over when key bindings are enabled through the when clause.

Conditional operators

For conditional expressions, you can use the following conditional operators:

Operator	Symbol	Example
Or	||	menuFocus || textInputFocus
And	&&	insertMode && suggestWidgetVisible

Expressions may be grouped with (), for example:

(menuFocus && !insertMode) || suggestWidgetVisible

Contexts

Common contexts with VSCode:

Context Name	True When
editorFocus	An editor has focus
textInputFocus	A text input area has focus
terminalFocus	A terminal has focus
suggestWidgetVisible	The suggest widget (auto-completion) is visible

Onivim-specific contexts:

Context Name	True When
insertMode	The active editor is in insert mode
normalMode	The active editor is in normal mode
visualMode	The active editor is in visual mode
sneakMode	Sneak mode is active
commandLineFocus	The Vim commandline is open
menuFocus	A pop-up menu has focus

Commands

Default Key Binding	Description	Command
Command+Shift+P / Control+Shift+P	Show Command Palette	workbench.action.showCommands
Command+Shift+M / Control+Shift+M	Show Problems Pane	workbench.actions.view.problems
Command+P / Control+P	Quick Open (File Picker)	workbench.action.quickOpen
Control+Tab	Navigate to next editor in group	workbench.action.quickOpenNavigateNextInEditorPicker
Shift+Control+Tab	Navigate to previous editor in group	workbench.action.quickOpenNavigatePreviousInEditorPicker

Basic Editing

Default Key Binding	Description	Command
Control+V / Command+V	Paste from clipboard	editor.action.clipboardPasteAction

List / Menu commands

Default Key Binding	Description	Command
Up Arrow / Control+P	Move focus up	list.focusUp
Down Arrow / Control+N	Move focus down	list.focusDown

Window Management

Default Key Binding	Description	Command
Control+Shift+B	Toggle Explorer	explorer.toggle
Control+W, Control+V	Vertical Split	view.splitVertical
Control+W, Control+S	Horizontal Split	view.splitHorizontal
Control+W, Control+H	Move to left split	window.moveLeft
Control+W, Control+L	Move to right split	window.moveRight
Control+W, Control+J	Move down a split	window.moveDown
Control+W, Control+K	Move up a split	window.moveUp

Vim commands

Default Key Binding	Description	Command
Escape	Used to send <ESC> to Vim	vim.esc

Additional Commands

Default Key Binding	Description	Command
n/a	Enable KeyDisplayer	keyDisplayer.enable
n/a	Disable KeyDisplayer	keyDisplayer.disable