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Neovim

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TL;DR

Neovim is a hyperextensible, open-source text editor based on Vim, refactored to improve extensibility, maintainability, and usability. It adds a built-in LSP client, Lua scripting support, and a modern plugin architecture on top of Vim's core editing model. Neovim modernizes Vim by embedding Lua for configuration and plugins, providing a built-in Language Server Protocol client, an asynchronous job control API, and better defaults — making it far more extensible and developer-friendly than classic Vim without abandoning Vim's modal editing paradigm.

What it actually is

  • What: Neovim is a hyperextensible, open-source text editor based on Vim, refactored to improve extensibility, maintainability, and usability. It adds a built-in LSP client, Lua scripting support, and a modern plugin architecture on top of Vim's core editing model.
  • Who built it / maintained by: Community-driven open source project, originally created by Thiago de Arruda, now maintained by a broad contributor base
  • Status: stable
  • Why it matters: Neovim modernizes Vim by embedding Lua for configuration and plugins, providing a built-in Language Server Protocol client, an asynchronous job control API, and better defaults — making it far more extensible and developer-friendly than classic Vim without abandoning Vim's modal editing paradigm.
  • How it compares to alternatives:
  • Vim
  • Emacs
  • Helix
  • VS Code
  • Kakoune
  • Sublime Text
  • GitHub stars: 100,953 · License: Apache-2.0 · Archived: no

Links

  • Repo: https://github.com/neovim/neovim
  • Docs: https://neovim.io/doc/

Kickstarter guide

Install Neovim via your system package manager (e.g., brew install neovim, apt install neovim) or download a release from GitHub. Run nvim to launch it; configuration lives in ~/.config/nvim/init.lua (Lua) or init.vim (Vimscript). Use a plugin manager like lazy.nvim to add LSP support, syntax highlighting via Treesitter, and other extensions. The official documentation at :help or neovim.io/doc covers migration from Vim and full API reference.