You must have already heard about the popular Vim text editor. However, this article is about its fork, Neovim.
Vim is also a fork of vi that makes a Neovim fork out of a fork. So, you can end up using anything for some of its unique attributes.
If you decide to use Neovim, let me help you get started with it on Ubuntu and other Linux distributions.
Neofem: an overview
neofem It is a project known for its simple maintenance and community contributions. Moreover, development efforts are well distributed among many developers.
For end users, Neovim is more extensible than one would expect. The goal of Neovim is to provide better implementations of it without compromising the traditional capabilities of Vim.
with Neovim GUI, You can get an enhanced editing experience.
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Neovim features
While you can explore everything about it on its official website and website GitHub page. Let me highlight some features:
- Modern graphical interfaces
- API access from many languages ​​including (C/C++, C#, Go, Haskell, Java/Kotlin, JavaScript/Node.js, Lua, Perl, Python, Ruby, Rust to name a few )
- Embedded, programmable terminal emulator
- Asynchronous work control
- Data shared between multiple instances
- Support for XDG core directories
- Compatible with most Vim extensions, including Ruby and Python extensions
đź’ˇ
We advise you to know the usage of Vim and Neovim before you start using it.
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11 Pro Vim tips for a better editing experience
You can learn a lot of Vim tips yourself, or you can learn from other people’s experiences.
Installing Neovim on Ubuntu and Linux
Installing Neovim is simple due to its popularity. Since Neovim is available in the official repositories of any distribution you choose.
We also have a guide for Install Vim on Linuxin case you wanted to.
To install Neovim on Ubuntu, simply click the Ubuntu Software icon in the dock. Then search for Neovim. You can select the snap or deb version as per your preference. However, the deb package version will be an older version of Neovim.
And if you don’t want the snap version, you can get the latest deb file from the Github releases page for neofem. If you look closely on the releases page there is an Appimage file as well.
If you want to use the terminal instead of the GUI, here’s what you can do:
to Ubuntu and Debian For existing distributions, enter the following command to install
sudo apt install neovim
to Manjaro and Arch LinuxUse the command below to update your system and install Neovim
sudo pacman -Syu neovim
to Fedorause the following command
sudo dnf install -y neovimto install a file flatbackyou can use this command
flatpak install flathub io.neovim.nvim
Finally, to install a file snap package Use the command below
sudo snap install nvim --classicIf you prefer to build software from source, follow along The steps are described on the project’s github page.
how to use
To use Neovim after the installation is complete, just launch it from the list of applications by pressing the super key and typing the name “neovim” without the quotes. This will open a terminal window with Neovim open.
Or you can just open any Terminal Emulator of your choice and enter the following command
nvimYes, not “neovim” but just “nvimFor example, to edit /etc/fstab Enter the following command.
sudo nvim /etc/fstabThe fstab file will now open as shown in the screenshot below.
Don’t worry if you can’t exit the editor; He presses Shift + Z + Z. For example, if this hotkey is confusing, use the keys you need to type “ZZ” (capital letters) without quotes in any text editor.
On that note, I must reiterate that you need to learn Vim or Neovim and go through the documentation to make efficient use of all of its features.
Conclusion
Installing and running Neovim is pretty simple but learning it will require some keyboard grinding for sure.
This was just an overview of the editor. I’m no expert on this, but I hope this serves all the beginners out there!
đź’¬ Do you use Neovim? Share your experience on it in the comments below.