What is select mode?

Every motion in Helix makes a selection: w selects the next word, x selects the line, and so on. But each new motion replaces the selection that was there before. That’s fine for small edits, but sometimes you want a selection to keep growing as you move.

That’s what select mode is for. In select mode, motions extend the current selection instead of replacing it — the start stays put, and the end follows your cursor.

To use it, you’d do this:

• move your cursor to where you want the selection to start
• press v to switch to select mode
• move your cursor to where you want the selection to end
• do something with the selection, or press v again to go back to normal mode

If you’ve used Vim, this is its visual mode — but because Helix always has a selection, v is a simple toggle rather than a separate way of working.

Work through the checklist below, and keep an eye on the statusline.