Vim mode j k for escape, keybinding context, <leader>

[calebmeyer]

I put this in my keybindings:

[
    {
        "context": "Editor",
        "bindings": {
            "j k": "vim::NormalBefore",
            "k j": "vim::NormalBefore"
        }
    }
]

and now jk works for going to normal mode... but I can no longer type a j in the editor in insert mode. I think it's very possible I'm "holding it wrong" so to speak, but I'd love some guidance here. Ultimately, here's what I'd like to happen:

• Pressing j in insert mode inserts a literal j into the editor.
• Pressing any other key, or waiting say 250ms makes that j permanent.
• Pressing k instead, within the timeout, erases the j in the editor and puts me in normal mode.

Other, related vim mode questions:

• Is there a context for defining keybindings specific to one (or more) modes? E.g. I like to do g / for comment selected/current line in visual/normal

Answered below by mikayla-maki:

you can add an && vim_mode == normal to the 'context' to only fire in normal mode

• Is there any way I could use a leader? I think spacemacs finest contribution was mnemonic leader based keybindings, like space f s for Files: Save

Edit: I found #176 which is asking for much the same thing. Sorry if this request is in the wrong spot.

[mikayla-maki]

Hi Caleb, I think you can add an && vim_mode == normal to the 'context' field and it should only fire in normal mode :)

Our vim mode documentation does need a lot of work, thanks for highlighting the problem :)

[danielo515]

But the point is to fire it in insert mode, and still allow to type j and k separately. This is a common combo for many people that doesn't have the esc key in a nice position.

[ckipp01]

I think in this case @danielo515 you can just use insert instead. For example I have a similiar setup with jj.

[
  {
    "context": "Editor && vim_mode == insert",
    "bindings": {
      "j j": "vim::NormalBefore"
    }
  }
]

Which seems to behave the way I'd expect.

[OlegGulevskyy]

Amazing, didn't know about "vim_mode == normal" combo, exactly what I needed!
Thanks!

[prestonButton]

This still did not work for me. I am still unable to type "j" in insert mode when I have that keybinding set. Did anyone manage to fix this problem?

Also, I prefer to map my caps lock key to vim::NormalBefore but I cannot figure out how to select caps lock in the keymap.json file. I tried "capslock" and "caps_lock" but neither of those worked.

[danielkvores]

I have the same issue, I can't type j either.

[charlesetc]

I have the same issue of wanting to type two characters (yw in my case) in insert move and moving to normal mode. Now I can't type "y" at all! Any ideas? Thank you!

[barath007183]

Hey guys this issue still persists. Has anybody found any solutions yet ?

[fminkowski]

This works for me:

  {
    "context": "Editor && vim_mode == insert && !menu",
    "bindings": {
      "j k": ["vim::SwitchMode", "Normal"]
    }
  }

[mrnugget]

Yup, this should work now after #4189

[olafurpg]

This works great! I was missing this feature when I last tried Zed. I Googled jk zed vim and this page is now the first result :)

[mrnugget]

Adding it to the docs: #11150