---
title: "vim → nvim"
url: https://perrotta.dev/2025/12/vim-nvim/
last_updated: 2026-01-03
---


I am piloting a transition from `vim` to `nvim`.

Here is the least disruptive way I found to accomplish that.

First, install `neovim`.

```shell
brew install neovim
```

Now, create `~/.config/nvim/init.lua`. I decided to populate it based on my
original
[`~/.vimrc`](https://github.com/thiagowfx/.dotfiles/blob/master/vim/.vim/vimrc),
without attempting to share configuration settings between the two.

Multiple iterations with a LLM agent helped it achieve a decent shape, removing
redundant settings and replacing some native VimL plugins with Lua ones.

The result:
[`init.lua`](https://github.com/thiagowfx/.dotfiles/blob/master/nvim/.config/nvim/init.lua).

Some notable changes:

- switch the package manager from vim-plug to lazy.nvim
- remove vim-sensible
- rewrite `just_one_space` in Lua
- use nvim native OSC52 for yanking text
- vim-signify -> gitsigns
- add autopairs
- add telescope (fuzzy finder), replace fzf
- add oil (file manager), incorporates some functionality of `vidir` from
  `moreutils`
- remove vim-commentary, given native support for `gc` in neovim
- lightline -> lualine
- highlight yanked text natively, replace vim-highlightedyank
- automkdir upon saving a file whose parent directory does not exist, replace
  vim-mkdir

Now make it frictionless to use `nvim` instead of `vim`:

```gitdiff
commit 058433b9503477c8c162cac5eba191c704cb9361
Author: Thiago Perrotta <{redacted}>
Date:   Tue Dec 23 12:13:54 2025 -0300

    nvim

diff --git profile/.profile.d/env.sh profile/.profile.d/env.sh
index 1c6507e..c6117a9 100644
--- profile/.profile.d/env.sh
+++ profile/.profile.d/env.sh
@@ -10,4 +10,6 @@ path_munge "$HOME/.bin" "$HOME/bin" "$HOME/.local/bin"
 export CLICOLOR=1

 # Set preferred text editor.
+# nvim should be preferred to vim if it is installed.
 hash vim >/dev/null 2>&1 && export EDITOR="vim" VISUAL="vim"
+hash nvim >/dev/null 2>&1 && export EDITOR="nvim" VISUAL="nvim" && alias vim=nvim
```

We can still access `vim` with `\vim` (or `unalias vim` if needed).

Now let's evaluate whether the `nvim` switch is worth it.