If you want to make JupyterLab more Vim-like, you can use Vim key bindings and install the jupyterlab-vim extension.
1. Vim Key Bindings
The notebook UI has the option to use Vim, Emacs, or the default key mappings. The documentation shows how.
In my Docker image I create a json file to hard code these settings:
File jupyter-codemirror-settings.json:
{
"keyMap": "vim"
}
Dockerfile:
## previous setup - base image, working directory, etc.
## copy custom Jupyter Lab settings
COPY ./jupyter-codemirror-settings.json /root/.jupyter/lab/user-settings/@jupyterlab/codemirror-extension/commands.jupyterlab-settings
2. jupyterlab-vim
The tool is available as an extension. You need JupyterLab 1.0 or higher.
Installation (via terminal):
jupyter labextension install jupyterlab_vim
Now you can use the familiar set of key mappings inside the notebook cells.