Introduction
Vim and Neovim are powerful text editors that are essential tools for developers, system administrators, and power users. This guide will walk you through installing both editors on macOS.
Prerequisites
- macOS (Catalina or later recommended)
- Homebrew package manager
- Terminal access
Installing Vim
Method 1: Using Homebrew (Recommended)
# Update Homebrew
brew update
# Install Vim
brew install vim
Method 2: Using Built-in macOS Vim
macOS comes with a pre-installed version of Vim. Check the version:
vim --version
Verifying Vim Installation
# Open Vim
vim
# Exit Vim
:q
Installing Neovim
Step 1: Install via Homebrew
# Install Neovim
brew install neovim
Step 2: Verify Installation
# Check Neovim version
nvim --version
Basic Configuration
Vim Configuration
Create or edit Vim configuration file:
# Create .vimrc in your home directory
touch ~/.vimrc
# Open .vimrc with Vim
vim ~/.vimrc
Example minimal configuration:
" Enable syntax highlighting
syntax on
" Show line numbers
set number
" Enable mouse support
set mouse=a
" Indentation settings
set tabstop=4
set shiftwidth=4
set expandtab
Neovim Configuration
Create Neovim configuration:
# Create Neovim config directory
mkdir -p ~/.config/nvim
# Create init.lua configuration file
touch ~/.config/nvim/init.lua
Example minimal Lua configuration:
-- Enable line numbers
vim.wo.number = true
-- Set tab width
vim.o.tabstop = 4
vim.o.shiftwidth = 4
vim.o.expandtab = true
-- Enable syntax highlighting
vim.cmd('syntax enable')
Recommended Plugins
Vim Plugins (using vim-plug)
# Install vim-plug
curl -fLo ~/.vim/autoload/plug.vim --create-dirs \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junegunn/vim-plug/master/plug.vim
Neovim Plugins (using packer.nvim)
# Install packer.nvim
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wbthomason/packer.nvim\
~/.local/share/nvim/site/pack/packer/start/packer.nvim
Troubleshooting
- Ensure Homebrew is up to date
- Check terminal compatibility
- Verify PATH settings
Conclusion
You’ve now installed both Vim and Neovim on your macOS system. Explore their extensive features and customize them to boost your productivity.