It's not arbitrary—it's hardware history. The ADM-3A terminal had arrows printed directly on those keys.

ESC was also where Tab is now. Vi wasn't designed for ergonomics, it was designed for the keyboard that existed.

http://www.slackware.com/~r1w1s1/nvi.html#_curiosities

#nvi #vim #vi
]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/38035319-0a05-410b-9e87-2ca75da83083/ever-wonder-why-vi-uses-hjkl-for-movementRSS for NodeThu, 09 Apr 2026 10:36:19 GMTTue, 31 Mar 2026 00:36:34 GMT60