Vim editing

Every Vim motion and operator works in the query input — or ignore it entirely and just type in INSERT mode like a regular text field.

Without Vim motions With Vim motions

You want to change select(.active) to select(.name) in your query.

.users[] | select(.active) | .email Hold Backspace x6 to delete "active" Type "name" (or: click to position, shift-select, delete, type) ~12 keystrokes

Same edit — put cursor anywhere on active, then use a Vim text object.

.users[] | select(.active) | .email ^^^^^^ cursor on "active" Press: ciw (change inner word) Type: name 3 keystrokes total

Two modes

jiq’s query input has two modes, shown by the border color:

INSERT

Type normally. Every character edits the query and re-runs jq in real time. This is the default mode on launch.

NORMAL

Navigate and restructure the query with motions and operators. Nothing is inserted until you enter INSERT mode.

Switch between modes

From	To	Press
INSERT	NORMAL	Esc
NORMAL	INSERT at cursor	i
NORMAL	INSERT after cursor	a
NORMAL	INSERT at line start	I
NORMAL	INSERT at line end	A

Move through the query

Basic movement

Key	Motion
h / l	One character left / right
w	Next word start
b	Previous word start
e	End of current word
0 / ^	Line start
$	Line end

Jump to a character

Key	Motion
f{c}	Forward to character
F{c}	Backward to character
t{c}	Forward, stop before character
T{c}	Backward, stop after character
;	Repeat last char search (same direction)
,	Repeat last char search (opposite direction)

Character search example

Query: .users[] | select(.active) | .name

 

Cursor at start. Press f| to jump to first pipe:

.users[] | select(.active) | .name

 

Press ; to repeat — jumps to second pipe:

.users[] | select(.active) | .name

Delete or change part of the query

Operators combine with motions: d deletes, c deletes and enters INSERT mode.

Operator + motion

Key	Action
dw / db / de	Delete word forward / back / to end
d$ / d0 / d^	Delete to line end / start
dd / D	Delete entire line / to end of line
df{c} / dF{c}	Delete through character forward / backward
dt{c} / dT{c}	Delete until character forward / backward
cw / cb / ce	Change word forward / back / to end
c$ / c0 / c^ / cc / C	Change to end / start / entire line
cf{c} / cF{c}	Change through character forward / backward
ct{c} / cT{c}	Change until character forward / backward

Single-character edits

Key	Action
x	Delete character at cursor
X	Delete character before cursor

Text objects

Text objects select a region based on structure. Prefix with d to delete or c to change.

Object	Scope	What it selects
iw / aw	Word	Inner word / word + surrounding space
i" / a"	Double quotes	Inside quotes / including quotes
i' / a'	Single quotes	Inside quotes / including quotes
i` / a`	Backticks	Inside ticks / including ticks
i( / a(	Parentheses	Inside parens / including parens
i[ / a[	Brackets	Inside brackets / including brackets
i{ / a{	Braces	Inside braces / including braces
i\| / a\|	Pipe segment	Inside pipe / including one pipe

Work with pipe segments

The i| and a| text objects are jq-specific — they treat | as a delimiter, just like quotes or brackets work in Vim.

Pipe segment text object

Query: .users[] | select(.active) | .name

Cursor on "select"

 

ci| selects: select(.active)

Type replacement: map(.email)

 

Result: .users[] | map(.email) | .name

Use da| to delete the pipe segment including one pipe delimiter — useful for removing an entire stage from a pipeline.

Undo and redo

Key	Action
u	Undo last change
Ctrl+R	Redo

Undo tracks every edit. Multiple undos walk back through the full change history.

INSERT mode shortcuts

While in INSERT mode, these shortcuts are available without switching to NORMAL:

Key	Action
Esc	Switch to NORMAL mode
Up / Ctrl+R	Open history popup
Ctrl+P / Ctrl+N	Previous / next query in history
Ctrl+D / Ctrl+U	Scroll results half page down / up

All keys (NORMAL mode)

Key	Action
i / a / I / A	Enter INSERT mode (at/after cursor, line start/end)
h / l	Move left / right
0 / ^ / $	Line start / first non-space / line end
w / b / e	Word forward / back / end
f{c} / F{c} / t{c} / T{c}	Find / till character
; / ,	Repeat / reverse last char search
x / X	Delete char at / before cursor
dd / D	Delete line / to end
dw / cw / ciw	Delete / change word
df{c} / dt{c} / cf{c} / ct{c}	Delete / change to / till char
di" / ci" / di( / ci( / etc.	Delete / change inside quotes / brackets
di\| / ci\| / da\| / ca\|	Delete / change inside / around pipe segment
u	Undo
Ctrl+R	Redo
Ctrl+D / Ctrl+U	Scroll results half page down / up