NeoVim Setup

A modern, batteries-included Neovim setup for C, C++, C#, and Python development (plus general scripting). Built and tested on Kali Linux, but portable to any Linux or macOS machine.

Features

• Syntax highlighting (via Treesitter) for C, C++, C#, Python, Lua, Bash, Markdown, JSON, and YAML
• Language server support (LSP) for C/C++ (clangd), Python (pyright), C# (omnisharp), and Lua (lua_ls) — autocomplete, go-to-definition, hover docs, diagnostics, and renaming, all installed automatically via Mason
• Dark colorscheme (Tokyo Night), line numbers, and a status line
• Full mouse support — click to move the cursor, drag to select, scroll to scroll, double-click to open files in the tree
• System clipboard integration for copying/pasting between Neovim and the rest of your desktop
• File explorer and fuzzy file/text search
• Keyboard-first navigation — window/buffer switching, line moving, centered scrolling, and a "which-key" popup that shows available shortcuts as you type

Requirements

• Neovim 0.11 or newer — check with nvim --version
• git
• A C compiler (gcc/clang) — needed to build Treesitter parsers
• ripgrep — needed for live text search
• xclip (X11) or wl-clipboard (Wayland) — needed for clipboard sync
• A Nerd Font in your terminal — needed for file-type icons to render (otherwise you'll see boxes or ? instead of icons)

Install everything on Kali / Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y neovim git ripgrep xclip unzip nodejs npm curl build-essential 

If nvim --version reports something below 0.11, see Updating Neovim below.

Installation

git clone https://github.com/Rphasical/NeoVim_AutoConfig.git ~/.config/nvim
nvim

On first launch:

1. lazy.nvim (the plugin manager) bootstraps itself and installs every plugin. This needs internet access and takes a minute or two.
2. Once it finishes, close and reopen Neovim (:qa, then nvim again).
3. Mason then installs the language servers (clangd, pyright, omnisharp, lua_ls) in the background. Watch progress with :Mason.

Open a C, C++, Python, or C# file — highlighting, diagnostics, and completion should all be working within a minute or two of the first launch.

Using This on Multiple Machines

Clone the same repo to ~/.config/nvim on each machine and run nvim. lazy.nvim and Mason will install whatever's needed locally — plugin binaries and language servers aren't portable across machines/architectures, so each one does its own first-run install.

After your first successful setup, a lazy-lock.json file appears in ~/.config/nvim/. Commit that file to your repo — it pins exact plugin versions, so every machine that clones the repo gets the same versions instead of "whatever's newest today."

Keybindings

The leader key is Space. Tap Space and pause — a popup (which-key) shows you what's available from there.

General

Key	Action
<leader>w	Save file
<leader>q	Quit
<Esc>	Clear search highlighting
<leader>tt	Open a terminal in a split
<Esc><Esc> (in terminal)	Return to normal mode

Windows & Buffers

Key	Action
Ctrl + h/j/k/l	Move between window splits
Ctrl + ↑ ↓ ← →	Resize the current split
Shift + l / Shift + h	Next / previous buffer
<leader>bd	Close current buffer

Movement & Editing

Key	Action
Alt + j / Alt + k	Move current line (or selection) down/up
< / > (visual mode)	Indent/outdent, keeping the selection
Ctrl + d / Ctrl + u	Half-page scroll, cursor stays centered
gcc	Toggle comment on current line
gc (visual mode)	Toggle comment on selection
p (visual mode)	Paste over selection without losing your last yank

Files & Search

Key	Action
<leader>e	Toggle file explorer (g? inside it shows its full help)
<leader>ff	Find files
<leader>fg	Live grep across the project (needs ripgrep)
<leader>fb	Switch between open buffers
<leader>fh	Search help docs

LSP (active when a language server is attached)

Key	Action
gd	Go to definition
gD	Go to declaration
gr	List references
K	Show hover documentation
<leader>rn	Rename symbol
<leader>ca	Code action
[d / ]d	Previous / next diagnostic

Autocomplete (insert mode)

Key	Action
Ctrl + Space	Open suggestions manually
Tab / Shift + Tab	Next/previous suggestion, or jump through snippet placeholders
Enter	Accept the selected suggestion

Mouse & Clipboard

With mouse=a enabled, you can click to move the cursor, drag to make a selection, scroll to scroll, and double-click a file in the explorer to open it.

To copy text to your system clipboard (e.g. to paste into a browser or report):

1. Drag to select text (or use a Vim selection like viw for "select word")
2. Press y to yank — with clipboard=unnamedplus and xclip installed, this also copies to the system clipboard
3. Paste outside Neovim as normal (Ctrl+V, right-click paste, etc.)

Alternative: most terminal emulators let you hold Shift while dragging to bypass Neovim entirely and use the terminal's own selection — handy for a quick copy without touching Vim modes.

If you're connecting to this machine over RDP / Hyper-V Enhanced Session, clipboard redirection in that connection lets the system clipboard above bridge through to your host machine's clipboard too.

If You're New to Vim Motions

The keybindings above build on Vim's normal movement keys. The essentials:

Key	Action
h j k l	Left, down, up, right
w / b	Jump forward/back one word
0 / $	Start / end of line
gg / G	Top / bottom of file
i / a	Insert before / after cursor
o	Open a new line below and insert
dd / yy / p	Delete / copy / paste a line
u / Ctrl+r	Undo / redo
:w / :q	Save / quit

Because line numbers are relative (except on the current line), you can combine a count with a movement — e.g. 5j moves down 5 lines, 3dd deletes 3 lines. This is usually the fastest way to move around once it clicks.

Customizing

• Change the colorscheme: edit the tokyonight block near the top of init.lua. Other popular dark themes (catppuccin/nvim, ellisonleao/gruvbox.nvim, rebelot/kanagawa.nvim) follow the same lazy = false, priority = 1000 pattern.
• Add another language: add its name to ensure_installed in the Treesitter block (for highlighting) and, if it has a language server, to ensure_installed in the mason-lspconfig block (for LSP).
• Add code formatting (e.g. clang-format, black, csharpier): a popular next step is stevearc/conform.nvim, which wires formatters up to save or a keybinding.

A Note on Plugin Updates

The Neovim plugin ecosystem moves quickly. As of mid-2026, this config:

• Pins nvim-treesitter to its master branch, which keeps the long-standing ensure_installed / setup() API used here. The plugin's main branch is a full rewrite with a different setup process.
• Uses Neovim's built-in vim.lsp.config() / vim.lsp.enable() (Neovim 0.11+) instead of the older require('lspconfig')...setup{} pattern, which is being phased out.

If a future :Lazy update introduces breaking changes, :checkhealth, the :Lazy UI (which flags plugin errors), and the relevant plugin's GitHub README are the best places to start.

Troubleshooting

• Icons look like boxes or ? — install a Nerd Font and set it as your terminal's font.
• Clipboard not syncing with the system — install xclip (X11) or wl-clipboard (Wayland), then restart Neovim.
• Treesitter parser fails to build — make sure build-essential (or gcc/clang) and git are installed, then run :TSUpdate.
• A language server isn't working — run :Mason to confirm it installed, :LspInfo to check if it's attached, and :checkhealth vim.lsp for diagnostics.
• C# / OmniSharp — works best when you open a folder containing a .sln or .csproj file. OmniSharp itself is self-contained via Mason, but to actually build and run C# projects you'll also want the .NET SDK installed separately.

Updating Neovim

If your distro's Neovim is older than 0.11:

# Option 1: Neovim's "unstable" PPA (Ubuntu/Debian-based)
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:neovim-ppa/unstable
sudo apt update
sudo apt install neovim

# Option 2: download the AppImage directly from the releases page
# https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases