How do I save files edited with vim?

I can't save changes after editing

sudo vi /etc/network/interfaces 

Text before editing:

auto lo iface lo inet ... 

Edited to:

auto eth0 iface eth0 inet dhcp 

What key combination or sequence must I press to save this?

4 Answers

You're probably in editing/insert mode. You need to type the following sequence :

1. Esc, to quit edit mode and fallback to command mode ;
2. :+w+q, start with a : (colon) then press w and finally q to write and quit (or just :w to write without quitting)
3. then press Enter to valid.

I usually press ESC and then hold Shift and press z twice. Just like you would like to type two capital Z letters in word editor :) That saves your document and closes your editor.

Check whether you have administrative (root) privileges to edit the file. use this command

whoami 

If the result is not "root", then you are not supposed to edit the file.

To login as root user, use the below command

sudo su 

or

su 

Edit the file,

vi /etc/network/interfeces 

After the changes, save the file using

1. Press Esc to change the mode
2. :x to save and quit the file

Thats all

this question was answered a long time ago, but in case it comes up in search engines again, this link is a nice vim cheatsheet that you might want to bookmark if you use vim a lot.

By the way, You can use :wq to save and exit the file ( you should first press esc key to exit insert or replace mode and then press commands ) and use :q! to exit without saving.