---
title: VSCode VIM Part I - EasyMotion
date: 2025-06-26
cover: https://assets.vluv.space/cover/ToolChain/easymotion.webp
tags:
  - VSCode
  - Vim
  - Catppuccin
excerpt: Learn how to enhance VSCode text navigation by setting up EasyMotion with the VSCode Vim extension and LazyVim-like keybindings.
updated: 2026-07-08 08:27:14
lang: en
i18n:
  cn: /vscode_easymotion
  translation: 2
---

## Preview

VS Code, as the number one IDE in the universe ☝🏻, still feels slightly worse than LazyVim for text jumping. I found that the VSCode Vim extension supports EasyMotion. With some keybinding tweaks, it can imitate LazyVim in a rough way. The result looks like this:

Of course, you can also install a Neovim extension and use LazyVim plugins directly inside VS Code. The Neovim extension is said to have better performance, though stability is not guaranteed.

<video autoplay loop muted playsinline width="80%" alt="VSCode EasyMotion Demo">
    <source src="https://assets.vluv.space/vscode_easymotion.mp4" type="video/mp4"/>
</video>

## Setup


Paste the following configuration into VS Code's `settings.json`. It uses the Catppuccin Mocha theme, btw.

```json
{
  // leader key, set to the equals key here
  "vim.leader": "=",
  // Enable EasyMotion
  "vim.easymotion": true,
  // Catppuccin Mocha Color Scheme
  "vim.easymotionDimBackground": true,
  "vim.easymotionMarkerBackgroundColor": "#1e1e2e",
  "vim.easymotionMarkerForegroundColorOneChar": "#f38ba8",
  "vim.easymotionMarkerForegroundColorTwoCharFirst": "#fab387",
  "vim.easymotionMarkerForegroundColorTwoCharSecond": "#f9e2af",
  "vim.easymotionIncSearchForegroundColor": "#a6e3a1",
  "vim.easymotionDimColor": "#6c7086",
  "vim.easymotionMarkerFontWeight": "bold",
  // LazyVim-Like Key Bindings
  "vim.normalModeKeyBindings": [
    {
      "before": ["s"],
      "after": ["<leader>", "<leader>", "/"]
    },
    {
      "before": ["f"],
      "after": ["<leader>", "<leader>", "f"]
    },
    {
      "before": ["F"],
      "after": ["<leader>", "<leader>", "F"]
    }
  ]
}
```

> [!tip]
>
> If you are not used to Vim-style operations, you can use these extensions to achieve similar functionality:
>
> - [jumpy - Visual Studio Marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=wmaurer.vscode-jumpy)
> - [Jump - Visual Studio Marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=wenfangdu.jump)
> - [Find => Jump - Visual Studio Marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=usernamehw.find-jump)
>
> The VSCode Vim extension probably does not support directly modifying EasyMotion keybindings. The configuration above is a workaround.
> Take `<ldr><ldr> / <char> ... <CR>` as an example. Add a mapping in `normalModeKeyBindings`, so when `s` is pressed, it is replaced with `<ldr><ldr> /`, and then you can enter any character to search.

### Keybinding Reference

| Motion Command                | Description                                                                                                              |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `<ldr><ldr> s <char>`         | Search character                                                                                                         |
| `<ldr><ldr> f <char>`         | Find character forwards                                                                                                  |
| `<ldr><ldr> F <char>`         | Find character backwards                                                                                                 |
| `<ldr><ldr> t <char>`         | Til character forwards                                                                                                   |
| `<ldr><ldr> T <char>`         | Til character backwards                                                                                                  |
| `<ldr><ldr> w`                | Start of word forwards                                                                                                   |
| `<ldr><ldr> b`                | Start of word backwards                                                                                                  |
| `<ldr><ldr> l`                | Matches beginning & ending of word, </br>camelCase, after `_`, and after `#` forwards                                    |
| `<ldr><ldr> h`                | Matches beginning & ending of word, </br>camelCase, after `_`, and after `#` backwards                                   |
| `<ldr><ldr> e`                | End of word forwards                                                                                                     |
| `<ldr><ldr> ge`               | End of word backwards                                                                                                    |
| `<ldr><ldr> j`                | Start of line forwards                                                                                                   |
| `<ldr><ldr> k`                | Start of line backwards                                                                                                  |
| `<ldr><ldr> / <char>... <CR>` | Search n-character                                                                                                       |
| `<ldr><ldr><ldr> bdt`         | Til character                                                                                                            |
| `<ldr><ldr><ldr> bdw`         | Start of word                                                                                                            |
| `<ldr><ldr><ldr> bde`         | End of word                                                                                                              |
| `<ldr><ldr><ldr> bdjk`        | Start of line                                                                                                            |
| `<ldr><ldr><ldr> j`           | JumpToAnywhere motion;</br> default behavior matches beginning & ending of word, </br>camelCase, after `_` and after `#` |

## Ref

[VSCodeVim/Vim: ⭐ Vim for Visual Studio Code](https://github.com/VSCodeVim/Vim#vim-easymotion)
[ggandor/leap.nvim: Neovim's answer to the mouse 🦘](https://github.com/ggandor/leap.nvim)