AutoHotkey script with Vim (and now also WASD!) bindings to control the mouse with the keyboard
Download the script and binary by cloning this repository from GitHub. (You'll need to install Git if you don't have it.) The command to run is
git clone https://github.com/cutejs/vim_mouse_2.ahk.git
(Or if you're fancy, clone it with SSH)
You can of course also just download it as a zip file, but cloning is recommended as you
can keep up to date with git pull
. I'm still regularly pushing little updates here and there
to make it better and easier to use, so you might want to check periodically.
You should run this script from source; never trust binaries you just find lying around on the Internet, even if it's from a trustworthy source like yours truly :^)
To run it you'll need to install AutoHotkey first. Then you should be able to double click the .ahk file to run the script. Pretty easy right?
As of the latest release, a precompiled version is shipped with the source code so you don't have to install anything at all. Just double click the .exe and you're gucci golden!
If you do it this way, imagine me frowning a bit and seeming mildly disappointed. Just kidding, no judgment here! We're not all programmers after all!
Like Vim, vim_mouse has modes of input, with "Insert mode" acting like a regular keyboard and "Normal mode" intercepting keys to move and control the mouse instead.
Home
or Win Alt n
enters Normal mode
Insert
or Win Alt i
enters Insert mode
hjkl
move the mouseHJKL
jump to edges of the screenM
jump to center of the screeni
left clicko
right clickp
middle clickv
hold down left clickV
hold down right click (???)e,0,]
scroll downy,9,[
scroll upd,}
scroll down fasteru,{
scroll up fasterY
"yank" a window (reposition it) (press i to release)b
"back" mouse buttonn
"forward" mouse buttonInsert,Win+Alt+i
enter Insert mode
You can also use the WASD keys if they're more natural to you than vim movement keys. Switch into
and out of WASD mode with Win Alt r
WASD mode is now the default for Normal mode.
wasd
move the mouseWASD
jump to edges of the screenC
jump to center the screenr
left clickt
right clicky
middle clicke
scroll downq
scroll up
Note that this necessarily unbinds d
e
and y
from their Vim bindings.
Otherwise, it is just a variant of Normal mode and the rest of the hotkeys remain unchanged.
Acts like a normal keyboard.
Home
and Win Alt n
put you in Normal mode.
If you're in persistent Insert mode and just need the mouse keys for a second, you can hold down Capslock to enter Normal "Quick" mode, which has all the same hotkeys as Normal mode and ends when Capslock is released.
To quickly edit some text then return to Normal mode, a "quick" mode is also available for Insert.
Great for typing into an address bar or a form field. Capslock
toggles between Normal and quick
Insert mode.
From Normal mode
:
enter QI (Quick Insert mode)Capslock
toggle between QI and Normal modef
send f then enter QI (for Vimium hotlinks)^f
send ctrl f then enter QI (commonly "search")^t
send ctrl t then enter QI (new tab in the browser)Delete
send Delete then enter QI (for quick fixes)
From quick Insert mode:
^c
exit to Normal modeEnter
send Enter then exit to Normal modeCapslock
toggle between Quick Insert and Normal mode
Home
enters Normal mode
Insert
enters regular (persistent) Insert mode
"Why doesn't i
take me into Insert mode and Escape
put me in Normal mode! >:U"
I made i
left click. You've got Win Alt i
which is a nice and unintrusive variant of i
.
We didn't even used to have that when Win Alt was part of Quick modes so there you go.
Escape
is too useful a key to bind to anything. It was infuriating to hit Escape and not have
the expected effect so I took it out.
~ Sorry, nerds :^)
"How come I can't make my own keybindings >:I"
I like these ones. You can fork the repo to make your own, or make a pull request if you want to set up managing an ini file :^)
At the top of the file, mouse speed is controlled by two global variables, FORCE and RESISTANCE. FORCE controls acceleration and RESISTANCE causes diminishing returns and implicitly creates a terminal velocity.
Use the uncompiled .ahk script and you can change these to taste.
Bug reports, questions, feature requests, and pull requests are all welcome. Just open an issue on Github.