Vimium brings Vim's legendary keyboard efficiency to your browser. Navigate with hjkl keys, follow links with hint markers, search instantly with forward-slash, and manage tabs without ever touching your mouse. Trusted by 800,000+ developers and power users who browse at the speed of thought.
Keyboard Shortcuts: Vimium provides 50+ Vim-style keyboard shortcuts for every browser action — scrolling, clicking links, opening tabs, searching — eliminating 90% of mouse movements.
Moving your hand between keyboard and mouse wastes time and breaks flow state. For developers and power users who already know Vim keybindings, Vimium feels like a natural extension of their editor into the browser.
For Vim users, Vimium makes the browser feel like a natural extension of your workflow. For non-Vim users, it's a chance to experience the legendary efficiency that makes developers swear by Vim for decades.
Use j/k to scroll down/up, h/l for horizontal scrolling, gg for top of page, G for bottom. Navigate pages without arrow keys or mouse wheel.
Press 'f' to overlay letter combinations on all clickable elements. Type the letters to click that link — no mouse needed. Supports F for new tab.
Type '/' to search within the page (like Vim). Use 'n' for next match, 'N' for previous. Highlights all matches with yellow background.
J/K to switch between tabs, x to close tab, u to restore closed tab, ^ for first tab, $ for last tab. Create/manage tabs at keyboard speed.
Remap any Vimium command to your preferred keys. Create complex sequences (e.g., map 'gh' to go to homepage). Export/import keymaps across browsers.
GPU-accelerated smooth scrolling animations. Customize scroll speed and animation duration. Option to disable for instant jumps (traditional Vim behavior).
j to scroll down any webpageMaster these core navigation commands:
j — Scroll downk — Scroll uph — Scroll leftl — Scroll rightgg — Jump to top of pageG — Jump to bottom of paged — Scroll down half pageu — Scroll up half pagef — Show link hints (current tab)F — Show link hints (new tab)yy — Copy current URL to clipboardyf — Copy link URL to clipboardJ or gT — Go to previous tabK or gt — Go to next tabx — Close current tabX — Restore closed tabt — Create new tab^ — Go to first tab$ — Go to last tab/ — Find in pagen — Next search resultN — Previous search resultSee complete list of available shortcuts:
? on any webpageEsc to close help dialogRemap commands to your preferred keys:
map <c-d> scrollFullPageDown (Ctrl+D scrolls full page)map gh goToRoot (gh goes to homepage)unmap J (disable J command)Disable Vimium on sites with their own keyboard shortcuts:
https?://mail.google.com/*)H — Go back in historyL — Go forward in historyb — Open bookmark searchB — Open bookmark in new tabo — Open URL or search (Vimium Omnibar)O — Open URL in new tabm<letter> — Set a local mark (e.g., ma sets mark 'a')'<letter> — Jump to local mark (e.g., 'a jumps to mark 'a')m<Shift-letter> — Set global mark across pages (e.g., mH)'<Shift-letter> — Jump to global mark (e.g., 'H)v — Enter visual mode (like Vim)V — Enter visual line modey — Yank (copy) selected textEsc — Exit visual moder — Reload pagegs — View page sourcei — Enter insert mode (disable Vimium on current page)Esc — Exit insert mode (re-enable Vimium)gi — Focus first text input field| Feature | Vimium | Surfingkeys | Vimium C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free | Free |
| Vim Keybindings | ✅ Core Vim motions | ✅ Extended Vim | ✅ Core Vim |
| Link Hints | ✅ Yes (f/F) | ✅ Yes (more modes) | ✅ Yes (f/F) |
| Custom Mappings | ✅ Simple syntax | ✅ JavaScript config | ✅ Simple syntax |
| Visual Mode | ✅ Basic | ✅ Advanced | ✅ Basic |
| Performance | ⚡ Lightweight | ⚠️ Heavier (more features) | ⚡ Lightweight (C++ fork) |
| Best For | Simplicity + speed | Power users + customization | Chromium-based browsers |
Verdict: Vimium is best for most users — simple, fast, and stable. Surfingkeys offers more features but steeper learning curve. Vimium C is a Chromium-optimized fork with minor performance gains.
Navigate docs without leaving keyboard:
j/k to scroll through sectionsf → type letters to jump to API reference links/ to search for specific functionsyy to copy doc URL for sharingManage 20+ tabs efficiently:
J/K to cycle through open tabsx to close irrelevant tabs quicklyX to restore accidentally closed tabst → o → search query to open new research tabsNavigate forms without mouse:
gi to focus first input fieldTab to move between fields (standard HTML)f → type letters to click specific checkboxes/buttonsi to temporarily disable Vimium for complex formsNavigate pull requests efficiently:
j/k to scroll through diff hunksf → click "View file" links without mouse/ to search for specific variable namesyy to copy PR URL for team chatVimium Options → "Custom key mappings":
map j scrollDown count=3 (j scrolls 3x normal)map k scrollUp count=3map gh goToRoot (gh = go home)map gH previousTab (gH = go to previous tab)map gL nextTab (gL = go to next tab)Vimium Options → Settings:
Add custom search shortcuts (Vimium Options → "Custom search engines"):
w: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=%sgh: https://github.com/search?q=%so → type w react hooks → searches WikipediaVimium automatically disables when you click inside text fields. To manually disable, press i for insert mode. Press Esc to re-enable Vimium.
Chrome Web Store, chrome:// pages, and PDF viewers don't allow extensions to run. Also, some sites (Gmail, Google Docs) have their own keyboard shortcuts that conflict — add them to exclusion list.
Yes! While inspired by Vim, Vimium is simpler. You only need to learn ~10 core commands (j/k/f/F/x/J/K) to get 80% of the benefit. Full Vim knowledge is not required.
No. Vimium is extremely lightweight (<100KB) and doesn't affect page load times. It only activates when you press keys.
Add the site to exclusion list (Vimium Options → "Excluded URLs") or press i for temporary insert mode on that page.
No built-in sync. But you can export settings (Vimium Options → "Backup/restore") and import on other machines. Store the export file in Dropbox/Google Drive for manual sync.
Complete your keyboard-centric workflow:
Install Vimium now and experience the legendary efficiency of Vim in your browser. Join 800,000 developers who navigate the web at keyboard speed.