Vim how-tos · Deleting

How to delete a line in Vim

In Normal mode, put the cursor anywhere on the line and press dd. A count deletes more: 3dd deletes this line and the two below it.

By Jai Pandya · Updated 4 November 2026

Try it here

Take out the debug lines

Two console.log lines were left behind. The cursor is on the first one: dd it, then move down to the second and do the same.

1 of 2Delete this line with dd

1function total(items) {

2 console.log('items', items);

1 let sum = 0;

2 console.log('start');

3 for (const i of items) sum += i.price;

4 return sum;

NORMALLoading the editor…1/20.0s2:1

This editor needs a keyboard. Read on, and play it at your computer.

Keys	Deletes
`dd`	the line the cursor is on
`3dd`	three lines, starting with this one
`dj` / `dk`	this line and the one below / above
`dG`	from this line to the end of the file
`dgg`	from this line to the top of the file
`d}`	to the next blank line (the rest of the paragraph)
`:d` `↵`	the current line, from the command line
`:5,10d` `↵`	lines 5 to 10
`:g/console/d` `↵`	every line that contains `console`
`"_dd`	the line, without copying it anywhere (see below)

Before

function total(items) {

console.log('items', items);

let sum = 0;

console.log('start');

for (const i of items) sum += i.price;

return sum;

}

:g/console/d↵

function total(items) {

let sum = 0;

for (const i of items) sum += i.price;

return sum;

}

:g/console/d deletes every line that mentions console, wherever the cursor is

Deleting is cutting

A deleted line isn't gone: Vim puts it in a register, the way a cut puts text on a clipboard. p puts it back below the cursor and P above, so dd then p moves a line down one, and dd somewhere else then p moves it anywhere.

That's handy until you delete a line and then want to paste something you copied earlier: the delete replaced it. Delete into the "black hole" register instead, "_dd, and your copy stays where it was. (Your earlier copy is also still in register 0: "0p.)