To start vi just type vi at the operating system prompt. You will see a screen with a column of tildes (~) down the left side of the screen. This signifies an empty workspace. To edit a file, just include the filename after it, e.g. vi filename. You will see the text of the file you included.[+] Vi is now in command mode. The most basic command to enter insert mode is i which lets you insert text to the left of the cursor.