Neovim Configuration

My awesome and now complete neovim configs so I don't have to go through this pain again.

How to Use This Neovim Setup

This guide provides an overview of how to use my Neovim configurations, tailored to the installed plugins and scripts.

Folder location

Place all this code in your nvim folder. You can create this dir in your .config folder that is located in your root dir (Atleast for MAC... atleast for what i know :| )

The Leader Key

The "leader" key is a central concept in this configuration. It's a key that, when pressed, opens up a whole new set of shortcuts.

• Your leader key is Space.
• Any shortcut that starts with <leader> means "press the Space bar, then press the next key(s)". For example, <leader>ff means Space -> f -> f.

Understanding Modes

Neovim is a modal editor. Here are the most common modes:

• Normal Mode: The default mode. Used for navigation, deleting, copying, pasting, and running commands. You can't type text directly here. Press Esc or jk to return to this mode.
• Insert Mode: Used for typing text. You can enter it from Normal mode by pressing i (insert before cursor), a (append after cursor), o (open new line below), or O (open new line above).
• Visual Mode: Used for selecting text. Enter it from Normal mode by pressing v (character-wise), V (line-wise), or Ctrl-v (block-wise).
• Command Mode: Used for running commands. Enter it from Normal mode by pressing :.

Plugin Management

This setup uses Packer to manage plugins.

• Plugin List: The list of plugins is in lua/a23kumar/plugin-setup.lua.
• Syncing Plugins: After changing the plugin list, you must run :PackerSync in Neovim to install, update, or remove plugins.

---

Keymaps & Shortcuts

This section details all the keybindings, from core Neovim commands to plugin-specific shortcuts.

Core Neovim Commands

These are some of the most fundamental commands for editing.

Key(s)	Mode	Description
h, j, k, l	Normal	Move left, down, up, right
w, b, e	Normal	Move by words (forward, backward, end)
0, ^, $	Normal	Move to start of line, first non-whitespace, end of line
gg, G	Normal	Go to the beginning, end of the file
yy, dd, p	Normal	Yank (copy) a line, delete a line, paste after cursor
y, d, c	Normal	Yank, delete, or change, followed by a motion (e.g., dw to delete a word)
u, Ctrl-r	Normal	Undo, Redo
:w, :q, :wq	Normal	Save file, quit, save and quit

General Custom Keymaps

These are custom, general-purpose shortcuts defined in lua/a23kumar/core/keymaps.lua.

Keymap	Mode	Description
jk	Insert	A quick way to exit Insert Mode (instead of Esc)
<leader>nh	Normal	Clears the search highlight
x	Normal	Deletes the character under the cursor without copying it
<leader>+	Normal	Increments the number under the cursor
<leader>-	Normal	Decrements the number under the cursor

Window & Tab Management

Keymap	Mode	Description
<leader>sv	Normal	Split window vertically
<leader>sh	Normal	Split window horizontally
<leader>se	Normal	Make all split windows equal in size
<leader>sx	Normal	Close the current split window
<leader>to	Normal	Open a new tab
<leader>tx	Normal	Close the current tab
<leader>tn	Normal	Go to the next tab
<leader>tp	Normal	Go to the previous tab
<leader>tf	Normal	Open the current file in a new tab

Plugin-Specific Keymaps

NvimTree (File Explorer)

Keymap	Mode	Description
<leader>e	Normal	Toggle the NvimTree file explorer
<leader>ef	Normal	Find and focus the current file in the explorer
<leader>ec	Normal	Collapse all folders in the explorer
<leader>er	Normal	Refresh the explorer

Within NvimTree:

• <CR> (Enter): Open file in current window/buffer
• <C-t>: Open file in new tab

Auto-opening Behavior:

• File explorer automatically opens when you start Neovim with nvim (no file arguments)
• File explorer automatically opens in new tabs (<leader>to)
• Explorer syncs with current working directory and shows current file location

Bufferline (VS Code-like Tabs)

Navigate and manage your open files with a beautiful tab bar at the top.

Keymap	Mode	Description
<S-h>	Normal	Go to previous buffer
<S-l>	Normal	Go to next buffer
<A-h>	Normal	Move current buffer left
<A-l>	Normal	Move current buffer right
<leader>bp	Normal	Pick buffer (interactive selection)
<leader>bc	Normal	Pick buffer to close
<leader>bh	Normal	Close all buffers to the left
<leader>bl	Normal	Close all buffers to the right
<leader>bP	Normal	Toggle pin buffer
<leader>bs	Normal	Sort buffers by extension
<leader>bS	Normal	Sort buffers by directory

Neoscroll (Smooth Scrolling)

Navigate through files with smooth, animated scrolling instead of instant jumps.

Keymap	Mode	Description
<C-u>	Normal	Scroll UP half a page (smooth animation)
<C-d>	Normal	Scroll DOWN half a page (smooth animation)
<C-b>	Normal	Scroll UP one full page (smooth animation)
<C-f>	Normal	Scroll DOWN one full page (smooth animation)
<C-y>	Normal	Scroll UP one line (precise navigation)
<C-e>	Normal	Scroll DOWN one line (precise navigation)
zt	Normal	Move current line to TOP of screen
zz	Normal	Move current line to CENTER of screen
zb	Normal	Move current line to BOTTOM of screen

Animation Details:

• Half-page scrolling (<C-u>/<C-d>): 250ms with sine easing
• Full-page scrolling (<C-b>/<C-f>): 450ms with circular easing
• Line-by-line scrolling (<C-y>/<C-e>): 100ms with constant speed
• Cursor positioning (zt/zz/zb): 250ms smooth transition

Avante AI Assistant (Cursor-like IDE)

AI-powered code assistance that provides intelligent suggestions and allows you to apply changes directly to your code.

🔐 API Key Setup:

Before using Avante, you need to set up an API key for your chosen provider:

For OpenAI (default):

export OPENAI_API_KEY="your-openai-api-key-here"
# Or use scoped key (recommended):
export AVANTE_OPENAI_API_KEY="your-openai-api-key-here"

For Claude:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-claude-api-key-here"
# Or use scoped key (recommended):
export AVANTE_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-claude-api-key-here"

For Gemini:

export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-gemini-api-key-here"
# Or use scoped key (recommended):
export AVANTE_GEMINI_API_KEY="your-gemini-api-key-here"

Add these to your shell profile (~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc, etc.) and restart your terminal or run source ~/.zshrc.

Main Commands:

Keymap	Mode	Description
<leader>aa	Normal/Visual	Ask AI for code suggestions
<leader>at	Normal	Toggle AI panel
<leader>ar	Normal	Refresh AI windows
<leader>af	Normal	Switch focus windows
<leader>ae	Normal/Visual	Edit selected block with AI
<leader>an	Normal	Chat with the codebase
<leader>aN	Normal	Create new chat
<leader>ah	Normal	Show chat histories
<leader>as	Normal	Switch AI provider
<leader>aS	Normal	Stop current AI request
<leader>am	Normal	Show available models
<leader>ac	Normal	Clear history
<leader>ab	Normal	Build Avante dependencies

Within AI Sidebar:

Keymap	Mode	Description
A	Normal	Apply all AI suggestions
a	Normal	Apply suggestion at cursor
r	Normal	Retry user request
e	Normal	Edit user request
<Tab>	Normal	Switch between windows
<S-Tab>	Normal	Reverse switch windows
d	Normal	Remove file from context
@	Normal	Add file to context
q / <Esc>	Normal	Close sidebar
<CR>	Normal	Submit query
<C-s>	Insert	Submit query

Diff/Conflict Resolution:

Keymap	Mode	Description
co	Normal	Choose our version (current code)
ct	Normal	Choose their version (AI suggestion)
ca	Normal	Choose all AI suggestions
cb	Normal	Choose both versions
cc	Normal	Choose version at cursor
]x	Normal	Move to next conflict
[x	Normal	Move to previous conflict

AI Suggestions:

Keymap	Mode	Description
<M-l>	Normal	Accept AI suggestion
<M-]>	Normal	Next suggestion
<M-[>	Normal	Previous suggestion
<C-]>	Normal	Dismiss suggestion

@Mentions (for context):

• @file - Include current file
• @codebase - Include entire codebase
• @diagnostics - Include diagnostic issues
• @quickfix - Include quickfix list
• @buffers - Include all open buffers

Buffer Management (Bbye)

Keymap	Mode	Description
<leader>bd	Normal	Delete current buffer (without closing window)
<leader>bD	Normal	Force delete current buffer
<leader>bo	Normal	Delete all buffers except current

Telescope (Fuzzy Finder)

Keymap	Mode	Description
<leader>ff	Normal	Find files in the current directory
<leader>fr	Normal	Find recent files
<leader>fs	Normal	Live grep for a string in the current directory
<leader>fc	Normal	Grep for the string under the cursor
<leader>fb	Normal	List and switch between open buffers
<leader>fh	Normal	Search help tags
<leader>fd	Normal	Show project-wide diagnostics (errors, warnings)
<leader>fg	Normal	Find files tracked by Git
<leader>fm	Normal	Show marks
<leader>fo	Normal	Show document symbols (functions, variables)
<leader>fw	Normal	Show workspace symbols
<leader>fk	Normal	Show available keymaps
<leader>fC	Normal	Show available commands
<leader>fp	Normal	Find and switch between projects

Gitsigns (Git Integration)

Keymap	Mode	Description
]c	Normal	Jump to the next git hunk (change)
[c	Normal	Jump to the previous git hunk
<leader>hs	Normal/Visual	Stage the selected hunk
<leader>hr	Normal/Visual	Reset (revert) the selected hunk
<leader>hS	Normal	Stage the entire buffer
<leader>hu	Normal	Undo the last staged hunk
<leader>hR	Normal	Reset the entire buffer
<leader>hp	Normal	Preview the hunk's changes
<leader>hb	Normal	Show blame information for the current line
<leader>tb	Normal	Toggle the inline blame display
<leader>hd	Normal	Diff the buffer against the git index
<leader>td	Normal	Toggle deleted lines display
ih	Operator/Visual	Text object for the current hunk

DAP (Debugger)

Keymap	Mode	Description
<leader>db	Normal	Toggle a breakpoint on the current line
<leader>dc	Normal	Continue the debugging session
<leader>di	Normal	Step into the current function call
<leader>do	Normal	Step over the current line
<leader>du	Normal	Step out of the current function
<leader>dr	Normal	Toggle the debug REPL
<leader>dl	Normal	Run the last debugging configuration
<leader>dt	Normal	Toggle the DAP UI

Toggleterm (Terminal Manager)

Keymap	Mode	Description
<c-\>	Normal	Toggle a floating terminal
<leader>Tf	Normal	Toggle a floating terminal
<leader>Th	Normal	Toggle a horizontal terminal at the bottom
<leader>Tv	Normal	Toggle a vertical terminal on the right
<leader>gg	Normal	Toggle a floating lazygit session
<leader>Tn	Normal	Toggle a floating node REPL
<leader>Tu	Normal	Toggle a floating ncdu (disk usage) session
<leader>Tt	Normal	Toggle a floating htop (process viewer) session
<leader>Tp	Normal	Toggle a floating python REPL

Spectre (Search & Replace)

Keymap	Mode	Description
<leader>S	Normal	Toggle the Spectre search and replace panel
<leader>sw	Normal/Visual	Search for the current word/selection
<leader>sp	Normal	Search within the current file

Flash (Enhanced Navigation)

Keymap	Mode	Description
s	Normal, Visual, Operator	Jump to any location on screen
S	Normal, Visual, Operator	Jump to any location using Treesitter nodes
r	Operator	Remote flash (for multi-window operations)
R	Operator, Visual	Treesitter search
<c-s>	Command	Toggle flash search

Miscellaneous Plugins

Keymap	Mode	Plugin	Description
<leader>ss	Normal	Auto Session	Save the current session
<leader>sr	Normal	Auto Session	Restore the last session
<leader>sd	Normal	Auto Session	Delete a session
<leader>nd	Normal	Notify	Dismiss all notifications

Plugin Overview

Here is a list of all the plugins used in this configuration and what they do.

• packer.nvim: A plugin manager for Neovim.
• plenary.nvim: A library of useful Lua functions that other plugins depend on.
• vim-nightfly-guicolors: The chosen color scheme.
• vim-tmux-navigator: For seamless navigation between tmux and Neovim splits.
• vim-maximizer: Maximizes and restores the current window.
• vim-surround: For easily adding, changing, and deleting "surroundings" like quotes, brackets, and tags.
• ReplaceWithRegister: Replaces text with the contents of a register.
• Comment.nvim: Smart and context-aware commenting (gc).
• nvim-tree.lua: A file explorer sidebar.
• lualine.nvim: A fast and customizable statusline.
• bufferline.nvim: Provides VS Code-like tabs at the top for buffer management.
• telescope.nvim: A highly extendable fuzzy finder for files, buffers, git, LSP, and more.
• nvim-lspconfig: Configurations for the Neovim Language Server Protocol (LSP) client.
• mason.nvim: Manages LSP servers, DAP servers, linters, and formatters.
• none-ls.nvim: Integrates formatters and linters that are not LSP-based.
• nvim-dap: A Debug Adapter Protocol client for step-through debugging.
• nvim-cmp: An advanced autocompletion plugin.
• LuaSnip: A powerful snippet engine.
• nvim-treesitter: Provides advanced syntax highlighting, indentation, and text objects.
• gitsigns.nvim: Adds git decorations to the sign column and provides hunk manipulation commands.
• nvim-autopairs: Automatically closes pairs of brackets, quotes, etc.
• indent-blankline.nvim: Adds indentation guides.
• toggleterm.nvim: A terminal manager for easily toggling terminals.
• nvim-bqf: Enhances the quickfix window with previews and filtering.
• nvim-spectre: A powerful project-wide search and replace tool.
• vim-bbye: A better way to close buffers without messing up your window layout.
• auto-session: Automatically saves and restores your work sessions.
• project.nvim: A project management plugin for easy switching between projects.
• nvim-notify: A prettier notification manager.
• dressing.nvim: Provides a better UI for vim.ui.input and vim.ui.select.
• flash.nvim: Enhances search and navigation by highlighting all matches on screen.
• neoscroll.nvim: Provides smooth scrolling animations instead of instant jumps for better navigation experience.
• avante.nvim: AI-powered code assistance plugin that emulates Cursor AI IDE behavior with intelligent suggestions and code modifications.
• dressing.nvim: Provides a better UI for vim.ui.input and vim.ui.select (used by Avante for enhanced input).