Neovim
A modal editor driven entirely from the keyboard. Worth the investment if you work on servers often.
The real advantage of Neovim isn’t raw speed — it’s that it exists on every server and your hands never leave the home row. If you edit files over SSH regularly, the basics alone pay for themselves.
Install
brew install neovim
sudo apt install neovim
winget install Neovim.Neovim
Survival commands
First, remove the possibility of being trapped in it.
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
Esc | Back to normal mode (when in doubt, start here) |
i / a | Insert before / after the cursor |
:w | Save |
:q | Quit |
:wq or ZZ | Save and quit |
:q! | Quit, discarding changes |
Moving and editing
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
h j k l | Left, down, up, right |
w / b | Next / previous word |
0 / $ | Start / end of line |
gg / G | Start / end of file |
{n}G | Go to line n |
dd / yy / p | Delete / yank / paste a line |
u / Ctrl+r | Undo / redo |
/text then n | Search, then next match |
:%s/old/new/g | Replace throughout the file |
Vim’s grammar is verb + object. d (delete) + w (word) is dw; c (change) +
i" (inside quotes) is ci". Once that composition clicks, there is far less to
memorise.
Starting a config
~/.config/nvim/init.lua:
vim.opt.number = true
vim.opt.relativenumber = true
vim.opt.expandtab = true
vim.opt.shiftwidth = 2
vim.opt.ignorecase = true
vim.opt.smartcase = true
vim.opt.clipboard = "unnamedplus" -- share the system clipboard
vim.g.mapleader = " " -- space as the leader key
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>w", ":w<CR>")
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>e", ":Explore<CR>")
Starting from a distribution
If choosing plugins yourself sounds like a chore, start from a finished configuration.
| Distribution | Character |
|---|---|
| LazyVim | Balanced defaults, friendly documentation |
| kickstart.nvim | One heavily commented file. The best one to learn from |
| AstroNvim | Feature-rich with a polished UI |
git clone https://github.com/LazyVim/starter ~/.config/nvim
rm -rf ~/.config/nvim/.git
nvim
A learning path
- Run
vimtutorin a terminal, start to finish (about 30 minutes). - For one week, edit only your config files in Neovim.
- Once comfortable, turn on a Vim extension in VS Code and live in both worlds.
Switching your main editor in one go almost always fails. Start with small files.
Next
If you refactor large projects often → JetBrains IDEs
Last updated 19 Aug 2026, 00:00 UTC.