Navigating Diffs

Skim’s NORMAL mode is built around vim motions, so navigating a review feels like moving through a buffer. Many motions accept a count prefix (type a number first), just like vim.

Files and cursor

Key	Action
h / l	Previous / next file
Ctrl-n	Next file (alternative)
j / k	Cursor down / up
Enter	Focus the file under the cursor

Paging

Key	Action
Space / Ctrl-f / PageDown	Full page down
b / Ctrl-b / PageUp	Full page up
Ctrl-d / Ctrl-u	Half-page down / up

Jumps

Key	Action
gg	Jump to the top of the file
G	Jump to the bottom of the file
Shift-M	Center the cursor in the viewport
zz	Center the viewport on the cursor

Hopping between changes

These are the motions you’ll lean on most in a review. They skip the unchanged context and land you on what actually changed.

Key	Action
[h / ]h	Previous / next code change (accepts a count prefix)
[c / ]c	Previous / next comment
{ / }	Previous / next empty line (accepts a count prefix)

Tip

Combine ]h with a count: 3]h jumps forward three changes at once.

Folding

Collapse hunks and whole files to keep large diffs manageable.

Key	Action
za	Toggle the fold at the cursor (hunk-level)
zc / zo	Close / open the fold at the cursor
zC / zO	Close / open the whole file fold (from anywhere in the file)
zM / zR	Close / open all folds

Next: view modes.