Comparisons with other modal editors

Aspect	Ki	Vim/Neovim	Helix
Mental model	Selection mode → Movement → Action	Action → Movement	Movement → Action
Structural editing	First-class	With plugin	Second class1
Multi-cursor	Good	With plugin	Extensive
Built-in file explorer	Yes	Yes (but buggy)	No
Built-in LSP	Yes	Require config	Yes
Built-in global search & replace	Yes	Require config	No global replace
Auto-reload when files changed externally	Yes	Require config	No
Performance	Good	Great	Fastest
Keybindings coherence	High	Low	Low

Keybindings coherence

Coherence means the quality of being logical and consistent.

Ki keybindings are exceptionally coherent due to its mental model.

The following table demonstrates the incoherence of Vim keybindings:

Selection mode / Action	Next	Previous
Word	e / w	b
Long word	E / W	B
Search matches	n	N
Line	j	k
Column	l	h
Paragraph (empty lines)	}	{
Git hunk 2	]c	[c
One character	f/t	F/T
Repeat latest f/t motion	;	,
Quickfix	:cnext	:cprev
Search current word	*	#

The following table demonstrates the incoherence of Helix keybindings ³:

Selection mode / Action	Next	Previous
Sibling node	alt+n	alt+p
Add cursor (line-wise)	C	alt+c
Extend line	x	None
LSP Diagnostics	]d	[d

As you can see, there's no single logical categorization for these keymaps, they are either lowercase-uppercase, normal-alt, left-right bracket, or outright unexplainable.

In Ki, all of these boil down to j and l only!

Ok, how is this possible? It's possible because you have to choose your selection mode first before you move.

For example:

1. If you want to move to the next word, you enter the Word selection mode first before pressing l (move to next selection).
2. If you want to move to the next line, you enter the Line selection mode first before pressing l

You only have to memorize the movement keybindings once, and then the selection mode keybindings, and you will be able to explore new ways of navigation on your own.

Once you've learned the Ki keybindings, it's tough to look back (at least for me).

Note that the Ki keybindings cannot be simply implemented in Vim/Helix via key- remapping, due to the lack of the concept of Selection Mode, and implementing that requires major architectural changes in the core.

Footnotes

1. The default keybindings for structural navigation in Helix are hard to access: alt+n, alt+p, alt+i and alt+o. Also, there's no easy way to revert to previous selection, which is crucial for structural manipulation. ↩

2. With vim-unimpaired. ↩

3. Keybindings inherited from Vim are omitted. ↩