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OpenIDEA has a built-in Vim emulation modelled on IntelliJ IDEA’s IdeaVim plugin. The editing engine is @replit/codemirror-vim; OpenIDEA adds IDE integration on top: Ex commands that save and close tabs, :action to run IDE commands, IdeaVim-style rc files and a shortcut conflict table.

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Turn it on

Use any of these:
  • Tools › Vim, which turns it on or off.
  • The Vim widget in the status bar: click it and check Enabled.
  • Settings › Editor › Vim › Enable Vim emulation.
The setting applies to every editor in every window right away and is remembered across restarts. While Vim mode is on, the status bar widget shows the current mode: NORMAL, INSERT, VISUAL, V-LINE, V-BLOCK or REPLACE.

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What works

The usual Vim editing model is available through codemirror-vim: Normal, Insert, Visual (characterwise, linewise and blockwise) and Replace modes, motions, operators and text objects with counts, registers, marks, . repeat, search with /, ?, * and #, and its Ex commands such as :s, :g and :sort. OpenIDEA adds these Ex commands:

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The rc file

When Vim mode turns on (including at startup, if it was on), OpenIDEA reads ~/.openideavimrc, or ~/.ideavimrc when the first does not exist. Use ~/.openideavimrc for settings that should apply only to OpenIDEA and not to IntelliJ IDEA. After editing the file, run Reload .ideavimrc (from the status bar widget or Find Action), or click Reload in Settings › Editor › Vim. The settings page shows which file was read, how many mappings it has, and every line that was ignored with the reason. Supported lines: Anything else (functions, if, autocmd, plugin commands) is reported as ignored and never executed.

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Map keys to IDE actions

The right-hand side of a mapping can run an IDE action, written the IdeaVim way:
IdeaVim action ids such as GotoDeclaration, GotoImplementation, FindUsages, ReformatCode, RenameElement, ShowIntentionActions, SearchEverywhere, RecentFiles, Run, Debug, ToggleLineBreakpoint, SplitVertically and many others are translated to the matching OpenIDEA action. OpenIDEA’s own action ids work too, for example :action code.reformat. To find an action’s id, see the shortcuts reference or Settings › Keymap. When a leader mapping starts with Space, ,, ;, Backspace or Delete, the built-in Vim command on that key is disabled so the mapping can complete.

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Shortcut conflicts

Some keys are both Vim commands and IDE shortcuts, for example Ctrl+R (redo in Vim) or Ctrl+E. Settings › Editor › Vim › Shortcut conflicts lists every key Vim uses with the IDE action bound to it, and lets you choose the Handler for each:
  • Vim: the key goes to the editor while Vim mode is on and an editor has focus.
  • IDE: the IDE action runs first; Vim still gets the key when no IDE action is enabled.
The defaults follow IdeaVim: Esc, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+N, Ctrl+P, Ctrl+Q and Ctrl+T go to the IDE, the others to Vim.

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Limits

  • Only the rc file subset above is understood. IdeaVim’s own options (for example ideajoin) and IdeaVim extensions such as surround, commentary or easymotion are not available.
  • Vim mode is an IDE-wide setting; it cannot be turned on for one project or one file type only.
  • :q and :wq close the editor tab, not the window.