For developers accustomed to Vim's modal editing, switching between PowerShell and their preferred editor can feel jarring. Unlike Unix-like shells that offer set -o vi, PowerShell requires a different approach due to its different architecture.

Modern PowerShell (5.1+) includes the PSReadLine module which provides basic Vim emulation:

Set-PSReadLineOption -EditMode Vi
Set-PSReadLineOption -ViModeIndicator Cursor

For a richer Vim experience, create a PowerShell profile with these customizations:

# ~\Documents\PowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
Set-PSReadLineOption -EditMode Vi
Set-PSReadLineOption -BellStyle None
Set-PSReadLineOption -PredictionSource History
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key Tab -Function Complete

Add Vim-style navigation to your PowerShell session:

Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Chord 'Ctrl+w' -Function BackwardDeleteWord
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Chord 'Ctrl+u' -Function BackwardDeleteLine
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Chord 'Ctrl+a' -Function BeginningOfLine
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Chord 'Ctrl+e' -Function EndOfLine

Enable visual selection mode with these additions:

Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Chord 'v' -Function ViCommandMode
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Chord 'y' -Function Copy
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Chord 'p' -Function Paste

While PSReadLine provides good basic Vim emulation, some advanced features like macros aren't available. Consider these alternatives:

• Use Windows Terminal with WSL and a proper bash/zsh setup
• Try the ConsoleZ terminal with PowerShell
• Use Vim itself with PowerShell commands via :! pwsh -c "command"

If keybindings don't work as expected:

1. Check PowerShell version ($PSVersionTable)
2. Verify PSReadLine is loaded (Get-Module PSReadLine)
3. Ensure your profile script is executing (Test-Path $profile)

As a longtime Vim user transitioning to Windows development, I desperately missed my muscle memory when working in PowerShell. The solution exists, but it's not as straightforward as Unix-like systems' set -o vi command.

PowerShell 7+ includes PSReadLine which supports basic Vim mode:

Set-PSReadLineOption -EditMode Vi

For a richer Vim experience, add this to your $PROFILE:

Set-PSReadLineOption -EditMode Vi
Set-PSReadLineOption -ViModeIndicator Cursor
Set-PSReadLineOption -BellStyle None
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key Ctrl+r -Function ReverseSearchHistory

Some particularly useful Vim bindings in PowerShell:

• Esc - Switch to normal mode
• i - Return to insert mode
• h,j,k,l - Navigation (works in normal mode)
• dd - Delete current line
• cw - Change word

PowerShell's profile is the equivalent of .vimrc for these bindings. Example customizations:

Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key Ctrl+u -Function BackwardDeleteLine
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key Ctrl+w -Function BackwardDeleteWord
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key '/' -Function SearchHistory

Common issues and fixes:

# If bindings stop working
Remove-Module PSReadLine -Force; Import-Module PSReadLine

# To check your current mode
Get-PSReadLineOption | Select-Object EditMode

For true Vim enthusiasts, consider these alternatives:

1. Windows Terminal + neovim integration
2. VSCode with Vim extension for PowerShell ISE replacement
3. ConEmu with custom Vim keybindings

Heavy customization might impact startup time. Profile your $PROFILE with:

Measure-Command { . $PROFILE }