Introduce

The KISS-based configuration that maximizes the use of Neovim's built-in functionality.

How my configuration might be useful to you?

Nix overlay/wrapper for configuring package content

Did he write another way to configure Neovim with nix?

No, I don't like all the things people are doing with Neovim using Nix. In my opinion it just makes your user experience more complicated and uncomfortable. Try to answer the following questions:

• What's the point of keeping your configuration in immutable store and losing the ability to make quick changes?
• We already have a first class supported language in Neovim to write our configuration with all that lsp stuff, syntax highlighting, etc. So why give it up?
• Any plugin, has instructions on how to install it easily by copying a snippet from the README. Is it really that much harder than enabling the option in Nix?
• Neovim already has a very cool plugin manager with lazy loading, lock file and bytecode compilation. As far as I know the latter is not available in any Nix solution. So, what benefits will you get from Nix?

But I also want to have an easily portable Neovim configuration. So that on any machine that has Nix installed, I can quickly get into my development environment. That's why I wrote this. My overlay allows you to define a Neovim package with a number of dependencies, which also contains a small script to bootstrap your Neovim configuration from git repo at startup.

Unlike the solutions I know:

• The NixOS module in nixpkgs
• The module in Home Manager
• nixvim
• neovim-flake

My overlay does not involve configuring Neovim with Nix. Instead, it enables you to wrap the standard neovim-unwrapped package using the standard wrapper provided in nixpkgs. This allows you to configure the following aspects:

• Add packages to $PATH, specifically for Neovim.
• Add Tree-sitter parsers via package rebuild or :h 'rtp' option.
• Add additional Lua code to pre-init.lua.
• Add additional arguments to makeWrapper.

Note. Here is a list of nvim-treesitter parsers that will be added anyway:

• c
• lua
• vim
• vimdoc
• query
• python
• bash
• markdown
• markdown_inline

The reason is that the bundled Neovim parsers may be out of date for nvim-treesitter and cause errors.

nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter#5873

:h treesitter-parsers to get list of the bundled parsers

What is pre-init.lua?

This is a Lua file that is executed with the command --cmd "luafile pre-init.lua", which means that it is executed before any vimrc is processed. It consists of:

• vim.g.is_nix_package = 1. This can be used to change the configuration based on whether Neovim is a package from this overlay.
• If rebuildWithTSParsers is false, which is the default behavior, it adds nvim-treesitter parsers to the 'runtimepath' option and sets the nix_ts_parsers global variable that stores the path to the parsers. This global variable can be used to redefine the 'runtimepath' option. So, for example, by default Lazy.nvim resets the 'runtimepath' option.
• If repo is not null, it also contains a snippet that checks and clones the repository from the specified URL. See the repo argument below.
• Any additional Lua code you specify with additionalPreInit.

Arguments for override

Arguments that are simply passed to neovimUtils.makeNeovimConfig. Source:

• extraName, string, default: "". The suffix to be added to the name attribute in the derivation.
• viAlias, bool, default: false. Similar to the programs.neovim.viAlias option in NixOS.
• vimAlias, bool, default: false. Similar to the programs.neovim.vimAlias option in NixOS.
• withPython3, bool, default: false. Similar to the programs.neovim.withPython3 option in NixOS.
• withNodeJs, bool, default: false. Similar to the programs.neovim.withNodeJs option in NixOS.
• withRuby, bool, default: false. Similar to the programs.neovim.withRuby option in NixOS.
• withPerl, bool, default: false. Similar to the above options enable the Perl provider. But this is still an experimental option, be careful.
• extraPython3Packages, default: _: [ ]. A function that you normally pass in python.withPackages, but which is passed to the python provider Neovim.
• extraLuaPackages, default: _: [ ]. Similar to the above.

Additional arguments, that implemented inside wrapper.nix:

• repo, string or null, default: null. On startup, Nvim will check if the specified repository is a user configuration, and load it if it is not. If some configuration already exists but is not the specified repository, it will be renamed with the prefix "_backup_{current date}". The git remote get-url origin command is used for verification.
• additionalPreInit, string, default: "". Any Lua code you want to add to pre-init.lua. Be careful, it will be executed every time you open Neovim.
• additionalWrapperArgs, list of string, default: [ ]. As mentioned above, using this option you can add arguments to makeWrapper.
• extraBinPath, list of package, default: [ ]. Packages to be added to $PATH.
• extraTSParsers, package list, default: [ ]. Tree parsers to be added to 'rtp' and to the nix_ts_parsers global variable or to $out/lib/nvim/parser/ if rebuildWithTSParsers is enabled.
• rebuildWithTSParsers, bool, default: false. Whether Tree-sitter parsers should be added via the 'runtimepath' option or by overriding the preConfigure phase in the neovim-unwrapped derivation. Rebuild is the more general and recommended approach, so if you are using the nightly version and already rebuild neovim-unwrapped, it is recommended to enable this option.

Usage example

If you use flakes

# flake.nix
{
  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:nixos/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
    # Add input
    nvim.url = "github:name-snrl/nvim";
  };

  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, ... }@inputs: {
    nixosConfigurations.<hostname> = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
      modules = [ ./configuration.nix ];
      # pass inputs to config
      specialArgs = { inherit inputs; };
    };
  };
}

# configuration.nix
{ pkgs, inputs, ... }: {
  nixpkgs.overlays = [
    # Add my overlay. It uses final.callPackage, so it doesn't matter the
    # sequence in which it is added, it will always use neovim-unwrapped from
    # the final package set.
    inputs.snrl-cfg.overlays.default
    # configure your own package
    (final: prev: {
      my-nvim = final.nvim.override {
        viAlias = true;
        vimAlias = true;
        repo = "https://github.com/<user-name>/<repo>";
        extraBinPath = with final; [
          curl
          fd
          ripgrep
        ];
        extraTSParsers = with final.vimPlugins.nvim-treesitter-parsers; [
          fish
          go
          rust
          css
          yaml
          dockerfile
        ];
      };
    })
  ];
  # add it to environment.systemPackages or wherever you want
  environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
    my-nvim
  ];
}

If you use channels

{ pkgs, ... }: {
  nixpkgs.overlays = [
    (final: prev: {
      my-nvim =
        let
          nvim-overlay = builtins.fetchTarball {
            url = "https://github.com/name-snrl/nvim/archive/from-scratch.tar.gz";
          };
        in
        final.callPackage "${nvim-overlay}/wrapper.nix" {
          # your overrides here
        };
    })
  ];
  # add it to environment.systemPackages or wherever you want
  environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
    my-nvim
  ];
}

FAQ

What wrapping is?

This is creating a small bash script around the package to create its own environment. As you may have noticed, nixpkgs has many packages with the suffix -unwrapped, which means that it is a standardly built package with standard output. But sometimes a wrapper is created for a package to work properly in NixOS or to customize it through a module, so wrapped packages are hidden under their normal names. What does a wrapper look like? Execute:

nvim "$(realpath "$(which nvim)")"

Is this causing Neovim to be rebuilt?

No, unless the rebuildWithTSParsers option is enabled. By default, this just builds a thin bash wrapper around the neovim-unwrapped package.

How do I change the package that will be wrapped?

By default, the overlay uses your system's neovim-unwrapped package from the final argument, which means that if you use neovim-nightly, which overrides the neovim-unwrapped package, you don't need to do anything. Or you can specify the package manually via override:

final: prev: {
  my-nvim = final.nvim.override { neovim-unwrapped = prev.neovim-i-want-wrap; }
}

Plugins I use

• git integration
  • vim-fugitive
• nvim-treesitter
• appearance
  • colorscheme nightfox.nvim
• misc
  • translate.nvim
  • nvim-highlight-colors

TODO

• git integration
  • tpope/vim-fugitive
    • selecting commits for fixup
    • commands
    • stage/unstage files
    • conflicts
    • blame
    • stash
  • lewis6991/gitsigns.nvim
    • stage/unstage in file
  • telescope
    • quickfix for :G mergetool
    • branch/commit switching. git_commit/git_bcommit
  • easy way to resolve merger conflicts. WIP vim-fugitive
  • a tool to manage working trees, maybe telescope is all we need, just ThePrimeagen/git-worktree.nvim!!!!!!!
  • easy way to clone a repo to /tmp followed by timeline-based exploration
    • clone with vim-fugitive, create a mapping: G clone {clipboard} /tmp/tmpdir | cd /tmp/tmpdir
    • explore with:
      • telescope: git_commit/git_bcommit, git_bcommits with -L, git_files
      • vim-fugitive: :G blame, maybe :Gclog/:Gllog
  • octo.nvim/tpope/vim-rhubarb
  • branch/commit switching, telescope. WIP telescope
  • making fixups, telescope. WIP telescope
  • stash management, telescope. WIP telescope and vim-fugitive
    • pop with telescope
    • stash with vim-fugitive, maybe additional mappings?
• file navigation
  • telescope
    • git file same for grep
    • all files except .git/ same for grep
    • help files
    • man files
  • harpoon
• text navigation
  • flash.nvim
    • jump anywhere in the window
    • enhanced f/F/t/T
    • select ts-object
  • vim-matchup/monkoose/matchparen.nvim/theHamsta/nvim-treesitter-pairs, but do we realy need this?
  • project-wide replace with one of:
    • nvimdev/lspsaga rename
    • nvim-pack/nvim-spectre
• text processing
  • kylechui/nvim-surround
  • numToStr/Comment.nvim
• autopairs
  • windwp/nvim-autopairs
  • nvimdev/dyninput.nvim
  • altermo/ultimate-autopair.nvim
  • echasnovski/mini.pairs
  • or something else from https://github.com/yutkat/my-neovim-pluginlist/blob/main/auto-insert.md#insert-pairs
  • autopairs for lua tables and nix attrsets/lists/multi-strings, which will append a comma (lua) or semicolon (nix) to the pairing
  • pairs for markdown `/**/_
  • a new line within a pair
  • default pairs
• tree-sitter
  • highlighting using vim.treesitter.start(), looks like we don't need nvim-treesitter anymore. we still need nvim-treesitter because it contains queries for highlighting and everything else.
  • indentation? yeah, it looks better than writing in vimL..
  • code navigation through telescope
• code context and breadcrumbs/outline can use gO mapping for oppening outline buffer, it makes same by default:
  • SmiteshP/nvim-navic and SmiteshP/nvim-navbuddy (only LSP). want the same but through treesitter
  • nvimdev/lspsaga outline
  • stevearc/aerial.nvim
  • hedyhli/outline.nvim
  • Bekaboo/dropbar.nvim
• LSP
  • nvimdev/lspsaga
  • folke/trouble.nvim
  • j-hui/fidget.nvim
  • nvim-cmp not sure we need this because Neovim now has an API vim.snippet.
• languages
  • lua
    • indentation
    • formatting
    • lsp, neodev.nvim, but we also use Neovim for writing mpv plugins
    • diagnostics
  • nix
    • indentation, Neovim does not provide good indentation rules for nix
      • https://vi.stackexchange.com/questions/42674/how-to-fix-indentation-for-nix-files
    • formatting
    • lsp
    • diagnostics
  • markdown
    • indentation
    • formatting
    • lsp
    • diagnostics
    • preview
  • bash
    • indentation
    • formatting
    • lsp
    • diagnostics
  • starlark
    • indentation
    • formatting
    • lsp
    • diagnostics
  • scala
    • indentation, Neovim does not provide good indentation rules for scala
    • formatting
    • lsp
    • diagnostics
  • starlark
    • indentation
    • formatting
    • lsp
      • hovers with bzl lsp
      • goto-definition with alexander-born/bazel.nvim
    • diagnostics
• appearance
  • EdenEast/nightfox.nvim
    • install
    • adjust lsp colors https://microsoft.github.io/language-server-protocol/specifications/lsp/3.17/specification/#textDocument_semanticTokens
  • lukas-reineke/indent-blankline.nvim
  • add an image of the look
• misc
  • folke/todo-comments.nvim?
  • uga-rosa/translate.nvim
  • brenoprata10/nvim-highlight-colors
  • tpope/vim-repeat
• DAP
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KQK2id3JtI
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0moS8UHupGc
• AI coding assistant
  • doc
  • snippets
  • tests