Switching to neovim has been the most impactful decision I’ve made as a developer in the last couple of years.
Neovim optimizes the keyboard experience. As developers, we tend to edit more code than we create. Having a great set of tools to make that process easier makes all the difference.
Here’s 4 ways how neovim has changed my developer experience:
Improved File Navigation
- Using
j
,k
,h
,l
makes it really easy to move in any direction without leaving the keyboard - Jump to any line by typing
<line_number>G
and pressingENTER
- Supercharge your file search using regular expressions by pressing
/
Different interaction modes (Normal, Insert, Visual)
- Use normal mode to quickly navigate through a file
- Use insert mode to quickly jump into the editing process
- Use visual mode to quickly select text
- Keybindings to make switching easy
Improved Code Refactoring (Macros)
- Press
<q><char>
to start recording the macro - Perform several commands (e.g.):
- Capitalize the first letter of a sentence
- Add a period at the end of the sentence
- Press
<q>
to stop the recording - Go to the next line and press
<@><char>
to auto repeat the action
Easily extendable using lua or vimscript
- Neovim comes with a lot of built in commands, but allows an easy way to extend its functionality
- Add keybindings, global functions or use plugins to make your editor do anything you want
There's limitless potential.
Neovim = supercharged code editing