Setting Up Neovim: An Easy and Beginner’s Guide

Neovim is a modern and extensible text editor that enhances Vim’s capabilities. If you’re using Linux, setting up Neovim can be a rewarding experience, allowing you to customize it for an efficient workflow. In this guide, we’ll cover installing Neovim, setting up a basic configuration, and enhancing it with essential plugins to turn it into a full-fledged IDE.

1. Installing Neovim

sudo pacman -S neovim

2. Setting Up Neovim Configuration

Neovim’s configuration is stored in ~/.config/nvim/. Create the directory and initialize a basic configuration:

mkdir -p ~/.config/nvim
nvim ~/.config/nvim/init.lua

Minimal Configuration (init.lua)

Add the following settings to your init.lua file:

-- Enable line numbers
vim.opt.number = true
vim.opt.relativenumber = true

-- Set tab size
vim.opt.expandtab = true
vim.opt.shiftwidth = 4
vim.opt.tabstop = 4

-- Enable mouse support
vim.opt.mouse = "a"

-- Set clipboard to system clipboard
vim.opt.clipboard = "unnamedplus"

Save and exit Neovim.

3. Installing a Plugin Manager

The best plugin manager for Neovim is lazy.nvim. Install it by running:

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim.git \
  ~/.local/share/nvim/lazy/lazy.nvim

Then, update your init.lua to load it:

local lazypath = vim.fn.stdpath("data") .. "/lazy/lazy.nvim"
if not vim.loop.fs_stat(lazypath) then
  vim.fn.system({
    "git", "clone", "--filter=blob:none",
    "https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim.git", lazypath
  })
end
vim.opt.rtp:prepend(lazypath)

4. Installing Essential Plugins

With lazy.nvim installed, you can add plugins in init.lua:

require("lazy").setup({
  "nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter", -- Syntax highlighting
  "nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim",   -- Fuzzy finder
  "neovim/nvim-lspconfig",           -- LSP support
  "hrsh7th/nvim-cmp",                -- Auto-completion
  "hrsh7th/cmp-nvim-lsp",            -- LSP completion source
  "hrsh7th/cmp-buffer",              -- Buffer completion
  "hrsh7th/cmp-path",                -- Path completion
  "hrsh7th/cmp-nvim-lua",            -- Neovim Lua API completion
  "L3MON4D3/LuaSnip",                -- Snippet engine
  "saadparwaiz1/cmp_luasnip",        -- Snippet completion
  "nvim-lualine/lualine.nvim",       -- Status line
  "nvim-tree/nvim-tree.lua",         -- File explorer
  "tpope/vim-surround",              -- Surround text objects
  "tpope/vim-commentary",            -- Commenting shortcuts
  "lewis6991/gitsigns.nvim",         -- Git integration
  "akinsho/toggleterm.nvim",         -- Terminal management
})

Save and exit Neovim, then open it and run:

:Lazy sync

This will install the plugins automatically.

5. Setting Up Treesitter

Treesitter provides better syntax highlighting and code parsing. Install it by adding the following to your init.lua:

require'nvim-treesitter.configs'.setup {
  ensure_installed = "all",
  highlight = {
    enable = true,
  },
  indent = {
    enable = true,
  },
}

Then, update Treesitter by running:

:TSUpdate

6. Setting Up LSP (Language Server Protocol)

LSP enables features like code completion and linting. Install LSP servers for your language:

# Python
sudo pacman -S python-lsp-server

# C++
sudo pacman -S clang

# JavaScript/TypeScript
npm install -g typescript-language-server

Then, enable LSP support in Neovim:

local lspconfig = require("lspconfig")

lspconfig.pyright.setup({})  -- Python
lspconfig.ts_ls.setup({})  -- JavaScript/TypeScript
lspconfig.clangd.setup({})    -- C++

Restart Neovim and check LSP status:

:LspInfo

7. Enhancing Auto-Completion with nvim-cmp

To enable code auto-completion, update your init.lua:

local cmp = require'cmp'
cmp.setup({
  mapping = {
    ['<C-Space>'] = cmp.mapping.complete(),
    ['<CR>'] = cmp.mapping.confirm({ select = true }),
  },
  sources = {
    { name = 'nvim_lsp' },
    { name = 'buffer' },
    { name = 'path' },
    { name = 'luasnip' },
    { name = 'nvim_lua' },
  }
})

9. Final Thoughts

Congratulations! You now have a powerful, customized Neovim setup that functions as a full-fledged IDE. With features like Treesitter, LSP support, auto-completion, syntax highlighting, Git integration, and a file explorer, your development workflow will be much smoother.

If you’d like to further improve your Neovim experience, explore more plugins and tweak your settings. Good luck with that!

Further Reading