NeoVim Installation and Plugins using lua

Neovim is a hyperextensible, highly customizable text editor that has gained immense popularity among developers for its modern features and enhanced performance over the classic Vim. Whether you’re a seasoned Vim user looking to make the switch or a newcomer eager to delve into efficient code editing, this post will walk you through everything you need to get started. This guide is part of my personal documentation, and all the plugins discussed are configured using Lua. You’ll learn how to install Neovim on various operating systems and tailor it to suit your workflow, making your coding experience more productive and enjoyable.

Installing Neovim

1. Update and upgrade your system:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
   sudo apt install curl wget make unzip tree gcc git -y
   

2. Download and install Neovim:

   cd /tmp
   curl -LO https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest/download/nvim.appimage
   chmod u+x nvim.appimage
   ./nvim.appimage
   

   If the above command fails, try:

   ./nvim.appimage --appimage-extract
   ./squashfs-root/AppRun --version
   

3. (Optional) Expose Neovim globally:

   sudo mv squashfs-root /
   sudo ln -s /squashfs-root/AppRun /usr/bin/nvim
   

   If you encounter errors due to an existing file:

   sudo rm /usr/bin/nvim
   sudo ln -s /squashfs-root/AppRun /usr/bin/nvim
   

4. Verify the installation:

   nvim
   

Setting Up Neovim

1. Create the Neovim configuration directory:

   mkdir -p ~/.config/nvim
   

2. Create the initial configuration file:

   touch ~/.config/nvim/init.lua
   

3. Create plugins directory:

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

   Setting keymaps

4. Create the Neovim keymaps file

   nvim ~/.config/nvim/lua/core/keymaps.lua
   

   keymaps.lua:

vim.g.mapleader = ' '
vim.g.maplocalleader = ' '

vim.opt.autoindent = true
vim.opt.smarttab = true
vim.opt.backspace = '2'
vim.opt.showcmd = true
vim.opt.laststatus = 2
vim.opt.autowrite = true
vim.opt.relativenumber = true
vim.opt.cursorline = true
vim.opt.autoread = true

-- use spaces for tabs and whatnot
vim.opt.tabstop = 2
vim.opt.shiftwidth = 2
vim.opt.softtabstop = 2
vim.opt.shiftround = true
vim.opt.expandtab = true

Installing Packer Package Manager

1. Install Packer using the bootstrapping method. Create the file

   nvim ~/.config/nvim/lua/core/plugins.lua
   

   plugins.lua

   local ensure_packer = function()
     local fn = vim.fn
     local install_path = fn.stdpath('data')..'/site/pack/packer/start/packer.nvim'
     if fn.empty(fn.glob(install_path)) > 0 then
       fn.system({'git', 'clone', '--depth', '1', 'https://github.com/wbthomason/packer.nvim', install_path})
       vim.cmd [[packadd packer.nvim]]
       return true
     end
     return false
   end
   
   local packer_bootstrap = ensure_packer()
   
   return require('packer').startup(function(use)
     use 'wbthomason/packer.nvim'
     -- Add your plugins here
        
     if packer_bootstrap then
       require('packer').sync()
     end
   end)
   

2. Update your init.lua

   nvim ~/.config/nvim/init.lua
   

   init.lua

   require("core.keymaps")
   require("core.plugins")
   

3. Restart Neovim and run :PackerSync to install Packer.

Installing and Configuring Plugins

1. Add the following plugins to plugins.lua

   nvim ~/.config/nvim/lua/core/plugins.lua
   

   plugins.lua

     -- Add your plugins here
     use 'ellisonleao/gruvbox.nvim'
     use 'nvim-tree/nvim-tree.lua'
     use 'nvim-tree/nvim-web-devicons'
     use 'nvim-lualine/lualine.nvim'
     use 'nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter'
     use {
         "nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim",
         tag = "0.1.4",
         requires = { "nvim-lua/plenary.nvim" }
        }
   

2. Create a directory for plugin configurations:

   mkdir -p ~/.config/nvim/lua/core/plugin_config
   

3. Create configuration files for each plugin:

   touch ~/.config/nvim/lua/core/plugin_config/{gruvbox,nvim-tree,lualine,telescope,treesitter}.lua
   

4. Configure each plugin:

   cd ~/.config/nvim/lua/core/plugin_config/
   

   • gruvbox.lua:

     vim.o.termguicolors = true
     vim.cmd [[ colorscheme gruvbox]]
     

   • lualine.lua:

     require('lualine').setup {
     options = {
      icons_enabled = true,
      theme = 'gruvbox',
     },
     sections = {
      lualine_a = {
      {
      'filename',
      path = 1,
      }
      }
     }
     }
     

   • nvim-tree.lua:

     vim.g.loaded_netrw = 1
     vim.g.loaded_netrwPlugin = 1
     require("nvim-tree").setup()
     vim.keymap.set('n', '<c-n>', ':NvimTreeFindFile<CR>')
     

   • telescope.lua:

     local builtin = require('telescope.builtin')
     vim.keymap.set('n', '<c-p>', builtin.find_files, {})
     vim.keymap.set('n', '<Space><Space>', builtin.oldfiles, {})
     vim.keymap.set('n', '<Space>fg', builtin.live_grep, {})
     vim.keymap.set('n', '<Space>fh', builtin.help_tags, {})
     

   • treesitter.lua:

     require'nvim-treesitter.configs'.setup {
     ensure_installed = { "c", "lua", "markdown", "python", "vim", "dockerfile", "bash"},
     sync_install = false,
     auto_install = true,
     highlight = {
      enable = true,
      },
     indent = {
      enable = true,
      },
     }
     

5. Create:

   nvim ~/.config/nvim/lua/core/plugin_config/init.lua
   

   init.lua

   require("core.plugin_config.gruvbox")
   require("core.plugin_config.lualine")
   require("core.plugin_config.nvim-tree")
   require("core.plugin_config.telescope")
   require("core.plugin_config.treesitter")
   

6. Update your main ~/.config/nvim/init.lua:

   require("core.keymaps")
   require("core.plugins")
   require("core.plugin_config")
   

7. Restart Neovim and run :PackerSync to install and configure all plugins.

Plugin Descriptions

• packer.nvim: A package manager for Neovim.
• gruvbox.nvim: A warm, retro-style color scheme.
• nvim-tree.lua: A file explorer tree for easy project navigation.
• nvim-web-devicons: Adds filetype icons to enhance visual identification.
• lualine.nvim: A fast and customizable statusline.
• nvim-treesitter: Provides better syntax highlighting and code understanding.
• telescope.nvim: A highly extendable fuzzy finder over lists.