p5.nvim 🌃

Better editor support for p5.js in Neovim.

Caution

This plugin is in early development and may contain bugs or breaking changes.

Requirements 📋

• Neovim >= 0.11.0
• curl (for contributor library downloads)
• python3 (for development server)
• git

Note

Offline Capable: Core p5.js functionality works offline. Only contributor library downloads require internet access.

Installation 📦

lazy.nvim

{
  'prjctimg/p5.nvim',
  config = function()
    require('p5').setup()
  end
}

packer.nvim

use {
  'prjctimg/p5.nvim',
  config = function()
    require('p5').setup()
  end
}

vim-plug

Plug 'prjctimg/p5.nvim'
lua require('p5').setup()

Features ✨

• 🔄 Offline-First: Core p5.js libraries bundled for complete offline project creation
• 📦 Smart Caching: Contributor libraries cached locally after first download
• 🎯 Multi-Selection: Interactive UI for selecting multiple libraries simultaneously
• 📋 Version Selection: Choose between p5.js 1.9.x (legacy) and 2.x.x (latest)
• 📚 In-editor documentation: Manpages available via :help p5.[module/symbol]
• ⚡ Zero Network Dependency: Create projects anywhere, anytime without internet

Creates a p5.js project (Offline-First)

Important

Dynamic Asset Management: Core p5.js libraries are automatically fetched and cached, so project creation works offline after first use. Assets are updated by GitHub Actions when new releases are available.

your-sketch/
├── lib/
│ ├── p5.js # Core library (cached locally, works offline)
│ ├── p5.sound.js # Sound addon (cached locally, works offline)
│ └── types/ # TypeScript definitions (cached locally)
├── index.html # Auto-generated HTML
├── style.css # Sketch styles
└── sketch.js # Your p5.js code

:P5Create

Downloads and caches contributor libraries

Note

Smart Caching: Downloaded contributor libraries are cached locally for offline use. Network requests only needed for first-time downloads.

Important

Multi-Selection UI: Use the new interactive selection interface to choose multiple libraries with Enter/Space keys.

:P5Download

Features:

• ✅ Dynamic Core Libraries: p5.js and p5.sound.js fetched once, work offline thereafter
• ✅ Local Caching: Once downloaded, contributor libraries work offline
• ✅ Multi-Selection: Choose multiple libraries in an interactive UI
• ✅ Minimal Setup: Select "None" for bare minimum p5.js setup
• ✅ Smart Fallback: Automatically uses cached assets when available
• ✅ Auto-Updates: GitHub Actions keep assets current with new releases

Live reload for development

Important

Auto-detects live-server, Python HTTP server, or static fallback

:P5Server   # Start development server
:P5Stop     # Stop server

video sample goes here

Read p5.js reference as manpages

Important

snacks.nvim has a nice picker that makes browsing help/manpages easier.

video sample goes here

Configuration ⚙️

require('p5').setup({
  port = 8000,                    -- Server port
  default_version = "2.0.5",      -- Default p5.js version
  server_type = "auto",           -- auto, live-server, python, static
  libraries = {                   -- Default library selection
    sound = true,
    dom = false,
    ml5 = false,
    collide2d = false
  },
  auto_open = true                -- Auto-open browser on server start
})

🔄 Asset Updates

The bundled p5.js libraries and TypeScript definitions are automatically managed via GitHub Actions:

Automated Updates

• Release Monitoring: Checks every 2 hours for new p5.js releases
• Automatic Updates: Assets updated when new versions are detected
• Issue Creation: Creates GitHub issues for new releases requiring attention
• Testing: Validates all downloaded assets for correctness

Manual Updates

# Update to latest versions
./scripts/update-assets.sh

# Update to specific p5.js version
./scripts/update-assets.sh v1.9.0

# Update both p5.js and types to specific versions
./scripts/update-assets.sh v1.9.0 1.9.0

# Verify current assets
./scripts/verify-assets.sh

Asset Structure

assets/
├── core/                    # p5.js libraries
│   ├── p5.js              # Full development version
│   ├── p5.min.js          # Minified production version
│   ├── p5.sound.js        # Sound library
│   └── p5.sound.min.js    # Minified sound library
├── types/                  # TypeScript definitions
│   ├── p5.d.ts           # Main type definitions
│   ├── constants.d.ts    # P5 constants
│   └── literals.d.ts     # Type literals
├── .version               # Legacy version file
└── version.json           # Complete version info

GitHub Actions Workflows

• 🔄 Update Assets on Release: Main workflow for automated asset updates
• 🧪 Test Assets: Validates downloaded assets and runs tests
• 📡 Monitor Releases: Monitors p5.js repository for new releases
• 📚 Generate Docs: Updates Neovim help documentation

See .github/WORKFLOWS.md for detailed workflow documentation.

License ⚖️

(c) Dean Tarisai Released under the GPL-3.0 License.