Starter Neovim Config

A single-file, beginner-friendly Neovim setup with 10 plugins, sensible defaults, thoroughly commented code, and a curated set of keybindings to get productive quickly.

What this gives you:

You get	Provided by
Dark colorscheme (tokyonight)	tokyonight.nvim
Keymap cheat sheet — press <Space> and wait	which-key.nvim
Fuzzy file finder, text search, terminal	snacks.nvim
Language server installer (GUI)	mason.nvim
Go-to-definition, hover docs, rename, diagnostics	nvim-lspconfig
Auto-completion + snippet expansion	blink.cmp + LuaSnip
Function signature help while typing	blink.cmp (signature)
Git change markers in the gutter	gitsigns.nvim
Auto-detect project indentation	guess-indent.nvim
Better syntax highlighting (C, Lua, Markdown, …)	built-in treesitter
Format buffer via LSP	built-in LSP (<leader>f)

Everything is in one file. Read it, understand it, then tweak it.

---

Prerequisites

• Neovim >= 0.12 — required for built-in vim.pack.add() and native treesitter
• Git — needed to clone plugins on first launch
• Nerd Font (optional) — makes icons in which-key and gitsigns look right. Download a Nerd Font if you see missing glyphs.

Check your versions:

nvim --version | head -1
git --version

---

Installation

Option A: One-command install

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Mvzundert/nvim-starter/main/install.sh | bash

This backs up your existing ~/.config/nvim/init.lua and copies the starter config into place.

Option B: Manual

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

If you already have an init.lua, back it up first:

cp ~/.config/nvim/init.lua ~/.config/nvim/init.lua.bak

Option C: Try without installing

nvim -u starter/init.lua somefile.py

Your real config stays untouched. Useful for testing before committing.

---

First launch

Open Neovim on any file:

nvim hello.py

What happens:

1. Plugins auto-install. You'll see git clone output for ~30 seconds. This happens once. On subsequent launches Neovim starts instantly.
2. tokyonight colorscheme applies. Dark background, syntax highlighting.
3. which-key is active. Tap <Space> and wait half a second — a menu of available keybindings appears.
4. LuaSnip compiles its regex engine. A one-time build step runs after install. You won't notice it — it's silent unless it fails.

If plugins fail to install, check that git is available and you have a working internet connection.

Your first two keybindings to learn:

• <Space>sh — search help (:help is your best friend in Neovim)
• <Space>sk — list every keybinding and what it does

---

Installing language servers

Language servers (LSPs) power go-to-definition, auto-completion, hover docs, and diagnostics. They must be installed separately — one per language.

Step-by-step

1. Open a file of the language you want support for (e.g. nvim main.py)
2. Press <Space>cm to open Mason
3. In the Mason window:
   • Press 2 to view language servers
   • Use / to search (e.g. /pyright for Python)
   • Press i on the server you want to install
4. Press q to close Mason
5. Reopen your file — the LSP attaches automatically (auto-complete, go-to-definition, diagnostics, and hover docs all work)

How it works: mason-lspconfig detects installed servers and auto-enables them via Neovim's built-in vim.lsp.enable(). You don't need to write per-server config blocks — automatic_enable = true wires everything up.

Completion: blink.cmp shows suggestions as you type. Press <C-Space> to force the menu open. <C-n> / <C-p> cycle, <C-y> accepts, <Tab> jumps between snippet placeholders.

To verify: run :checkhealth vim.lsp inside Neovim. It lists every running language server and which buffers they're attached to.

See Language Servers for a full list of recommended servers per language (Python, Rust, Go, JS/TS, Lua, and more). Confirm it's working → Verifying LSP works.

---

Keybindings

Core (always active)

Keys	Action
jk	Exit Insert mode (no reaching for Esc)
<Space>	Hold, then wait for which-key to show all keybindings

Window navigation

Keys	Action
Ctrl-h	Focus left window
Ctrl-l	Focus right window
Ctrl-j	Focus lower window
Ctrl-k	Focus upper window

Fuzzy finder (<Space> s...)

Keys	Action
<Space>sf	Search files by name
<Space>sg	Search files by content (grep)
<Space>sh	Search help (:help pages)
<Space>sk	List all keybindings
<Space>s.	Recent files (reopen something you closed)

Buffers (<Space> b...)

Keys	Action
<Space>bb	Browse open buffers

File / format

Keys	Action
<Space>w	Save current file
<Space>q	Close current buffer
<Space>f	Format buffer (via LSP)

Tools (<Space> c... / <Space> t...)

Keys	Action
<Space>cm	Open Mason (install LSP servers)
<Space>tt	Toggle terminal
<Esc><Esc>	Exit terminal mode (while inside terminal)

LSP (active when a language server is attached)

Keys	Action
gd	Go to definition
gr	Find references
K	Hover documentation
[d / ]d	Previous / next diagnostic
<Space>rn	Rename symbol
<Space>ca	Code actions (quick-fix menu)

Completion (blink.cmp)

Keys	Action
Type text	Auto-complete appears as you type
<C-Space>	Manually open completion menu
<C-n> / <C-p>	Next / previous suggestion
<C-y>	Accept suggestion
<Tab>	Jump to next snippet placeholder
<S-Tab>	Previous snippet placeholder

Vim built-ins (always available)

Keys	Action
:q	Quit
:q!	Force quit (discard changes)
:w	Save
:wq	Save and quit
u	Undo
Ctrl-r	Redo

---

Customizing your config — change colorscheme, indent size, add plugins, create keybindings.

---

Questions?

If something isn't working or you have ideas to improve this starter config — open a GitHub Discussion. I usually try to answer within a day or two.

---

Further reading

What	Where
Popular plugins (file tree, statusline, formatter)	docs/plugins.md
Switch colorscheme (catppuccin, rose-pine, etc.)	docs/themes.md
LSP server list per language	docs/lsp-servers.md
Customize the config (colors, indents, plugins)	docs/customizing.md
Something broke? Fixes for common issues	docs/troubleshooting.md
Next steps (vimtutor, learning resources)	docs/next-steps.md

---

Uninstalling

rm ~/.config/nvim/init.lua

If you had a backup, restore it:

cp ~/.config/nvim/init.lua.bak.XXXXXXXXXX ~/.config/nvim/init.lua

Plugins are cached in ~/.local/share/nvim/site/pack/. Remove them if you want a completely clean slate:

rm -rf ~/.local/share/nvim/site/pack/