How to install Neovim

Neovim is a modern, extensible text editor based on Vim. This guide shows how to install it on Windows and Linux.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

• Windows: PowerShell 5.1 or higher
• Linux: Terminal access with sudo permissions

Installation by Operating System

Windows (PowerShell)

Installing on Windows via PowerShell

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator

   Press Windows + XWindowsXWindows + XWindowsXWindows + XWindowsX and select “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” or “Terminal (Admin)”

2. Check that winget is installed

   Checking winget

   winget --version

   If it is not installed, get it from the Microsoft Store or update Windows.

3. Install Neovim using winget

   Installing Neovim

   winget install Neovim.Neovim

4. Verify the installation

   Checking the Neovim version

   nvim --version

5. Add Neovim to the PATH (if needed)

   winget usually does this automatically, but if the nvim command does not work, add the path to your environment variables:

   • Typical path: C:\Users\YourUser\AppData\Local\nvim-data\nvim-win64\bin

Linux

Installing on Linux

1. For Ubuntu/Debian

   Updating repositories

   sudo apt update

   Installing Neovim

   sudo apt install neovim

2. For Fedora/RHEL

   Installing Neovim on Fedora

   sudo dnf install neovim

3. For Arch Linux

   Installing Neovim on Arch

   sudo pacman -S neovim

4. Verify the installation

   Checking the Neovim version

   nvim --version

Initial Setup

After installing, it is recommended to create the configuration directory:

Windows

Creating the configuration directory on Windows

mkdir $env:LOCALAPPDATA\nvim

Linux

Creating the configuration directory on Linux

mkdir -p ~/.config/nvim

Basic Commands to Get Started

Here are the essential commands to start using Neovim:

Opening Neovim

Windows

Opening Neovim on Windows

nvim

Linux

Opening Neovim on Linux

nvim

Opening a specific file

Windows

Opening a file on Windows

nvim file.txt

Linux

Opening a file on Linux

nvim file.txt

Essential Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigation

• hhhhhh - Move left
• jjjjjj - Move down
• kkkkkk - Move up
• llllll - Move right
• 000000 - Go to the start of the line
• Dollar Sign$Dollar Sign$Dollar Sign$ - Go to the end of the line
• GGGGGG - Go to the end of the file
• gstarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thengg ggstarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thengg ggstarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thengg g - Go to the start of the file

Modes

• iiiiii - Enter insert mode (before the cursor)
• aaaaaa - Enter insert mode (after the cursor)
• EscapeEscEscapeEscEscapeEsc - Leave insert mode and return to normal mode
• Colon:Colon:Colon: - Enter command mode

Editing

• xxxxxx - Delete the character under the cursor
• dstarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thendd ddstarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thendd ddstarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thendd d - Delete the entire line
• ystarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thenyy yystarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thenyy yystarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thenyy y - Copy (yank) the entire line
• pppppp - Paste after the cursor
• uuuuuu - Undo the last action
• Control + rControlrControl + rControlrControl + rControlr - Redo an undone action

Saving and Quitting

• Colon:Colon:Colon: wwwwww EnterEnterEnterEnterEnterEnter - Save file
• Colon:Colon:Colon: qqqqqq EnterEnterEnterEnterEnterEnter - Quit without saving
• Colon:Colon:Colon: wstarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thenqw qwstarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thenqw qwstarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thenqw q EnterEnterEnterEnterEnterEnter - Save and quit
• Colon:Colon:Colon: qstarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thenExclamation Markq !qstarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thenExclamation Markq !qstarlightKbd.kbd.keywords.thenExclamation Markq ! EnterEnterEnterEnterEnterEnter - Force quit without saving

Search

• Slash/Slash/Slash/ texttexttexttexttexttext EnterEnterEnterEnterEnterEnter - Search for text
• nnnnnn - Next occurrence
• NNNNNN - Previous occurrence

Windows

• Control + wControlwControl + wControlwControl + wControlw vvvvvv - Split vertically
• Control + wControlwControl + wControlwControl + wControlw ssssss - Split horizontally
• Control + wControlwControl + wControlwControl + wControlw hhhhhh - Move to the left window
• Control + wControlwControl + wControlwControl + wControlw jjjjjj - Move to the window below
• Control + wControlwControl + wControlwControl + wControlw kkkkkk - Move to the window above
• Control + wControlwControl + wControlwControl + wControlw llllll - Move to the right window
• Control + wControlwControl + wControlwControl + wControlw qqqqqq - Close the current window

Next Steps

Tip

I recommend installing a plugin manager such as lazy.nvim to manage extensions and improve your Neovim experience.

To set up Neovim with plugins and themes, see the official documentation at neovim.io.