Editing Modes

Editing Modes

Tuim provides three distinct editing modes catering to different workflows and experience levels. All three modes share the same high-performance Neovim engine under the hood, but alter how input and shortcuts are handled.

---

1. Mode Summary

Mode	Target User	Key Behavior
Normal	Vim / Neovim users	Traditional modal editing (Normal, Insert, Visual, Command). Vim motions, text objects, and <Space> as the leader key.
IDE	VS Code / Sublime users	Modeless editing. Type immediately without pressing i. Standard clipboard (Ctrl+C/V), undo (Ctrl+Z), and selection (Shift+Arrows).
Zen	Focus & writing	Distraction-free full-screen editor. Hides sidebar and terminal panel. Preserves terminal session and previous mode.

---

2. Normal Mode

Normal Mode preserves the full power of Neovim's modal editing:

• Modal Navigation: Press Esc to enter Normal mode, i for Insert mode, v / V / Ctrl+V for Visual modes.
• Leader Key: Shipped with <Space> as the leader key.
  • <Space> f f: Find files (Telescope)
  • <Space> f g: Live grep project text (ripgrep)
  • <Space> e: Toggle file tree
  • <Space> d: Delete without overwriting yank buffer
  • <Space> s: Substitute word under cursor on current line
• Vim Motions: Standard motions (w, b, e, ge, 0, $, gg, G, f, t) and operators (d, c, y, p).
• Editor Splits: Neovim window splitting via Ctrl+W s (horizontal) and Ctrl+W v (vertical).

---

3. IDE Mode

IDE Mode is designed for developers who want the speed and lightness of a terminal editor without having to memorize Vim modal keys:

• Modeless Editing: Editable file buffers are always in insert mode. You can click anywhere and start typing immediately.
• Standard Text Selection:
  • Shift+← / Shift+→: Select text character by character.
  • Ctrl+Shift+← / Ctrl+Shift+→ (or Cmd on macOS): Select word by word.
  • Shift+↑ / Shift+↓: Select line by line.
  • Ctrl+A: Select the entire buffer.
  • Ctrl+L: Select the current line.
• Familiar Clipboard & History:
  • Ctrl+C: Copy selection to system clipboard.
  • Ctrl+X: Cut selection.
  • Ctrl+V: Paste from clipboard.
  • Ctrl+Z: Undo.
  • Ctrl+Y or Ctrl+Shift+Z: Redo.
• Search & Replace:
  • Ctrl+F: Find in current buffer.
  • Ctrl+H (or Cmd+R): Replace in buffer.
• Smart Modal Boundary: While editable file buffers remain modeless, utility buffers (such as Telescope pickers, Lazy plugin manager, Mason, and terminals) preserve their own necessary keys so navigation remains smooth.

---

4. Zen Mode

Zen Mode eliminates all visual distractions so you can focus entirely on code or prose:

• Maximized Viewport: Hides the workspace sidebar, header breadcrumbs, and terminal panel. The editor fills the entire screen.
• Quiet Return Footer: A single clean status badge is displayed at the bottom showing your current mode and file. Clicking the return indicator or pressing F11 instantly returns you to your previous layout.
• State Preservation: Your background terminal session, running tasks, open splits, and previous mode (Normal or IDE) are fully preserved when entering and exiting Zen mode.

---

5. Switching Between Modes

You can switch modes at any time:

1. Footer Mode Badge: Click the mode badge ([NORMAL] or [IDE]) in the bottom statusline to open the mode selector.
2. Toggle Zen: Press F11 from anywhere to toggle into Zen mode and press F11 again to return.
3. Onboarding Guide: Run :TuimOnboarding in Normal mode, or open Help (F1 → Help) and press o to re-trigger the initial mode selection wizard.

---

Next Steps

Learn how to customize your key combinations and presets in Keybindings & Shortcuts.