Neovim setup

Intro

Not sure why I come back to nvim all the time, especially as there are new cool editors in 2025. Code, Zed, kakoune, helix... Maybe it is the config, or the fact that I didn't know how to quit vim for a long time 😁 (Tip: :q to quit and :help for help)

Goal

• editor for quickly editing config files (--> dotfiles)
• editor for coding
• editor for personal knowledge base with Markdown
  • Zettelkasten, interplay with Obsidian, ...
  • able to sync/ingest markdown from my work laptop
  • able to visualize (markmap?)
• editor for writing novels and world-building

Batteries included

LazyVim, cause the maintainer seems like a cool guy. There are some other projects, but they felt too complicated/complex/opinionated.

Note: This means that I assume lazyvim-style config folder

Recommended reading

For a better introduction of all LazyVim features, I recommend this book.

Some Vim Terminology

• buffer :: the 'file', i.e. the text that you load and edit
  • there are also helper buffers that show something different, such as a file picker or side bar
• window :: the pane where the buffer gets displayed in
• frame :: the big border around the application, where the Minimize | Resize | Close buttons are.
  • In windows, this is the 'Window'
• bufferline :: the status bar at the bottom
  • most likely shows the editing mode, the row and column number, ...
• tabline :: the status bar at the top, which shows the open buffers
• leader key :: most likely the space key, but can be configured
• yank / paste :: copy / paste

Listing all the plugins installed

A list of installed plugins can be retrieved from the lazy-lock.json in the nvim folder. These are the plugins that Lazy brings by default (including my enabled extras).

Installed plugins + URLs can also be retrieved with the following (fish) script

cd ~/.local/share/nvim/lazy
for d in */.git
    set -l plugin (path dirname $d | path basename)
    set -l url (git -C (path dirname $d) remote get-url origin 2>/dev/null)
    if test -n "$url"
        echo -e "$plugin\t$url"
    end
end | sort

Here the output. Note: I removed the .git endings manually.

Press gx on a link to open it in the browser.

auto-save.nvim	https://github.com/okuuva/auto-save.nvim
blink.cmp	https://github.com/saghen/blink.cmp
bufferline.nvim	https://github.com/akinsho/bufferline.nvim
catppuccin	https://github.com/catppuccin/nvim
conform.nvim	https://github.com/stevearc/conform.nvim
dial.nvim	https://github.com/monaqa/dial.nvim
flash.nvim	https://github.com/folke/flash.nvim
friendly-snippets	https://github.com/rafamadriz/friendly-snippets
gitsigns.nvim	https://github.com/lewis6991/gitsigns.nvim
grug-far.nvim	https://github.com/MagicDuck/grug-far.nvim
lazydev.nvim	https://github.com/folke/lazydev.nvim
lazy.nvim	https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim
LazyVim	https://github.com/LazyVim/LazyVim
lualine.nvim	https://github.com/nvim-lualine/lualine.nvim
markdown-plus.nvim	https://github.com/yousefhadder/markdown-plus.nvim
markdown-preview.nvim	https://github.com/iamcco/markdown-preview.nvim
mason-lspconfig.nvim	https://github.com/mason-org/mason-lspconfig.nvim
mason.nvim	https://github.com/mason-org/mason.nvim
mini.ai	https://github.com/nvim-mini/mini.ai
mini.hipatterns	https://github.com/nvim-mini/mini.hipatterns
mini.icons	https://github.com/nvim-mini/mini.icons
mini.pairs	https://github.com/nvim-mini/mini.pairs
noice.nvim	https://github.com/folke/noice.nvim
nui.nvim	https://github.com/MunifTanjim/nui.nvim
nvim-lint	https://github.com/mfussenegger/nvim-lint
nvim-lspconfig	https://github.com/neovim/nvim-lspconfig
nvim-treesitter	https://github.com/nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter
nvim-treesitter-textobjects	https://github.com/nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter-textobjects
nvim-ts-autotag	https://github.com/windwp/nvim-ts-autotag
persistence.nvim	https://github.com/folke/persistence.nvim
plenary.nvim	https://github.com/nvim-lua/plenary.nvim
render-markdown.nvim	https://github.com/MeanderingProgrammer/render-markdown.nvim
snacks.nvim	https://github.com/folke/snacks.nvim
todo-comments.nvim	https://github.com/folke/todo-comments.nvim
tokyonight.nvim	https://github.com/folke/tokyonight.nvim
trouble.nvim	https://github.com/folke/trouble.nvim
ts-comments.nvim	https://github.com/folke/ts-comments.nvim
venv-selector.nvim	https://github.com/linux-cultist/venv-selector.nvim
which-key.nvim	https://github.com/folke/which-key.nvim
yanky.nvim	https://github.com/gbprod/yanky.nvim

Open the LazyVim config

When starting LazyVim, I can press c to jump to the config folder. But after I enter my project folder, I seem to lose this ability. How can I open the LazyVim config from anywhere?

With :lua Snacks.dashboard() we can open the initial dashboard. Not the biggest win, but I take it.

E: Found it! All we need to do is press <leader>fc to find config file.

Understand options merging

TODO I never understood the options tables; do they get merged by default? I.e. do my modifications overwrite the defaults, but otherwise leave the defaults intact? Or do I overwrite everything?

Read and understand Chapter 5: Plugin Basics

E: It seems that, indeed, the opts tables get merged. No more copying all the opts from LazyVim!

This also means that it is not necessary to copy plugin defaults. Only change what is necessary!

How to apply config changes to my running buffer

After I change the config, I don't want to need to reload my current vim session, but instead be able to apply the config changes to the running session directly.

Maybe 'sourcing' is the right term?

There seems to be a way, but I am a bit sceptic. I guess I will stick to exit-and-restart.

Disabling a plugin

We can do enabled=false in the config.

return {
  -- disable trouble
  { "folke/trouble.nvim", enabled = false },
}

Source: Plugins | LazyVim

Change which-key description to name the plugin

Example: <spc>sr opens search & replace, which actually is grug-far.nvim under the hood. I want understand all of this, to better be able to find help and guidance.

TODO: change the keymap descriptions to also show the originating plugin

How to collapse Markdown headings

zM close all folds, zR open all folds

za toggle fold under cursor, zi toggle folding

zv show cursor line

2025-10-30 17:38 could set up kevinhwang91/nvim-ufo: Not UFO in the sky, but an ultra fold in Neovim.

Improve datetime snippet

LazyVim uses blink.cmp for code completions, including snippet insertion. Some snippets are included via friendly-snippets, but I'd like to define my own, for example to provide frontmatter and better timestamps. There is an explanation how to do so in Snippets | Blink Completion (blink.cmp)

I defined my custom snippets in .conf/nvim/lua/snippets/package.json

{
  "name": "personal-snippets",
  "contributes": {
    "snippets": [
      { "language": "all", "path": "./all.json" }
      { "language": ["markdown", "md", "plaintext", "txt"], "path": "./markdown.json" }
    ]
  }
}

To set the frontmatter, I can do the following in my `markdown.json':

{
	"Insert DateTime": {
		"prefix": ";dt",
		"body": [
			"${CURRENT_YEAR}-${CURRENT_MONTH}-${CURRENT_DATE}T${CURRENT_HOUR}:${CURRENT_MINUTE}"
		],
		"description": "Insert current date and time in specific format"
	},
	"YAML Front Matter": {
		"prefix": "yamlFrontMatter",
		"body": [
			"---",
			"title: \"$1\"",
			"date: ${CURRENT_YEAR}-${CURRENT_MONTH}-${CURRENT_DATE}T${CURRENT_HOUR}:${CURRENT_MINUTE}",
			"tags: [$2]",
			"---",
			"$0"
		],
		"description": "Insert YAML front matter"
	}
}

TODO Additionally, I'd like to append the datetime snippet to markdown headings.

Multiple cursors

Apparently not supported, as it is not in line with the 'vim philosophy'. We can do C-v for visual block mode though, and/or do a regex search and replace.

E: It seems the way to go is TreeSitter text objects manipulation with mini.ai?

Useful Markdown keybinds

N = normal mode, V = visual mode, I = insert mode

• >> and << :: indent and outdent in N and V mode.
• C-t and C-d :: indent and outdent in I mode
• [[ and ]] :: go to next/prev section (Markdown headings)
• zj and zk :: jump to next/prev fold
• <leader>ss :: symbol picker (jump to markdown heading)
  • <leader>sr :: symbol picker across project root
  • <leader>sb :: buffer line search (find words/lines)

Indent lists and text in Markdown files

• smark.nvim :: better list handling
• markdown_indent.nvim :: indent markdown headings

Indent/outdent via Tab and S-Tab

In 'keymaps.lua',

-- Indent with Tab in normal mode
vim.keymap.set("n", "<Tab>", ">>_", { noremap = true, silent = true, desc = "Indent line" })
-- Unindent with Shift+Tab in normal mode
vim.keymap.set("n", "<S-Tab>", "<<_", { noremap = true, silent = true, desc = "Unindent line" })
-- Indent with Tab in visual mode
vim.keymap.set("v", "<Tab>", ">gv", { noremap = true, silent = true, desc = "Indent selected lines" })
-- Unindent with Shift+Tab in visual mode
vim.keymap.set("v", "<S-Tab>", "<gv", { noremap = true, silent = true, desc = "Unindent selected lines" })

Check mappings with :map <Tab> for potential conflicts

• 2025-10-28 16:05: Can use markdown_indent for this, no need for the keybinds!
• 2025-10-28 16:05: using markdown-plus, which necessities to set up the hotkeys again
  • TODO check behaviour of Tab regarding indent and autocomplete; disable list indent in I mode via S-Tab?

Show outline / list of Markdown headings and jump to them

One way I found is <spc>cs, which opens the LSP symbols reference. However, it doesn't directly jump there, which is a bit annoying.

Hint: Switch to the newly opened window with <spc>ww.

A better way is to use the Telescope symbol picker, <leader>ss (local) or <leader>sS (across project root).

Additionally, there is Aerial, which can be opened with <leader>cs to show an outline of LSP symbols in the current buffer.

Jump to visible word

Press s in Normal mode, followed by the first char of the word you want to jump to, followed by the auto-generated jump mark.

This uses folke/flash.nvim

Incremental selection

Found this in a random blog; C-spc allows to incrementally select the current TS Node/block.

TODO: Find more nifty tricks and keybinds for Treesitter selections. (Above blog is a good start).

Markdown Jump to start/end of code block

Not perfect, but [i and ]i work to jump to edge of scope whatever that means.

NOTE: doesn't always work..

There is also :InspectTree, which shows all the symbols in a buffer. My guess is that we can write a function to target the start/end of code blocks here.

Navigate with Markdown Treesitter Textobjects

TODO I only found ]m so far. I'd like to have a list of granular text objects I can jump to.

Seems to be done with either nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter-textobjects or folke/flash.nvim.

Home

Highlight duplicate words under cursor

Useful for writing and editing, where I want to know if I already used the word in previous paragraphs.

DONE Maybe with RRethy/vim-illuminate

Markdown Move Headings up/down

Emacs Orgmode does this, and it is really useful.

TODO Maybe with nvim-mini/mini.move?

Jump to next/prev misspell

Jump with ]s and [s

Text surround

Install mini.surround. Then select text (viw) and surround with gsa.

Hint: Look up more keybinds with <spc>sk 'surround'.

Look up words in dictionary

1. Set up dict in Linux
2. Install dict.nvim

-- ~/.config/nvim/lua/plugins/dict.lua
return {
    {
        "jalvesaq/dict.nvim",
        ft = "markdown", -- Only load in Markdown buffers
        lazy = true, -- optional: load lazily
        keys = {
            vim.keymap.set(
                "n",
                "<leader>mk",
                '<Cmd>lua require("dict").lookup()<CR>',
                { noremap = true, silent = true, desc = "Indent line" }
            ),
        },
        -- config = function() end,
    },
}

How to fix word under cursor

Some words are highlighted yellow or red, for example due to a misspell. How do I auto-fix them? And how do I disable this linting?

E: It seems that the linting does not come from the markdown linter, but instead the vim-native :h spell checker. We control it with z<key>. To get spelling suggestions, we can do z=. To add a word to our wordlist (spellfile), i.e. notifying the program that it is spelled correctly, we do zg.

Neovim Multiple Dictionaries

For the spell checker, it is set to EN by default. I write in multiple languages though, and would like to check all of them (or at least switch amongst them).

TODO

Neovim Make Upper/Lowercase

Use gU for UPPERCASE and gu for lowercase.

Neovim Navigate TODOs in file

TODO I want to see and move amongst my todos. I also want to expand this for other markers, such as NOTE, MAYBE, ...

Neovim Create New File in Working Directory

I can create a new file with :n <filename>, but this creates it in the root dir. How to create the new file directly in the calling dir? Preferably from a template.

See working directory with :pwd. Expand working dir with e.g. :e %<tab>. Get just the folder (head) with :e %:h<tab>. Create new file in working folder: :e %:h/<filename>.

Alternatively, this can be done via the File Picker; <leader>ea to add a new file.

Neovim Create New File From Template

I'd like to emulate the Obsidian 'weekly notes' functionality, where I can create a new note from a template in a specific folder. This will also be very helpful to quickly pre-set a new blog post. (Well, to be fair, I don't post, I produce micro-snippets of content 😁)

How to count words

Words are a terrible metric for writing productivity, but sometimes I just want to know. And the wordcount could also be used to calculate the reading time. FUTURE Maybe I will do this on my blog, although this may also be something I find annoying fast.

To get the wordcount, run :echo wordcount().words.

How to do soft-wrap

Display the keymap

Keymaps can be searched with <spc>sk. Additionally, there is also spc + ?.

Are there any keybinds in the Picker dialogue?

I believe that the fuzzy search via Telescope allows more keys beyond just tab and ret. Which? E: It seems that LazyVim doesn't use Telescope anymore, but snacks.nvim/picker.

Either way, there is a bunch of commands hidden. We can press A-w to switch the focus to the preview/list ('cycle win'), and then do ? to show the help. Or we can simply press Esc to switch to Normal mode, and then explore the help from there.

Tip: Cycle the window in reverse with C-w.

The preview can be toggled with A-p. C-r can be used to insert something from a register.

Markdown disable the Markdown linter

LazyVim uses conform.nvim.

I want to disable this. Or alternatively be able to look up and understand why a word gets highlighted.

E: It seems we can disable it explicitly by setting the markdown option to empty brackets in the Lazy config.

{
        "mfussenegger/nvim-lint",
        enabled = true,
        opts = {
            linters_by_ft = {
                markdown = {},
            },
        },
    }

MAYBE understand how to do a more granular configuration of the linting rules

Markdown One Sentence Per Line

Do I really have to do this manually?

No. I wrote a function to do so.

Markdown One Sentence Per Line

Markdown Preview In Browser

There is a Markdown preview configured via <spc>cp.

DONE running the preview breaks completions. This was a bug in the markdown-plus plugin.

Markdown Rendering In The Neovim Buffer

I like to use >> in my writings to refer to things. However, I noticed that >> got rendered as ▋ in some cases. After some digging, I found the culprint.

Markdown Sticky Headings

Using nvim-treesitter-context, the current context sticks to the top. This is mostly relevant for deeply nested code functions, but in markdown buffers this translates to keeping the heading sticky, if it were to move off-screen. (For example when writing a very long section.)

Markdown Image Preview

Markdown Paste Image

Markdown Add Matching _* in Markdown buffers

It annoys me that _ (italic) and * (bold))) don't auto-close.

TODO left for the future. mini.pairs doesn't support per-filetype config, and I didn't feel like setting generic pairing rules and then needing to write autocommands. See How do I disable mini.pairs for markdown files? Another approach would be to surround the word with aforementioned characters. This works for _, but not for double **.

TODO find a way to repeat the first surround (gsa), so that the 2nd * is added.

Send Links From Browser To Markdown

Likely more of a Linux integration, but I want to emulate org-roam-capture.

Markdown Insert Event from iCal/Calendar

This could be useful, for example for a weekly summary of my week, where I insert the preview of that weeks calendar.

How to manage projects?

I'd like to be able to hop to my projects (git root folders). Do I need to do this via yazi or z in the CLI, or is there a LazyVim way to do this?

E: We can do <leader>fp, although I don't understand the criteria for the displayed project folders.

E2: The criteria can be defined in the config (snacks.nvim/docs/picker.md); by default the projects picker looks for .git folders.

I extended the config with some hard-coded .config folders, such as my fish and niri config.

{
        "folke/snacks.nvim",
        opts = {
                picker = {
                    sources = {
                        projects = {
                            dev = { "~/Projects/webdev/", "~/.config/" },
                            patterns = { ".git", ".sln" },
                            projects = { "~/.config/fish/" },
                        },
                    },
                },
            }
    },

Neovim More Picker Sources

snacks.nvim/docs/picker has a lot more sources than what I currently use. TODO set up more sources, such as cliphist, ... (not sure I actually need all of them)

Markdown Mindmaps

Use Markmap

Version Control with LazyGit

LazyGit, not related to LazyVim(TM).

We can do <spc>gg to open LazyGit. However, I wanted to move to jiujutsu, so let's see for how long this stays useful.

Other / Advanced

• maybe set up https://github.com/seth-brown/formd as described in https://aliquote.org/post/neovim-markdown/ to collect inline-references at the bottom, instead of in the text.
• auto-translate with translate-shell
• add leader m i to turn item into list item)
  • check emacs orgmode keybinds again!
• change markdown symbols for headings and bullet items (visual)
• a way to visualize my keybinds (including leader-mapped sub menus)
  • https://github.com/jokajak/keyseer.nvim
• paste screenshots (keep them in a folder? link them?)
  • https://github.com/TobinPalmer/pastify.nvim
• wiki-link picker, similar to obsidian.nvim https://github.com/epwalsh/obsidian.nvim?tab=readme-ov-file
• pomodoro timer -- https://github.com/epwalsh/pomo.nvim
  • probably makes more sense to have this system wide >> linux
• markdown download -- deathau/markdownload: A Firefox and Google Chrome extension to clip websites and download them into a readable markdown file.
  • use emacs org-roam-protocol? for download?
• undo history -- https://github.com/y3owk1n/time-machine.nvim
  • Understand gbprod/yanky.nvim: Improved Yank and Put functionalities for Neovim yank history picker
• ThePrimeagen/refactoring.nvim: The Refactoring library based off the Refactoring book by Martin Fowler
• Set up multi-lang spell :: Spellcheck multiple languages in Neovim