Modal Editor

A vi-style cheatsheet for Rune's modal editor. The motion grammar, operators, text objects, marks, registers, and macros are all here. The : ex mode lives at the Command Prompt: same prompt, broader scope.

Preset

Enable it in config.yaml:

config.yaml

editor:
  mode: "modal"

Where modal editing applies

Setting mode: "modal" does more than turn your file buffers modal; the same editor powers prompts and output surfaces throughout Rune, so the motions, operators, and text objects on this page work everywhere:

• The console. Rune's console uses the modal editor as its prompt editor, so you can compose and edit command lines with full modal editing instead of a plain input line.
• The agent dialogue. In Rune Agent, the dialogue prompt becomes a modal editor, giving you the same editing grammar while you write messages.
• Terminals. Terminals gain a modal mode: enter it to edit the prompt line, and treat the whole terminal scrollback as a scrollable, navigable file under the modal editor.
• Task and command output. When a task finishes, or a one-shot plugin command (! command) completes, its output opens in a modal editor so you can scroll and navigate the results.

Remapping keys

Most of the motions, operators, and text objects on this page are built into the editor itself, not Rune commands, so they cannot be rebound through the command map. To swap the physical keys that trigger them, use the GUI's gui.key_mapping property, which rewrites one key combination into another before it reaches the editor.

Message bar appearance

The modal editor displays messages over the bottom row of the editor. Configure its base attributes and layout under editor.modal.message_bar:

config.yaml

editor:
  modal:
    message_bar:
      attr: {fg: default, bg: gray}
      layout: '░▒▓█ {{ .Message | fg "white" }} '

config.star

config["editor"]["modal"]["message_bar"] = {
    "attr": attr(fg = "default", bg = "gray"),
    "layout": '░▒▓█ {{ .Message | fg "white" }} ',
}

layout is a Go template with exactly one .Message component. It supports the bg, fg, bold, italic, underline, reverse, and dim styling operators used by status-bar layouts. Styling on .Message overrides the base attr values.

Search matches in the buffer use editor.modal.search_attr:

config.yaml

editor:
  modal:
    search_attr: {fg: grey, bg: yellow}

config.star

config["editor"]["modal"]["search_attr"] = attr(
    fg = "grey",
    bg = "yellow",
)

Windows and tabs

Modal layout management keybindings preset

When configuring Rune for the first time, we offer the ability to choose one of three presets. If you choose the modal preset, Rune extends the editor's hjkl directions to window management, tabs, diagnostics, and Git changes. The same layout bindings apply on macOS and Linux.

The tables below provide a copyable reference for the bindings shown in the diagram:

Action	Left / down / up / right
Focus a window	<meta-h> / <meta-j> / <meta-k> / <meta-l>
Move a window	<shift-meta-h> / <shift-meta-j> / <shift-meta-k> / <shift-meta-l>
Resize a window	<alt-meta-h> / <alt-meta-j> / <alt-meta-k> / <alt-meta-l>

The resize directions are narrower, shorter, taller, and wider. <shift-meta-backspace> resets a window to its default size, and <shift-meta-+> / <shift-meta--> maximise or minimise it in both dimensions.

Common window actions use memorable <meta> and <alt> bindings:

Action	Key
New window	<meta-n>
Split horizontally / vertically	<ctrl-meta-h> / <ctrl-meta-v>
Maximise the focused window	<shift-meta-f>
Open a terminal in place or in a new split	<meta-enter>
Close the focused window	<meta-w>
Prefill windowconverttab in the command prompt	<alt-enter>

Tabs use the horizontal h / l pair. Add <shift> to reorder the current tab:

Action	Key
New / close tab	<meta-t> / <alt-w>
Previous / next tab	<alt-h> / <alt-l>
Move tab left / right	<alt-shift-h> / <alt-shift-l>
Focus tab 1…9	<alt-1> … <alt-9>
Move the current tab to slot 1…9	<alt-shift-1> … <alt-shift-9>
Search open tabs	<alt-`>

The vertical k / j pair moves through diagnostics. Add <shift> to move through Git changes instead:

Action	Key
Previous / next diagnostic	<alt-k> / <alt-j>
Previous / next Git change	<alt-shift-k> / <alt-shift-j>

Workspaces stay on <meta>, with <shift> moving instead of focusing:

Action	Key
Focus workspace 1…9	<meta-1> … <meta-9>
Move the focused window to workspace 1…9	<shift-meta-1> … <shift-meta-9>
Search workspaces	<meta-`>
Toggle the file explorer	<shift-tab>

See Layout Management for the complete layout system.

Code intelligence

Code intelligence lives on the <alt> layer, one letter per action. Adding <shift> prompts for a symbol name instead of acting on the symbol under the cursor.

Action	Under the cursor	By name
lsp definition	<alt-d>	<alt-shift-d>
lsp references	<alt-r>	<alt-shift-r>
lsp implementation	<alt-i>	<alt-shift-i>
lsp hover	<alt-t>	<alt-shift-t>

The remaining language commands do not take a symbol argument:

Action	Key
lsp format (file, or selection)	<alt-b>
lsp diagnostics (whole file)	<alt-shift-e>
lsp complete	<ctrl-space>
lsp rename	<meta-f>
Step back / forward through cursor history	<ctrl-o> / <ctrl-i>

<alt-f>, <alt-v>, and <alt-s> jump to a function, variable, or type within the current file by name, without a language server.

Modes

Mode	Enter	Exit
Normal	default; <esc> from any other mode
Insert	i I a A o O s S c{motion} R	<esc> or <c-c>
Visual (char)	v	<esc>, v, operator
Visual (line)	V	<esc>, V, operator
Visual (block)	<c-v>	<esc>, <c-v>, operator
Replace	R	<esc>
Replace one	r	after one keystroke
Operator-pending	d c y > < = gu gU g~ gc gq gw	after motion / text object
g submode	g	one keystroke
z submode	z	one keystroke (h/j/k/l keep z armed)
Search	/ ?	<enter> (run), <esc> (cancel)

Counts

Most motions and operators accept a count prefix.

Form	Meaning
3w	three words forward
5j	down five lines
2dw	delete two words
2d3w	delete six words (counts multiply)
5G	jump to line 5
5gg	jump to line 5

A leading 0 is the start-of-line motion, not part of a count.

Cursor motions

Character / line

Key	Motion
h	one column left
l	one column right
j	one buffer line down (same column)
k	one buffer line up (same column)
0	cursor to column 0 of current line
^	cursor to first non-blank character of current line
$	cursor to last character of current line
g_	cursor to last non-blank character of current line
H	cursor to top of viewport; {n}H to row n from top
M	cursor to middle line of viewport
L	cursor to bottom of viewport; {n}L to row n from bottom
gj	one display line down (next wrapped row, same screen column)
gk	one display line up (previous wrapped row, same screen column)

Word

Key	Motion
w W	next word / WORD start
e E	end of word / WORD
b B	previous word / WORD start
ge gE	previous end of word / WORD

WORD (capital) is whitespace-delimited; word is also broken by punctuation.

Find char on line

Key	Motion
f{c}	next c on line
F{c}	previous c on line
t{c}	up to (before) next c
T{c}	up to (after) previous c
;	repeat last f/F/t/T
,	repeat reversed

File / paragraph / brace

Key	Motion
gg	first line
G	last line, or {n}G to line n
{ }	previous / next paragraph
%	matching () [] {} <>

Search

Key	Motion
/pat	forward search
?pat	backward search
n	next match (search direction)
N	previous match
*	search word under cursor forward
#	search word under cursor backward

The last pattern is stored in register /.

Jumps

Key	Motion
g;	older change
g,	newer change
`{a-z}	jump to mark exact
'{a-z}	jump to mark line
'. `.	jump to last change
'< `>	last visual selection start / end

Scrolling

Key	Action
<c-e>	scroll one line down
<c-y>	scroll one line up
<c-d>	half page down
<c-u>	half page up
<c-f>	page forward
<c-b>	page backward
zz z.	center current line
zt	current line to top
zb	current line to bottom
zH zL	scroll half-width left / right

Insert

Key	Enters insert at …
i	cursor
I	first non-blank
a	after cursor
A	end of line
o	new line below
O	new line above
s	delete char, then insert
S	delete line, then insert
c{motion}	delete motion, then insert
C	delete to EOL, then insert

Inside insert mode:

Key	Action
<esc> <c-c>	back to normal
<c-h>	backspace
<c-w>	backspace word
<c-j>	newline
<c-t>	indent line one level
<c-d>	outdent line one level
<c-n> <c-p>	next / previous buffer-word completion
<c-r>{reg}	insert register contents
<c-o>	run one normal-mode command, then return
<tab>	indent / accept completion
<enter>	newline (autopair-aware)
<up> <down> <left> <right>	move cursor

Completion popup

When <c-n> / <c-p> opens the popup:

Key	Action
<up> <c-k>	previous candidate
<down> <c-j>	next candidate
<enter> <tab>	accept
<esc>	cancel

Candidates are words already present in the buffer.

Replace

Key	Action
r{c}	replace one char with c
R	overwrite from cursor until <esc>
~	toggle case under cursor (normal mode)

In visual-block mode, r{c} fills the whole block with c.

Edits (normal mode)

Key	Action
x	delete char under cursor
X	delete char before cursor
J	join line below with space
gJ	join line below without space
p	paste after cursor
P	paste before cursor
gp gP	paste; cursor ends after the pasted text
u	undo
<c-r>	redo
.	repeat last change

Operators

An operator + motion (or text object) applies the operator to the covered range. Doubling the operator applies it linewise to the current line.

Operator	Effect	Linewise form
d	delete	dd
c	change (delete + insert)	cc
y	yank (copy)	yy
>	shift right	>>
<	shift left	<<
=	reindent	==
gu	lowercase	guu
gU	uppercase	gUU
g~	toggle case	g~~
gc	toggle line comment	gcc
gq	wrap paragraph at ruler	gqq
gw	wrap paragraph, keep cursor	gww
D	d$
C	c$
Y	yank line (= yy)

Operators also accept /{pat}, ?{pat}, '{mark}, `{mark} as motions.

Text objects

After an operator (or in visual), i is "inner" (excludes delimiter), a is "around" (includes delimiter).

Object	Key
word	w
WORD	W
sentence	s
paragraph	p
quoted	" ' `
parens	( ) b
braces	{ } B
brackets	[ ]
angles	< > t

Examples: ciw change inner word, da" delete around quoted string, yi( yank inside parens, vap visually select around paragraph.

Visual mode

Enter with v (char), V (line), <c-v> (block).

Key	Action
o	swap selection ends
O	swap corner (block)
y d x c s	apply operator, exit visual
> < =	shift / reindent, exit visual
u	lowercase selection
U	uppercase selection
~	toggle case
p P	replace selection with register contents
gc gq gw	comment / wrap selection
<esc> <c-c>	exit (records `< / `>)

Visual-block extras:

Key	Action
I	block insert (prepend on every row)
A	block append (append on every row)
r{c}	fill block with c

Marks

Key	Action
m{a-z}	set mark
m{A-Z}	set global mark
`{x}	jump to mark (exact column)
'{x}	jump to mark (line, first non-blank)
`. '.	last change
`< `> '< '>	last visual start / end

Registers

"{reg} before an operator selects the register.

Register	Contents
"	unnamed (last yank / delete)
0	last yank
+	system clipboard
_	black hole (discard)
/	last search pattern
.	last inserted text
-	last small delete
a-z	named (overwrite)
A-Z	named (append)

Examples: "ayy yank line into a, "+p paste from clipboard, "_dd delete line without saving it.

Macros

A macro is a recorded sequence of keystrokes you can replay on demand. Record once, then repeat an edit across many places without rebuilding the key sequence each time.

Key	Action
q{reg}	start recording into register {reg}
q	stop recording
@{reg}	play register {reg}
@@	replay the last played register
{n}@{reg}	play register {reg} n times
{n}@@	replay the last played register n times

Recording

In normal mode, press q followed by a register name (a-z) to start recording. Every key you press is captured into that register until you press q again to stop. The q keys that start and stop the recording are not themselves captured.

For example, to record a macro into register a that surrounds the word under the cursor in parentheses:

1. qa: start recording into register a.
2. ciw(<ctrl-r>"): change the inner word, type (, paste the deleted word back from the unnamed register with <ctrl-r>", then type ).
3. <esc>: leave insert mode.
4. q: stop recording.

Recording into an uppercase register name (A-Z) appends to the macro already stored in the matching lowercase register instead of overwriting it, so you can extend a macro after the fact.

Playing back

Press @ followed by the register name to replay it: @a runs the keys stored in register a. @@ replays whichever register you played most recently, so after a single @a you can keep pressing @@ to repeat it.

Prefix a count to repeat the playback: 5@a plays register a five times, and 3@@ repeats the last register three times. Combined with a motion-aware macro, this is the fastest way to apply the same edit down a column of lines: record the edit and a j to step to the next line, then run @a with a large count.

Macros are registers

A macro lives in the same register as any yanked or deleted text, so the two share storage. You can yank a hand-written key sequence into a register with "ayy and then play it as a macro with @a, or inspect a recorded macro by pasting the register's contents into a buffer with "ap.

Because they are plain registers, recorded macros are also available to the echo command's {register} instruction, which lets you bind a recorded macro to a key or wrap it in an alias for the Command Prompt.

g submode reference

Sequence	Action
gg	first line (or {n}gg)
ge gE	previous end of word / WORD
gj gk	display down / up
g_	end of line, last non-blank
gJ	join without space
gp gP	paste, cursor after text
gu{motion}	lowercase
gU{motion}	uppercase
g~{motion}	toggle case
gc{motion}	toggle line comment
gq{motion}	wrap at ruler
gw{motion}	wrap, keep cursor
g; g,	older / newer change

z mode

z mode is Rune's own thing. In Vim, z is a one-shot prefix for scrolling and folds. Rune keeps those commands, but also turns z into a small structural-selection mode driven by a live-highlighted z-range.

The z-range

The moment you press z, Rune highlights a range around the cursor:

• If the cursor sits inside a fold (function body, block, JSON object, …), the range is seeded to that whole fold.
• Otherwise the range is empty and starts at the cursor.

From there you grow or shrink it interactively. z stays armed across h/j/k/l so resizing feels continuous, no need to re-press z between adjustments. Press any other key to leave z mode, or promote the range to a visual selection.

Key	Action
zh zk	grow the z-range outward (stays in z)
zl zj	shrink the z-range inward (stays in z)
zv zV	promote the z-range to a visual selection

Once you press v or V, you're in normal visual mode with the z-range as the selection; apply any operator (d, c, y, >, gc, …) the usual way.

The grow / shrink semantics are syntactic, not line-based: in code, zh walks out to the enclosing scope, the enclosing function, the enclosing class, then the file. zl walks back in.

Scroll positioning

Sequence	Action
zz z.	center the current line in the viewport
zt	scroll current line to the top
zb	scroll current line to the bottom
zH zL	scroll left / right by half a viewport width

z. additionally moves the cursor to the first non-blank.

Folds

Sequence	Action
zo	open fold under cursor
zc	close fold under cursor
za	toggle fold under cursor
zO zR	open all folds
zC zM	close all folds
zA	toggle all folds

What's different from Vim

• The z-range and its live highlight do not exist in Vim; zh/zl in Vim scroll the viewport horizontally one column at a time. Rune binds horizontal scroll to zH/zL (half-width jumps) and reuses lower-case zh/zl for structural-range grow / shrink.
• zv/zV in Vim only unfold around the cursor. In Rune they promote the current z-range to a visual selection.
• zR and zO both open all folds; zM and zC both close all folds. Rune does not distinguish recursive vs non-recursive.

Command Prompt

There is no built-in : ex mode. Rune's command prompt handles the equivalent; see the Command Prompt guide. The command prompt opens with : under the modal bootstrap default.

What's not here

Rune's modal editor implements the motion / operator / text-object / register / macro / mark grammar above. It is not a Vim clone, so the following Vim features are intentionally not present:

• A : ex command mode (Rune commands run through the Command Prompt instead).
• Q ex-replay mode.
• :s/old/new/ substitute syntax (use a Rune command).
• Vimscript or ~/.vimrc-style runtime config (Rune uses Starlark and YAML).
• Window/buffer commands like :split, :bnext: those are Rune commands.

If you find a vi binding you expected and it isn't on this page, it probably isn't implemented; please open an issue with the keystroke and the buffer state where you expected it to work.