Vim Marks and Jumps — m, ', `, and the Jump List

Setting and Using Marks

Marks let you bookmark positions and jump back to them instantly:

Setting Marks

Command	Action
m{a-z}	Set local mark (within current file)
m{A-Z}	Set global mark (across files)

Jumping to Marks

Command	Action
'{mark}	Jump to the line of the mark (first non-blank)
\{mark}`	Jump to the exact position of the mark
:marks	List all marks
:delmarks {marks}	Delete specified marks
:delmarks!	Delete all lowercase marks

Automatic Marks

Vim sets several marks automatically:

Mark	Position
'' or \``	Position before the last jump
'. or \.`	Position of the last change
'^ or \^`	Position where Insert mode was last exited
'[ or \[`	Start of the last changed or yanked text
'] or \]`	End of the last changed or yanked text
'<	Start of last visual selection
'>	End of last visual selection

The Jump List

Every time you make a "jump" (search, mark, gg, G, etc.), Vim records your position:

Command	Action
Ctrl+o	Go to previous position in jump list
Ctrl+i	Go to next position in jump list
:jumps	Show the jump list

The Change List

Vim also tracks where you made changes:

Command	Action
g;	Go to previous change position
g,	Go to next change position
:changes	Show the change list

Workflow Example

1. You are at line 100, editing a function
2. You need to check something at line 10: ma (set mark a), then 10G
3. After checking: \a` to jump back to exactly where you were