lunarvim/neovim-from-scratch

★ 5,582LuaAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5Setup · moderate

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    Purpose
      Educational config
      Step-by-step learning
    Features
      Code completion
      Language servers LSP
      Formatting linting
      Debugging
    Tools used
      Lua scripting
      Mason installer
      Treesitter highlighting
    Getting started
      Clone and open Neovim
      Plugins auto-install
      Run health check

mindmap root((repo)) Purpose Educational config Step-by-step learning Features Code completion Language servers LSP Formatting linting Debugging Tools used Lua scripting Mason installer Treesitter highlighting Getting started Clone and open Neovim Plugins auto-install Run health check

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Learn how to build a Neovim configuration from the ground up rather than copying one you don't understand.

USE CASE 2

Set up language server support for a specific programming language inside Neovim using the Mason built-in installer.

USE CASE 3

Add code completion, go-to-definition, inline error checking, formatting, linting, and a debugger to a Neovim install.

Tech stack

LuaNeovimMasonTreesitter

Getting it running

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires Neovim already installed, plugins install automatically on first launch and Treesitter activates on the second run.

In plain English

Neovim from Scratch is a configuration setup for Neovim, a text editor popular among developers who prefer working in the terminal. The purpose of this repository is educational: rather than handing you a finished editor configuration you cannot understand, it walks through building one from the ground up so that every setting has a reason you can follow. The configuration is written in Lua, which is the scripting language Neovim uses for its settings and plugins. Cloning this repository into your Neovim config folder and opening the editor is enough to get started. The plugins install themselves on first launch, and a language parser system called Treesitter activates on the next run to add syntax highlighting for many programming languages. The setup includes tools for code completion, language servers (programs that provide features like go-to-definition and inline error checking for specific languages), formatting, linting, and debugging. These are managed through a tool called Mason, which lets you install and update them from inside the editor using a single command. After installation, the recommended first step is to run a built-in health check that shows what is working and what still needs attention. Common follow-up steps include installing clipboard support for your operating system and optionally adding Python or Node.js integrations. The author notes that this repository was created alongside a YouTube video series. The master branch is kept stable with pinned package versions, so the videos remain accurate even as the broader plugin ecosystem keeps changing. For active development, the author now recommends two related projects: nvim-basic-ide (a simpler follow-up) and LunarVim (a more complete distribution built on the same ideas).

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Using neovim-from-scratch as a base, add LSP support for Python with Mason and configure it to show inline type hints and auto-fix imports on save.

Prompt 2

Show me how to add a new plugin to the neovim-from-scratch configuration and make it load only when I open a specific file type to avoid slowing startup.

Prompt 3

Help me configure the formatter in neovim-from-scratch to auto-format JavaScript files on save using Prettier via null-ls or conform.nvim.

Prompt 4

Walk me through running the Neovim built-in health check after installing neovim-from-scratch and fixing the three most common warnings it reports.

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