Vimek

vimek — Vim-Inspired Navigation for Brave and Chrome
**vimek** brings fast, keyboard-first browsing to your browser with familiar Vim-style motions, link hints, and search flow.
If you prefer staying on the keyboard, vimek helps you move through pages quickly without fighting your browser.
Why vimek?
- Vim-inspired navigation in normal browsing pages
- Smooth scrolling with keyboard motions
- Link hint mode for opening clickable elements quickly
- Lightweight, focused feature set with practical defaults
- Visual options editor for shortcut customization (no JSON required)
Core Features
Navigation and scrolling
- `j` / `k` — scroll down / up (smooth)
- `d` / `u` — half page down / up
- `gg` / `G` — jump to top / bottom
- Count support for many motions (examples: `5j`, `3d`, `2n`)
Browser movement
- `h` / `l` — history back / forward
Search flow
- `/` — enter search mode
- `Enter` — search on page
- `n` / `N` — next / previous result
- Search matches are highlighted
- `Esc` clears active search highlights
Link hints
- `f` — show hint labels on visible clickable elements
- Type hint letters to narrow candidates
- Hints use letter-based labels
- Hit `Enter` to accept the current hint selection
- Hints track with page scrolling
Modes and safety
- Insert mode awareness for input fields/editable areas
- `Esc` exits hint/search and returns to normal mode
Customization
vimek includes an options page where you can:
- Override shortcuts with a visual editor
- Use multi-key mappings
- Detect and block shortcut conflicts before save
- Reset per action or reset all shortcuts
- Exclude specific sites using wildcard patterns
- Customize hint keystroke appearance:
- Font size
- Background color
- Text color
- Border color
Example Defaults
- `j` / `k` — scroll
- `d` / `u` — half page
- `gg` / `G` — top / bottom
- `h` / `l` — back / forward
- `/`, `n`, `N` — search
- `f` — link hints
- `i` — force insert mode
- `Esc` — cancel / return to normal
Privacy
vimek is designed to be minimal and local-first.
- No account required
- No remote backend needed for core behavior
- Settings are stored in browser extension storage
Permissions
vimek requests only what it needs for functionality:
- `storage` — save your settings (keymaps, exclusions, hint style)
- Host access on pages where keyboard navigation/hints run
Notes
- Some browser or OS reserved shortcuts cannot be overridden by extensions.
- Behavior may vary on highly dynamic sites with custom input handling.
- For best results, keep exclusions for sites where native shortcuts are preferred.