You're convinced: you want to try Vim. You understand the philosophy of modal editing, you know it can make you more productive, and you're ready to take the leap. But there's one small problem: how the hell do I install this thing?
If you're like me when I started, you've probably heard of Vim, Neovim, NeoVim nightly, Vim 9.0, LazyVim, LunarVim, NvChad... What is each thing? Where do I start? Is my computer going to explode?
Relax. We're going to install Neovim (the modern version of Vim) with LazyVim (a preconfigured setup that gives you a modern IDE from minute zero). And we're going to do it step by step, without assuming you have a PhD in Unix systems.
Neovim or Vim? The eternal question
Before installing anything, let's clear up the confusion: Vim is the classic editor, created by Bram Moolenaar in 1991. Neovim is a modern fork of Vim (since 2014) that:
- Has better support for modern plugins (written in Lua)
- Supports LSP (Language Server Protocol) natively, which means autocomplete, diagnostics, and refactoring like in VSCode
- Has a cleaner, more extensible architecture
- Updates faster with modern features
Does this mean Vim is dead? No. But for someone starting in 2026, Neovim is the recommended choice. You can do the same with Vim, but with more manual work.
So here we're going to install Neovim.
Installing Neovim according to your operating system
On Linux (Ubuntu/Debian and derivatives)
If you use Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, or any Debian-based distribution:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install neovim
Easy, right? The problem is that official repositories sometimes have old versions. To make sure you have a recent version (we need at least 0.9.0), check:
nvim --version
You should see something like:
NVIM v0.10.0
Build type: Release
LuaJIT 2.1.0-beta3
If your version is less than 0.9.0, I recommend installing from the official PPA or using the AppImage:
# Option 1: PPA (more up-to-date)
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:neovim-ppa/unstable
sudo apt update
sudo apt install neovim
# Option 2: AppImage (portable, always updated)
curl -LO https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest/download/nvim.appimage
chmod +x nvim.appimage
sudo mv nvim.appimage /usr/local/bin/nvim
On Arch Linux and derivatives
If you use Arch, Manjaro, EndeavourOS, etc., you're in luck. Neovim is always up-to-date in the official repos:
sudo pacman -S neovim
And done. Arch users don't need more explanation, you already know how this works.
On macOS
If you use Mac, the easiest way is with Homebrew (if you don't have it installed, go to brew.sh):
brew install neovim
Homebrew takes care of giving you the latest stable version. Check that it works:
nvim --version
On Windows
Here things get a bit complicated (because Windows, you know), but you have several options:
Option 1: Scoop (recommended)
Scoop is like Homebrew for Windows. If you don't have it:
# In PowerShell as administrator
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
irm get.scoop.sh | iex
# Install Neovim
scoop install neovim
Option 2: Chocolatey
If you prefer Chocolatey:
choco install neovim
Option 3: Manual download
Go to github.com/neovim/neovim/releases, download the .msi installer, and run it.
Once installed, open PowerShell or CMD and check:
nvim --version
The first launch (and initial panic)
Now that you have Neovim installed, open it:
nvim
You'll find yourself with... an empty screen with the Neovim logo and some instructions. This is normal. Neovim without configuration is minimalist to the extreme.
Try typing something. You can't. Press i (insert mode), type "Hello", press Esc, type :q! and press Enter to exit.
Feeling confused? Perfect. That means you're in the right place. Now we're going to give Neovim superpowers.
What is LazyVim and why do you need it?
Configuring Neovim from scratch is like building a PC piece by piece. You can do it, and you'll learn a lot, but it takes weeks to get something usable.
LazyVim is a preconfigured Neovim distribution that gives you:
- 🎨 A beautiful, modern theme (by default, TokyoNight)
- 🔍 Telescope (fuzzy file finder, like Ctrl+P in VSCode)
- 🌳 Neo-tree (sidebar file explorer)
- 💡 Configured LSP (autocomplete, diagnostics, go to definition)
- 🚀 Treesitter (advanced syntax highlighting)
- ⚡ Lazy.nvim (ultra-fast plugin manager)
- 🔧 Which-key (shows keyboard shortcuts as you use them)
All of this, working from minute zero, without you having to configure anything.
Think of it as the difference between buying a PC with components (pure Neovim) vs a Mac (LazyVim): the second works when you turn it on, the first requires assembly.
Installing LazyVim dependencies
LazyVim needs some tools installed on your system to work at 100%. Don't worry, they're quick to install.
On Linux
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install ripgrep fd-find
# Arch
sudo pacman -S ripgrep fd
# Optional but highly recommended: lazygit (for Git from Neovim)
# Ubuntu/Debian (add the PPA)
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:lazygit-team/release
sudo apt update
sudo apt install lazygit
# Arch
sudo pacman -S lazygit
On macOS
brew install ripgrep fd lazygit
On Windows (with Scoop)
scoop install ripgrep fd lazygit
What do these tools do?
-
ripgrep (
rg): Ultra-fast text search in files (likegrepbut faster) -
fd: File search (like
findbut more friendly) - lazygit: TUI interface for Git (optional, but incredibly useful)
Installing a Nerd Font (critical for icons)
LazyVim uses icons in the file explorer, status bar, etc. For them to display properly, you need a Nerd Font (a font with integrated icons).
On Linux
# Download Fira Code Nerd Font
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/fonts
cd ~/.local/share/fonts
curl -fLo "Fira Code Nerd Font Complete.ttf" \
https://github.com/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts/raw/master/patched-fonts/FiraCode/Regular/FiraCodeNerdFont-Regular.ttf
# Update font cache
fc-cache -fv
On macOS
brew tap homebrew/cask-fonts
brew install --cask font-fira-code-nerd-font
On Windows
Download the font from nerdfonts.com, extract, right-click on the .ttf, and "Install".
Important: Now you have to configure your terminal to use this font. Go to your terminal settings (Windows Terminal, Alacritty, Kitty, iTerm2, etc.) and change the font to "FiraCode Nerd Font" or "FiraCode NF".
If you don't do this, you'll see weird squares where icons should be.
Installing LazyVim (the moment of truth)
Now yes. We're going to install LazyVim. But first, important: if you already had a Neovim configuration, make a backup:
# Backup your current configuration (if it exists)
mv ~/.config/nvim ~/.config/nvim.backup
mv ~/.local/share/nvim ~/.local/share/nvim.backup
mv ~/.local/state/nvim ~/.local/state/nvim.backup
mv ~/.cache/nvim ~/.cache/nvim.backup
On Windows, the path is ~/AppData/Local/nvim instead of ~/.config/nvim.
Now, clone the LazyVim starter configuration:
# Linux/macOS
git clone https://github.com/LazyVim/starter ~/.config/nvim
# Windows (PowerShell)
git clone https://github.com/LazyVim/starter $env:LOCALAPPDATA\nvim
This creates the LazyVim configuration structure in your Neovim config folder.
Now, remove the .git directory so you can customize your configuration without conflicts:
# Linux/macOS
rm -rf ~/.config/nvim/.git
# Windows
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force $env:LOCALAPPDATA\nvim\.git
The first LazyVim launch
Take a deep breath. Open Neovim:
nvim
You'll see... lots of things happening. LazyVim is:
- Installing the plugin manager (lazy.nvim)
- Downloading all configured plugins
- Compiling Treesitter parsers
- Installing LSP servers
This can take 1-3 minutes depending on your connection. You'll see a window with progress bars. Don't close Neovim. Let it finish.
When it's done, you'll see the LazyVim dashboard, something like:
╭──────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ │
│ ⚡ LazyVim ⚡ │
│ │
│ Find File │
│ Recent Files │
│ Find Text │
│ Config │
│ Restore Session │
│ Lazy │
│ │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────╯
If you see this, congratulations! LazyVim is working.
What do I do now?
Press ? to see keyboard shortcuts. Press <Space> (spacebar) and wait a second: you'll see the Which-key menu with all available commands.
For now, don't stress about learning all the shortcuts. In the next tutorial we're going to see the basic survival commands to open files, edit them, save them, and exit without panic.
But first, let's do a quick check that everything works.
Check: does LSP work?
Let's create a test file to make sure autocomplete works.
From Neovim, press : (colon) and type:
:e test.js
This creates (or opens) a file called test.js. Now press i (insert mode) and type:
const greeting = "Hello"
console.log(gree
When you type gree, an autocomplete menu should appear suggesting greeting. If you see that, LSP works. If not, don't worry, you may need to install the language server for JavaScript. LazyVim will ask you automatically the first time you open a .js file.
Press Esc, then type :q! and Enter to exit without saving.
Summary: what we've achieved
If you've made it this far, you now have:
- ✅ Neovim installed and working (version 0.9.0+)
- ✅ LazyVim configured with modern plugins
- ✅ Nerd Font installed for icons
- ✅ CLI tools (ripgrep, fd, lazygit) for full functionality
- ✅ LSP working (autocomplete, diagnostics)
What you DON'T have yet is any idea how to use this. And that's normal. In the next tutorial we're going to learn the survival commands: how to open files, move through text, edit, save, and (most importantly) how to exit Vim without Googling it.
Final tips before continuing
Don't try to learn everything at once. Vim literally has hundreds of commands. Start with the basics, use them until they become automatic, and then add more.
Don't get frustrated if you're slow at first. It's like learning to play piano: the first few days you're clumsy, but in a few weeks you'll be flying through code.
Don't give up in the first few hours. Vim's learning curve is steep at the beginning, but the reward is worth it.
Now, breathe, close this tutorial, open Neovim, and get ready for the next step.
Never stop coding!
