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__TOC__
<languages/>
{{low quality|reason=<translate>Most of the provided nix code snippets look out of context, lacking indication where the provided configuration belongs (e.g. home-manager, configuration.nix or elsewhere?). [[#Beginning]] is over too wordy.</translate>}}
{{infobox application
  |name=Neovim
  |image=Neovim-mark.svg
  |type=Text Editor
  |developer=Neovim Core Team & Community
  |firstRelease=November 1, 2015
  |latestRelease=Nvim 0.12.2 (April 22, 2026)
  |status=Active
  |license=[https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Apache 2.0] (with parts under Vim license)
  |os=Cross-platform (Linux, macOS, Windows)
  |platform=Desktop
  |programmingLanguage=C, Lua, Vim Script
  |website=[https://neovim.io/ neovim.io]
  |github=neovim/neovim
  |bugTracker=[https://github.com/neovim/neovim/issues GitHub Issues]
  |documentation=[https://neovim.io/doc/ Official Documentation]
}}


== Installation and configuration ==
<translate>
<!--T:76-->
:''See also: <tvar name=vim>[[Special:MyLanguage/Vim|Vim]]</tvar>''


Neovim shares most of its configuration with Vim. See the [[Vim|Vim page]] for more details on the use of both.
<!--T:1-->
[https://neovim.io/ Neovim]<ref>Neovim Team, "Home - Neovim", Neovim Official Website, Last updated March 2025, Accessed June 2025. https://neovim.io/</ref> is a highly extensible and open source text editor that aims to improve upon and modernize the popular <tvar name=vim>[[Special:MyLanguage/Vim|Vim]]</tvar><ref>NixOS Wiki Community, "Vim", NixOS Wiki, Last edited 24 February 2025, Accessed June 2025. https://wiki.nixos.org/wiki/Vim</ref> editor. It's designed to be a drop-in replacement for Vim, maintaining compatibility with most Vim plugins and configurations while offering additional features and improvements. Neovim focuses on extensibility, usability, and performance.


=== With Home Manager ===
<!--T:2-->
It introduces a powerful plugin architecture that allows for asynchronous plugin execution, which can significantly improve performance for certain operations. It also includes a built-in terminal emulator, allowing users to run shell commands directly within the editor. The project emphasizes code quality and maintainability, with a clean, well-documented codebase that makes it easier for developers to contribute.


[https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Home_Manager Home Manager] has a module for Neovim, which can be enabled via
== Installation == <!--T:3-->


   programs.neovim = {
==== Shell ==== <!--T:4-->
    enable = true;
 
    extraConfig = '''''''
<!--T:60-->
       set number relativenumber
To temporarily use Neovim in a shell environment without modifying your system configuration, you can run:
     '''''''
</translate>
 
<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
$ nix-shell -p neovim
</syntaxhighlight>
 
<translate>
<!--T:61-->
This makes the Neovim editor available in your current shell. You can then launch Neovim by typing <code>nvim</code>.
 
==== System setup ==== <!--T:62-->
 
<!--T:63-->
To install Neovim system-wide, making it available to all users, add the following to your configuration:
</translate>
 
{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=<translate><!--T:64--> # Example for /etc/nixos/configuration.nix</translate>
environment.systemPackages = [
   pkgs.neovim
];
 
<translate><!--T:65--> # User-specific installation (in ~/.config/nixpkgs/home.nix)</translate>
home.packages = [
  pkgs.neovim
];}}
 
<translate>
<!--T:66-->
After rebuilding your system with <code>nixos-rebuild switch</code> or <code>home-manager switch</code>, Neovim will be installed and accessible.
 
== Configuration == <!--T:7-->
 
==== Basic ==== <!--T:8-->
</translate>
 
{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=<translate>
<!--T:39-->
# Global Configuration
</translate>
programs.neovim = {
  enable = true;
  defaultEditor = true;
};
 
<translate>
<!--T:40-->
# Home Configuration
</translate>
programs.neovim = {
  enable = true;
  extraConfig = ''
    set number relativenumber
  '';
};}}
 
<translate>
==== Advanced ==== <!--T:10-->
</translate>
 
{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=<translate>
<!--T:41-->
# Global Configuration
</translate>
programs.neovim = {
  enable = true;
  defaultEditor = true;
  viAlias = true;
  vimAlias = true;
  configure = {
    customRC = ''
       set number
      set cc=80
      set list
      set listchars=tab:→\ ,space:·,nbsp:␣,trail:•,eol:¶,precedes:«,extends:»
      if &diff
        colorscheme blue
      endif
     '';
    packages.myVimPackage = with pkgs.vimPlugins; {
      start = [ ctrlp ];
    };
   };
   };
};
<translate>
<!--T:42-->
# Home Configuration
# You have to add the line below to set it as the default editor:
</translate>
programs.neovim.defaultEditor = true;}}


More information about the module can be found here: [https://nix-community.github.io/home-manager/options.html#opt-programs.neovim.enable Home Manager Manual].
<translate>
<!--T:12-->
== Tips and tricks ==
{{expand}}


==== Configuration ====
==== Nix configuration frameworks ====


The Home Manager module does not expose many configuration options.
[https://github.com/nix-community/nixvim Nixvim] and [https://github.com/NotAShelf/nvf nvf] provide a framework for declaratively configuring neovim with [[Nix (language)|Nix]]. They support, among the other things, plugin configuration, as well as mixing in plain Lua config snippets.
Therefore, the easiest way to get started is to use the [https://nix-community.github.io/home-manager/options.html#opt-programs.neovim.extraConfig extraConfig] option.
Linux and Darwin platforms are supported using standalone Nix, [[NixOS]] or [[Home Manager]] modules.
You can copy your old config or directly load your default Neovim config via:


  programs.neovim.extraConfig = lib.fileContents ../path/to/your/init.vim;
==== Package variations ==== <!--T:15-->


To use Neovim as your default editor, you can set the <code>EDITOR</code> [https://search.nixos.org/options?show=environment.variables&type=packages&query=environment.variables environmental variable] to "nvim" by adding the following to your NixOS configuration:
<!--T:44-->
Have a look at the [https://github.com/nix-community/neovim-nightly-overlay Neovim Nightly Overlay]<ref>Nix Community, "neovim-nightly-overlay", GitHub, Last updated June 2025, Accessed June 2025. https://github.com/nix-community/neovim-nightly-overlay</ref> to install the most recent current nightly version of Neovim.


  environment.variables.EDITOR = "nvim";
<!--T:16-->
You can run the master version via the following command:
</translate>


The Home Manager module does also expose options to automatically add <code>vi</code> and <code>vim</code> aliases.
To use them, add the following to your Home Manager configuration:


  programs.neovim = {
<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
    viAlias = true;
$ nix run "github:nix-community/neovim-nightly-overlay"
    vimAlias = true;
</syntaxhighlight>
  };


==== Installing Plugins ====
<translate>
==== Plugin management ==== <!--T:21-->
</translate>


Plugins can be installed using the <code>programs.neovim.plugins</code> option.
{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=plugins = [
You can add only the plugin, or the plugin with its corresponding config:
<translate>
  <!--T:49-->
# Example Plugin: nvim-tree-lua
</translate>
  pkgs.vimPlugins.nvim-tree-lua


   programs.neovim.plugins = [
<translate>
    pkgs.vimPlugins.nvim-tree-lua
   <!--T:50-->
    {
# Example Plugin: vim-startify with configuration
      plugin = pkgs.vimPlugins.vim-startify;
</translate>
      config = "let g:startify_change_to_vcs_root = 0";
  {
    }
    plugin = pkgs.vimPlugins.vim-startify;
  ];
    config = "let g:startify_change_to_vcs_root = 0";
  }


If you only add the plugin, you can add the configuration as described above.
<translate>
  <!--T:51-->
# Example Plugin: nvim-colorizer-lua with Lua config
  # Due to how the runtimepath for Lua modules is processed, your configuration may require
  # packadd! plugin-name to require a module. A home-manager example:
</translate>
  {
    plugin = pkgs.vimPlugins.nvim-colorizer-lua;
    config = ''
      packadd! nvim-colorizer.lua
      lua << END
        require 'colorizer'.setup {
          '*';<translate> <!--T:52--> -- Highlight all files, but customize some others.</translate>
          '!vim';<translate> <!--T:53--> -- Exclude vim from highlighting.</translate>
        }
      END
    '';
  }


An index of official packages can be found in on [https://search.nixos.org/packages?from=0&size=50&sort=relevance&type=packages&query=vimPlugins search.nixos.org].
<translate>
In addition to the official packages, there are several user maintained repositories, such as [https://github.com/m15a/nixpkgs-vim-extra-plugins vim-extra-plugins] or [https://github.com/NixNeovim/NixNeovimPlugins NixNeovimPlugins].
  <!--T:54-->
# Example Plugin: nvim-treesitter with Lua config
</translate>
  {
    plugin = pkgs.vimPlugins.nvim-treesitter;
    config = ''
      packadd! nvim-treesitter
      lua <<EOF
        require'nvim-treesitter.configs'.setup {
          highlight = {
            enable = true,             <translate><!--T:55--> -- false will disable the whole extension</translate>
            disable = {},              <translate><!--T:56--> -- list of languages that will be disabled</translate>
          },
          incremental_selection = {
            enable = true,
            keymaps = {
              init_selection = "gnn",
              node_incremental = "grn",
              scope_incremental = "grc",
              node_decremental = "grm",
            },
          },
          textobjects = {
            select = {
              enable = true,
              lookahead = true,
              keymaps = {
                ["af"] = "@function.outer",
                ["if"] = "@function.inner",
                ["ac"] = "@class.outer",
                ["ic"] = "@class.inner",
              },
            },
          },
        }
      EOF
    '';
  }


=== Without Home Manager ===
<translate>
  <!--T:57-->
# Installing grammars for tree-sitter
  # Option 1: Install all grammar packages
  pkgs.vimPlugins.nvim-treesitter.withAllGrammars
 
  # Option 2: Install specific grammar packages
  # (pkgs.vimPlugins.nvim-treesitter.withPlugins (p: [ p.c p.java ]))


If you do not use Home Manager, you can use the following code in your NixOS configuration:
  <!--T:58-->
# Option 3: Installing grammars without Nix
  # Installing grammar packages through the built-in command can lead to errors.
  # The following Neovim command will install syntax highlighting for the C programming language: :TSInstall c
</translate>
];}}


  programs.neovim = {
<translate>
    enable = true;
==== Pre-made distributions ==== <!--T:18-->
    defaultEditor = true;
  };


==== Configuration ====
<!--T:45-->
If you prefer not to configure your system manually, NixOS offers several predefined configurations and community-supported options. Here are a few of them:


The NixOS module does not have an <code>extraConfig</code> option as the Home Manager module does.
<!--T:19-->
Instead, you can use the <code>programs.neovim.configure</code> option as described [https://search.nixos.org/options?show=programs.neovim.configure&type=packages&query=neovim here].
* [https://www.lazyvim.org/ LazyVim]<ref>LazyVim Team, "Getting Started", LazyVim Official Website, © 2025, Accessed June 2025. https://www.lazyvim.org/</ref>
* [https://astronvim.com/ AstroNvim]<ref>AstroNvim Team, "AstroNvim", AstroNvim Official Website, N/A, Accessed June 2025. https://astronvim.com/</ref>
* [https://nvchad.com/ NVChad]<ref>Siduck, "NvChad", NvChad Official Website, © 2025, Accessed June 2025. https://nvchad.com/</ref>


Similarly to the Home Manager module, to set Neovim as your default editor you have to set the <code>EDITOR</code> environment variable like this:
<!--T:77-->
LazyVim, by default, will prevent loading plugins that are not managed by LazyVim. This includes all plugins installed via Nix. If you want to install plugins with both Nix and LazyVim, add the following to your LazyVim setup:
</translate>


  environment.variables.EDITOR = "nvim";
{{code|lang=lua|line=no|1=
require("lazy").setup(lazyPackages, {
  performance = {
    reset_packpath = false, -- so that plugins outside of lazy can be loaded
  },
})
vim.cmd("packloadall") -- load plugins outside of lazy
}}


Further, the NixOS module does also expose options to automatically add <code>vi</code> and <code>vim</code> aliases.
<translate>
To use them, add the following to your NixOS configuration:
<!--T:78-->
[https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim/issues/402#issuecomment-2084997594 Source]


  programs.neovim = {
==== FHS wrapper ==== <!--T:67-->
    viAlias = true;
    vimAlias = true;
  };


=== Manually ===
<!--T:68-->
You can create a custom neovim FHS wrapper
</translate>


You can also manually add Neovim to your packages. This should only be used if the two version above do not work for you.
{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=
{
  buildFHSEnv,
  writeShellScript,
  neovim,
}:
buildFHSEnv {
  name = "nvim-fhs";
  targetPkgs = pkgs: [ neovim ];


  environment.systemPackages = [ pkgs.neovim ];
  runScript = writeShellScript "nvim-fhs.sh" ''
    exec ${neovim}/bin/nvim "$@"
  '';
}
}}


=== Build Neovim using Nix ===
<!--T:FHS_WRAPPER_SOURCE-->
<translate>
<!--T:69-->
This FHS wrapper example is based on a contribution to nixpkgs<ref name="nixpkgs-pr-334032">NixOS, "Feature: Custom Neovim FHS Wrapper" (Pull Request #334032), GitHub, 2025, Accessed June 2025. https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/334032</ref>.
For an extended configuration that includes setting up <code>mason.nvim</code> with a similar FHS environment, see this [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/281219#issuecomment-2284713258 NixOS/nixpkgs issue comment].


You can also compile Neovim using nix. For this, the Neovim GitHub page has more information on this:
<!--T:59-->
[https://github.com/neovim/neovim/wiki/Building-Neovim#nixos--nix Neovim Guide].
== Troubleshooting ==
{{expand}}


The Neovim repository also contains a flake.
==== lua-language-server: Dynamically linked executable error ==== <!--T:70-->
You can run the master version via the following command:


nix run "github:neovim/neovim?dir=contrib"
<!--T:71-->
In your <code>~/.local/state/nvim/lsp.log</code>, you have the following error:
</translate>


Finally, there is a [https://github.com/nix-community/neovim-nightly-overlay Neovim Nightly Overlay].
{{code|lang=text|line=no|1=[ERROR][2025-06-07 23:13:15] ...p/_transport.lua:36 "rpc" "lua-language-server" "stderr" "Could not start dynamically linked executable: /home/incogshift/.local/share/nvim/mason/packages/lua-language-server/libexec/bin/lua-language-server\nNixOS cannot run dynamically linked executables intended for generic\nlinux environments out of the box. For more information, see:\nhttps://nix.dev/permalink/stub-ld\n"}}


== Note on Lua plugins  ==
<!--T:LUA_LS_SO_REF-->
<translate>
<!--T:72-->
A solution for this issue can be found on Stack Overflow<ref name="so-lua-ls-dynlink">Stack Overflow Contributor, "Answer to 'Could not start dynamically linked executable... on NixOS'", Stack Overflow, 2025, Accessed June 2025. https://stackoverflow.com/a/78215911/27134695</ref>.


Due to how the `runtimepath` for Lua modules is [https://github.com/nanotee/nvim-lua-guide#a-note-about-packages processed], your configuration may require <code>packadd! plugin-name</code> to require a module. A home-manager example:
== See also == <!--T:73-->


  programs.neovim = {
<!--T:74-->
    plugins = [
* [[Home Manager]] – For declarative Neovim configuration at the user level: [https://nix-community.github.io/home-manager/options.html#opt-programs.neovim.enable Neovim module in Home Manager]
      {
* [https://neovim.io/doc/ Official Documentation] – Official Neovim documentation.
        plugin = nvim-colorizer-lua
* [https://search.nixos.org/options?channel=unstable&query=programs.neovim NixOS options for Neovim] – System-level Neovim configuration.
        config = '''''''
* [https://discourse.nixos.org/search?q=neovim Neovim discussions on NixOS Discourse] – Community tips, troubleshooting, and use cases.
          packadd! nvim-colorizer.lua
          lua require 'colorizer'.setup()
        ''''''';
      }
    ];
  }


== See Also ==
== References == <!--T:27-->
* [[Vim]]
</translate>
* [[Tree sitters]]


[[Category:Applications]]
[[Category:Applications]]
[[Category:CLI Applications]]
[[Category:Text Editor]]
Retrieved from "https://wiki.nixos.org/wiki/Neovim"