Google Chrome Browser Extension is a new add-on for Google Chrome that allows users to access the features of the popular Vim editor. The extension is available for free and can be installed on any computer. The extension has been designed to make working with Vim more comfortable and efficient. It includes a number of features such as:

  • A built-in search bar that allows you to quickly find the information you need in your Vim editor’s files.
  • A quick access to all of your current buffers, including those that are open in other editors such as Emacs or Emacs Lisp.
  • The ability to save and load buffers asynchronously, so you can work on multiple files at the same time without having to wait for each one to finish loading.

Installing cVim

Acquire it by either:

Installing cVimUsing cVimSettingsKeybindingsKeybindings ContinuedCommand ModecVim Tips

Installing it through the Chrome web store. Downloading the . zip file here Enabling it by going to the chrome://extensions URL. Checking developer mode. Then pointing Chrome to the unzipped folder via Load unpacked extensions.

Using cVim

Here’s how to use the addon including an example of the configuration settings and bindings by a group.

Settings

You can sync with a Gist file in the settings of the browser addon.

Keybindings

Basic

j,s – scroll down. k,w – scroll up. h – scroll left. l – scroll right.

Page

gg – scroll to top of the current page. G – scroll to the bottom of the current page. zi – Zoom page in. zo – Zoom page out z0 – Zoom page to original size.

Links

f – open a link in a new tab by pressing the marked keys in the page elements. G – scroll to the bottom of the current page. (SHIFT + g) W – open a link in a new tab by pressing the marked keys in the page elements. W – open a link in a new window by pressing the marked keys in the page elements. mf – open multiple links in a new tab by pressing the marked keys in the page elements. gy – Copy a URL from a link to to the clipboard.

Tabs

x – Close the current tab. X – Open the last closed tab. t – Alias for :tabnew . a – An alias to :tabnew google . < – Move current tab left.

 – Move current tab right.

Tab Navigation

gt, K, R – Navigate to the next tab. gT, J, E – Navigate to the previous tab. H, S – Go back a page in current tab. L, D – Go forward a page in current tab.

Caret/Visual Mode

v – Toggle between visual/caret mode. h,j, k, l – Move the caret position/extend the visual selection y – Copies the current selection. ESC – Exit visual mode to caret mode/exit caret mode to normal mode.

Keybindings Continued

Core

: – Open the command bar.

. – Repeat the last command entered.

r – Reload the current tab .

gR – Reload the current tab + local cache.

yy – Copy the URL of the current page to the clipboard.

Searching

/ open search bar

n – Next search result .

N – Previous search result.

b – Search through bookmarks.

Misc

I – An alias to :history that let’s you search through browser history.

zr – Restart Google Chrome.

gd – An alias to :chrome://downloads

P – Open the clipboard contents in a new tab.

gq – Stop the current tab from loading

Command Mode

Core

:tabnew(autocomplete) – Open a new tab with the typed/completed search.

:new (autocomplete) – Open a new window with the typed/completed search.

:open (autocomplete) – Open the typed/completed URL/google search.

:quit Close the current tab

:qall Close the current window

:duplicate – Duplicate the current tab.

Searching

:history (autocomplete) – Search through browser history.

:bookmarks (autocomplete) – Search through bookmarks.

Misc

:tabattach (autocomplete) – Move the current tab to another open window.

:tabdetach – Move the current tab to a new window.

:restore (autocomplete) – Restore a previously closed tab (newer versions of Chrome only).

:mksession – Create a new session from the current tabs in the active window.

cVim Tips

You can use @% in open commands to specify the current URL. For example, :open @% would essentially refresh the current page. Prepend a number to the command to repeat that command N times. Use the up/down arrows in command/find mode to navigate through previously executed commands/searches. You can set directives like reloadAllTabs in the settings to a binding.