Press Esc, then type :q! and press Enter to quit without saving, or :wq to save and quit.

How do I quit vim without saving?

Press Esc to return to normal mode, then type :q! and press Enter. This discards all unsaved changes.

How do I save and exit vim?

Press Esc, then type :wq and press Enter, or use :x which only writes the file if there were changes.

If :q! appears as text inside the file you are still in insert mode. Press Esc first, then type the command again.

You opened vim. It's been a while. Here is every known way out.
Tap any command to copy it.

~/help-im-stuck — vim

1 I just wanted to edit one config file.

"help-im-stuck" [+] 1 line, 41 bytes

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↑ real(ish) vim. click it and try to escape — type :q! then Enter, or just ZZ.

:q QuitOnly works if you haven't changed anything. copy

:q! Quit without savingThe one you actually wanted. Discards all changes. copy

:wq Write and quitSave your changes, then exit. copy

:x Save and quitLike :wq but only writes if there were changes. copy

ZZ Save and quitNormal mode, capital Z twice. No colon needed. copy

ZQ Quit without savingNormal mode, Z then Q. The fast bail-out. copy

Mash Esc a few times. This gets you out of insert/visual mode.
Now type :q! and press Enter.
If you see :q! appear as text in the file — you're still in insert mode. Go back to step 1.

Ctrl+Z Suspend itDrops vim to background. Then run kill %1 to end it. copy

pkill pkill -9 vimFrom another terminal. Force-kills every vim. Unsaved work is gone. copy

🔥 Close the terminalBurn it all down. The computer can be replaced. copy