The init.vim file

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Lets understand this concept !

With the init.vim file, you can customize how Vim / Neovim looks. You can set generel values on how the editor behaves and install plugins ( e.g. colorschemes, syntax highlighting etc.)

The file

💡 It is located under ~/.config/nvim/init.vim ( ~ means the home directory). Change onto this directory w. cd ~/.config/nvim/init.vim .

💡 Sometimes, you also have to create the file at first. Write cd ~/.config/nvim and write touch nvim.init . This will create the file.

Structure of the file

The structure of the init.vim file

Start section

💡 Here, you set parameters of how Vim looks like or behaves.

→ For example , set number means that we want line numbers. The init.vim file saves this configuration and will display line numbers at the next reload.

→ If you just want line numbers for this one session, hit :set number when you are in normal mode. You will have line numbers but they are not part of the init.vim file so they will only appear for this session ( when you have closed vim and reopen vim, they are not there anymore )

Typical configuration

:set number
:set autoindent
:set tabs top=4
:set shiftwidth=4
:set smarttab 6
:set softtabstop=4
:set mouse=a

Plug section

💡 Here, you install your plugins. These are typical from Github , so the syntax for installing is Plug 'url'

💡 You have to start this section w. call plug#begin() and end it w. call plug#end()

Install

💡 If you want to install a plugin , we at first need a tool that lets us install plugins. We will use vimplug.

→ in order to install vimplug, you must also install curl if you have not ( it is heavily used to transfer data)

sudo apt install curl

→ then, you can install vimplug ( from the github repo, scroll down and find the command for vim or neovim)

GitHub — junegunn/vim-plug: Minimalist Vim Plugin Manager

→ for this, you will also need git ( sudo apt install git if you have not installed it yet)

Then , be in normal mode and hit :PlugInstall . This will install the plugin. Relaunch Neovim and you will see the airline.

Advanced section

💡 This section is for the configuration of the plugins you installed as well as general but advanced settings. I will make a dedicated blog post on this as it is ( like the name suggests) fairly advanced.

By the way, this is part of a huge collection of notes and flashcards called CodingNotes. Check it out here https://www.codingnotes.io/ .

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Hope you learned something !