• What’s included?
  • Why do I want tree-sitter and LSP?
• Project Goals
• Install In One Command!
  • Get the latest version of Neovim
  • Manual Install
  • Troubleshooting installation problems
• Getting started
  • Home screen
  • Leader and Whichkey
  • Important Configuration files
• Install your own plugins
  • An example installation of the colorizer plugin
  • Finding plugins
• Using Packer
  • Packer commands
  • Packer reports missing plugins
• Clipboard Support
• LSP
  • Lsp errors
    • Understanding LspInfo
    • Example configurations
  • Last resort
• Useful Programs
• EFM server
• Formatters and Linters
• De-bugging
• VSCodium
• Color Schemes
  • Available colorschemes
  • Switching colors
• Useful commands for troubleshooting
• Uninstalling
• Community links
• TODO

LunarVim provides neovim configuration files that take advantage of tree-sitter and language server protocol. The configuration is written in lua.

• Normally, an editor uses regular expression parsing for things like highlighting and checking the syntax of your file. Each time you make a change, the editor must re-parse the entire file. Tree-sitter, on the other hand, transforms text into a syntax tree. Each time you make a change, only the parts of the code that change need to be parsed. This greatly improves the speed of parsing. This can make a huge difference when editing large files.

• Neovim 0.5 including language server protocol means your editor can provide: code actions, completions, formatting, navigating to definitions, renaming, etc. The language server only has to be written once and will work on any editor that supports LSP. Any improvements made to the language server will immediately be used by all editors that support LSP.

• This project aims to help one transition away from VSCode, and into a superior text editing experience. (Just making this clear)

• This is also a community project, if you would like to see support for a feature or language consider making a PR.

• This project will do it’s best to include core features you would expect from a modern IDE, while making it easy to add or remove what the user wants.

Make sure you have the newest version of Neovim (0.5).

bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ChristianChiarulli/lunarvim/master/utils/installer/install.sh)

After installation run nvim and then :PackerInstall

Some operating systems package versions of Neovim 0.5. You can install those or you can follow the steps below to compile from source. Compiling from source is the recommended method.

First, get the dependencies. For distributions other than Ubuntu or Arch go here

#Ubuntu
sudo apt-get install gettext libtool libtool-bin autoconf automake cmake g++ pkg-config unzip build-essential
#Arch
sudo pacman -S base-devel cmake unzip ninja tree-sitter

Download and compile Neovim

cd $(mktemp -d)
git clone https://github.com/neovim/neovim --depth 1
cd neovim
sudo make CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release install
cd ..
sudo rm -r neovim

or if you are on Arch you can get it from the AUR

yay -S neovim-git

If you are on Gentoo you have to emerge the 9999 neovim version with luajit as the lua single target

First make sure you have version 0.5 of neovim.

Back up your current configuration files

mv ~/.config/nvim ~/.config/nvim.bak

Install xclip, python3, ripgrep, fzf, npm, nodejs, pip, and ranger with the package manager for your distribution.

# Ubuntu
sudo apt install xclip python3-pip nodejs npm ripgrep fzf ranger libjpeg8-dev zlib1g-dev python-dev python3-dev libxtst-dev python3-pip

# Arch
sudo pacman -S xclip python python-pip nodejs npm ripgrep fzf ranger

# Fedora
sudo dnf groupinstall "X Software Development"
sudo dnf install -y xclip python3-devel pip nodejs npm ripgrep fzf ranger 
pip3 install wheel ueberzug

# Gentoo
sudo emerge -avn sys-apps/ripgrep app-shells/fzf app-misc/ranger dev-python/neovim-remote virtual/jpeg sys-libs/zlib
sudo emerge -avn dev-python/pip
# Optional.   Enable npm USE flag with flaggie
sudo flaggie net-libs/nodejs +npm
sudo emerge -avnN net-libs/nodejs

# Mac
brew install lua node yarn ripgrep fzf ranger
sudo curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py -o get-pip.py
python3 get-pip.py
rm get-pip.py

Install tree-sitter. To globally install packages without the need for sudo follow this guide

npm install -g tree-sitter-cli

Install ueberzug, neovim-remote, and pynvim with pip3

pip3 install ueberzug neovim neovim-remote pynvim --user

Clone LunarVim and Packer

git clone https://github.com/wbthomason/packer.nvim ~/.local/share/nvim/site/pack/packer/start/packer.nvim
git clone https://github.com/ChristianChiarulli/lunarvim.git ~/.config/nvim

Install plugins

nvim -u $HOME/.config/nvim/init.lua +PackerInstall

If you encounter problems with the installation check the following:

1. Make sure you have at least version 0.5 of neovim.
2. Make sure neovim was compiled with luajit.

# The output of version information should include a line for: LuaJIT 
nvim -v

3. If you ran the quick-install script using sudo, follow the steps to uninstall and try again without sudo.
4. Make sure the dependencies were installed.
5. Make sure your plugins are installed and updated. Run :PackerSync

The home screen is a plugin called Dashboard. It uses the Telescope plugin to find files or find words within files. The home screen provides a link to load saved Sessions. The home screen links to the settings file located at this path: ~/.config/nvim/lv-settings.lua

The default leader key is set to <Space>. Pressing it will also open up Whichkey. Whichkey will help you easily access many of the default keybindings. Whichkey defines keymappings in this file: ~/.config/nvim/lua/lv-which-key/init.lua

Other key bindings can be found in ~/.config/nvim/lua/keymappings.lua

If you already have a set of keybindings in vimscript that you prefer, source your vimscript file from ~/.config/nvim/init.lua

Example:

vim.cmd('source ~/.config/nvim/vimscript/keymappings.vim')

Or you can translate your old bindings to lua and keep them in the provided keymappings file. Follow the lua guide available here

The steps for configuring your own plugin are:

1. Add the plugin to plugins.lua
2. If the plugin requires configuration, create a configuration file for it
3. If you created a configuration, require the file in init.lua
4. Use Packer to download and install the plugin

Please note that every plugin will require different configuration steps. Follow the instructions provided by the README of plugin you're interested in. If those instructions are written in lua, copy and paste the code they provide.
If the instructions are written in vimscript, either translate the code to lua or wrap the vimscript in this lua function:

vim.cmd([[ 
YOUR_VIMSCRIPT_GOES_HERE
]])

'use' is a function provided by the Packer plugin. In the example below, we tell Packer to optionally load the plugin. This means the plugin will not start unless some other function manually loads it.

The 'require_plugin' function is part of LunarVim. It loads the plugin.

# ~/.config/nvim/lua/plugins.lua
use {"norcalli/nvim-colorizer.lua", opt = true}
require_plugin("nvim-colorizer.lua")

From the README we find out Colorizer is written and configured in lua. Colorizer provides a setup function which must be called for the plugin to work correctly. So we create a folder 'lv-colorizer' and a file 'init.lua'. And populate the file with the configuration mentioned in the README

# ~/.config/nvim/lua/lv-colorizer/init.lua
require'colorizer'.setup()

We created the lua/lv-colorizer/init.lua file. Creating this file means that we've created a module. Now we need to make sure this module gets loaded when we start neovim. 'require' is a lua function that loads a module.

# ~/.config/nvim/init.lua
require('lv-colorizer')

:PackerCompile
:PackerInstall

The example above loads the plugin when neovim starts. If you want to take advantage of Packer's built-in lazy loading, do not use the 'require_plugin' function. Instead, define the loading strategy in Packer's 'use' method. For a more in-depth explantion, read the Packer docs

If you want to find other plugins that take advantage of neovim’s latest features go here

Packer manages your installed plugins. Any time you make changes to your list of plugins in ~/.config/nvim/lua/plugins.lua you must first run the command :PackerCompile then :PackerInstall. ## Packer commands

-- You must run this or `PackerSync` whenever you make changes to your plugin configuration
:PackerCompile

-- Only install missing plugins
:PackerInstall

-- Update and install plugins
:PackerUpdate

-- Remove any disabled or unused plugins
:PackerClean

-- Performs `PackerClean` and then `PackerUpdate`
:PackerSync

-- View the status of your plugins
:PackerStatus

If you get an error message about missing plugins and the above commands do not work, remove the plugin directory and reinstall from scratch.

rm -rf ~/.local/share/nvim/site
:PackerCompile
:PackerInstall

• On Mac pbcopy should be built-in

• Ubuntu

  sudo apt install xclip

• Arch

  sudo pacman -S xclip

• WSL2

  Make sure ~/bin is in your path in this case.

  curl -sLo/tmp/win32yank.zip https://github.com/equalsraf/win32yank/releases/download/v0.0.4/win32yank-x64.zip
  unzip -p /tmp/win32yank.zip win32yank.exe > /tmp/win32yank.exe
  chmod +x /tmp/win32yank.exe
  mv /tmp/win32yank.exe ~/bin

Neovim comes bundled with a language client but not a language server. To install a supported language server:

  :LspInstall <your_language_server>

See LspInstall for more info.

In order for Java LSP to work, edit ~/.local/share/nvim/lspinstall/java/jdtls.sh and replace WORKSPACE="$1" with WORKSPACE="$HOME/workspace"

Most common languages should be supported out of the box, if yours is not I would welcome a PR

LunarVim lists the attached lsp server in the bottom status bar. If it says ‘No client connected’ use :LspInfo to troubleshoot.

1. Make sure there is a client attached to the buffer. 0 attached clients means lsp is not running
2. Active clients are clients in other files you have open
3. Clients that match the filetype will be listed. If installed with :LspInstall the language servers will be installed.
4. ‘cmd’ must be populated. This is the language server executable. If the ‘cmd’ isn’t set or if it’s not executable you won’t be able to run the language server.
   • In the example below ‘efm-langserver’ is the name of the binary that acts as the langserver. If we run ‘which efm-langserver’ and we get a location to the executable, it means the langauge server is installed and available globally.
   • If you know the command is installed AND you don’t want to install it globally you’ll need to manually set 'cmd' in the language server settings.
   • Configurations are stored in ~/.config/nvim/lua/lsp/ The settings will be stored in a file that matches the name of the language. e.g. python-ls.lua
   • ‘identified root’ must also be populated. Most language servers require you be inside a git repository for the root to be detected. If you don’t want to initialize the directory as a git repository, an empty .git/ folder will also work.
5. Some language servers get set up on a per project basis so you may have to reinstall the language server when you move to a different project.

[ ======== LSP NOT running ======== ]

0 client(s) attached to this buffer:

0 active client(s):

Clients that match the filetype python:

  Config: efm
    cmd:               /Users/my-user/.local/share/nvim/lspinstall/efm/efm-langserver
    cmd is executable: True
    identified root:   None
    custom handlers:

  Config: pyright
    cmd:               /Users/my-user/.local/share/nvim/lspinstall/python/node_modules/.bin/pyright-langserver --stdio
    cmd is executable: True
    identified root:   None
    custom handlers:   textDocument/publishDiagnostics

[ ======== LSP IS running ======== ]

2 client(s) attached to this buffer: pyright, efm

  Client: pyright (id 1)
  	root:      /home/my-user/workspace/canary
  	filetypes: python
  	cmd:       /home/my-user/.local/share/nvim/lspinstall/python/node_modules/.bin/pyright-langserver --stdio


  Client: efm (id 2)
  	root:      /home/my-user/workspace/canary
  	filetypes: lua, python, javascriptreact, javascript, typescript, typescriptreact, sh, html, css, json, yaml, markdown, vue
  	cmd:       /home/my-user/.local/share/nvim/lspinstall/efm/efm-langserver

If you still have problems after implementing the above measures, rule out plugin problems with the following. This reinstalls your plugins and language servers.

rm -rf ~/.local/share/nvim/site
:PackerCompile
:PackerInstall
:LspInstall python   <-- REPLACE WITH YOUR OWN LANGUAGE
:LspInstall efm      <-- REPLACE WITH YOUR OWN LANGUAGE

For a more in depth LSP support: link

LunarVim depends on the following:

ranger
ueberzug
ripgrep
pynvim
neovim-remote

In order for linters and formatters to work you will need to install efm-langserver

:LspInstall efm

Python

pip3 install --user flake8
pip3 install --user yapf

Lua

luarocks install --server=https://luarocks.org/dev luaformatter

Yaml, Json, Javascript, HTML, CSS

npm install -g prettier

Markdown

pandoc

To set up your particular debugger, look here: link

I recommend you support Free/Libre versions if you plan to use VSCode:

• VSCodium

• Article to get you set up with VSCodium: link

After installing the Neovim extension in VSCode

I recommend using this alongside the VSCode which-key extension

You will also need settings.json and keybindings.json which can be found in utils/vscode_config

Point the nvim path to your nvim binary

Point your init.vim path to:

$HOME/.config/nvim/vimscript/lv-vscode/init.vim

Color schemes are provided by this repository. Follow that link for information about editing specific colors for a color scheme. The provided color schemes are compatible with tree-sitter highlight groups. Color schemes are installed to ~/.local/share/nvim/site/pack/packer/opt/nvcode-color-schemes.vim. If you edit files in that directory, they will be overwritten the next time Packer compiles your plugins.

    nvcode (basically just dark+)
    onedark
    nord
    aurora (more colorful nord)
    gruvbox
    palenight
    snazzy (Based on hyper-snazzy by Sindre Sorhus)

To switch color schemes on the fly, type the following command:

:Telescope colorscheme

To change the color scheme permanently, modify ~/.config/nvim/lv-settings.lua

O.colorscheme = 'lunar'

Whether you plan on using LunarVim as is or as a base to configure your own neovim, the following commands may be useful. Any command that includes the symbol ‘:’ is meant to be typed as a command in neovim. Make sure you’re in normal mode not insert mode.

Changed your mind about LunarVim? To remove it entirely:

# Delete the configuration files
rm -R ~/.config/nvim

# Delete the plugins
rm -Rf ~/.local/share/nvim

# Delete the logs
rm -R ~/.cache/nvim

🕸️ Website: https://www.chrisatmachine.com

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisatmachine

💻 Github: https://github.com/ChristianChiarulli

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS97tchJDq17Qms3cux8wcA

📺 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@chrisatmachine:f

📺 Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/chrisatmachine

🗨️ Matrix: https://matrix.to/#/+atmachine:matrix

🗨️ Discord: https://discord.gg/Xb9B4Ny

HIGH PRIORITY

• Move user config into config.lua ts-comment string for react
• From here I will update for bug fixes and implement low priority features when I have time
• different key to advance through snippets

LOW PRIORITY

• vim vsnips dir should be co-located with config
• list all binaries needed for formatters and linters (one day add in wiki)
• Implement what I can from this java config: link
  • better ui for code actions - formatting
  • setup junit tests for java
• look into emmet-ls
• vim ult test
• which-key all in lua
• what is fzy
• https://github.com/pwntester/octo.nvim
• configure surround
• Implement this for typescript https://github.com/jose-elias-alvarez/nvim-lsp-ts-utils
• look into tabnine

PLUGIN BUGS

REACT COMMENTING IS A NIGHTMARE (the filetype is just not recognized idk why)