NeoVim

NeoVim is a refactor of Vim that replaces the monolithic architecture with an event-driven core, a MsgPack RPC API, and first-class Lua scripting. It ships with built-in LSP client, tree-sitter integration, and (as of 0.12) a built-in package manager.

Overview

• Repo: github.com/neovim/neovim
• Language: C core, Lua runtime, generated code via Lua scripts
• Config: ~/.config/nvim/init.lua (or init.vim)
• Install: brew install neovim / apt install neovim / build from source
• Current version: 0.12 (dev), 0.11 (stable)
• Source explored: _repos/neovim-neovim/

Contents

Concepts

• Architecture - Event loop, UI protocol, RPC, and the C/Lua bridge
• Lua API - The vim.* namespace, lazy loading, module structure
• Plugin System - Built-in package manager, runtimepath, vim.pack.add()

Quickstart

• Configuration - init.lua, options, keymaps, autocmds
• LSP Setup - vim.lsp.config, vim.lsp.enable, completion
• Tree-sitter - Highlighting, folds, queries

Deep Dives

• LSP Internals - Client lifecycle, RPC transport, handlers, capability negotiation
• Tree-sitter Internals - LanguageTree, query system, injection, incremental parsing

Notes

• Version History - What changed in 0.9 through 0.12
• Default Keymaps - Built-in defaults worth knowing

Resources

• Lua Guide - Official guide to Lua in NeoVim
• LSP Docs - Built-in LSP client reference
• API Reference - Remote API documentation
• Source Code - Cloned repo for exploration