VSCode Neovim
VSCode Neovim Integration
Neovim is a fork of Vim to allow greater extensibility and integration. This extension uses a
fully embedded Neovim instance, no more half-complete Vim emulation! VSCode's native functionality is used for insert
mode and editor commands, making the best use of both editors.
- 🎉 Almost fully feature-complete Vim integration by utilizing Neovim as a backend.
- 🔧 Supports custom
init.vim
and many Vim plugins.
- 🥇 First-class and lag-free insert mode, letting VSCode do what it does best.
- 🤝 Complete integration with VSCode features (lsp/autocompletion/snippets/multi-cursor/etc).
Table of Contents
🧰 Getting Started
Installation
Install the vscode-neovim extension.
Install Neovim 0.10.0 or greater.
Note: Though the extension strives to be as compatible as possible with older versions of Neovim, some older
versions may have quirks that are not present anymore. In light of this, certain configuration settings are
recommended in some older versions for the best experience. These can be found
on the wiki.
[Optional] Set the Neovim path in the extension settings under
"vscode-neovim.neovimExecutablePaths.win32/linux/darwin
", respective to your system. For example,
"C:\Neovim\bin\nvim.exe
" or "/usr/local/bin/nvim
".
WSL Users: If you want to use Neovim from WSL, set the useWSL
configuration toggle and specify the Linux path to
the nvim binary. wsl.exe
Windows binary and wslpath
Linux binary are required for this. wslpath
must be
available through $PATH
Linux env setting. Use wsl --list
to check for the correct default Linux distribution.
Snap Users: If you want to use Neovim from Snap, the Neovim path must be resolved to the snap binary location. On
some systems it might be "/snap/nvim/current/usr/bin/nvim
". To check if you're running as a snap package, see if
which nvim
resolves to /usr/bin/snap
.
Neovim configuration
Since many Vim plugins can cause issues in VSCode, it is recommended to start from an empty init.vim
. For a guide for
which types of plugins are supported, see troubleshooting.
Before creating an issue on Github, make sure you can reproduce the problem with an empty init.vim
and no VSCode
extensions.
To determine if Neovim is running in VSCode, add to your init.vim
:
if exists('g:vscode')
" VSCode extension
else
" ordinary Neovim
endif
In lua:
if vim.g.vscode then
-- VSCode extension
else
-- ordinary Neovim
end
To conditionally activate plugins, the best solution is to use the
LazyVim VSCode extra. However, packer.nvim
and lazy.nvim
have built-in
support for cond = vim.g.vscode
and vim-plug
has a
few solutions. See
plugins in the wiki for tips on configuring Vim plugins.
VSCode Settings & Commands
You can view all available settings and commands by opening
the vscode-neovim extension details pane, and navigating to the features
tab.
💡 Tips and Features
VSCode specific differences
- File and editor management commands such as
:e
/:q
/:vsplit
/:tabnext
/etc are mapped to corresponding VSCode
commands and behavior may be different (see below).
- Do not use vim commands like
:e
in scripts/keybindings, they won't work. If you're using them in some
custom commands/mappings, you might need to rebind them to call VSCode commands from Neovim with
require('vscode').call()
(see API).
- Since version 1.18.0,
:w
, :wa
and :sav
commands are supported and no longer alias to VSCode commands. You
can use them as you would in Neovim.
- When you type some commands they may be substituted for another, check
AlterCommand for the
list of substitutions.
- Scrolling is done by VSCode. C-d/C-u/etc are slightly different.
- Editor customization (relative line number, scrolloff, etc) is handled by VSCode.
- Dot-repeat (.) is slightly different - moving the cursor within a change range won't break the repeat.
sequence. In Neovim, if you type
abc<cursor>
in insert mode, then move the cursor to a<cursor>bc
and type 1
here the repeat sequence would be 1
. However, in VSCode, it would be a1bc
. Another difference is that when you
delete some text in insert mode, dot repeat only works from right to left, meaning it will treat Del key
as BS keys when running dot repeat.
Troubleshooting
- View the logs via
Output: Focus on Output View
and select vscode-neovim
.
- Enable
vscode-neovim.neovimClean
in VSCode settings, which starts Nvim without your plugins (nvim --clean
).
Nvim plugins can do anything. Visual effects in particular can cause visual artifacts. vscode-neovim does its best
to merge the visual effects of Nvim and VSCode, but it's far from perfect. You may need to disable some Nvim plugins
that cause visual effects.
- If you encounter rendering issues (visual artifacts), try CTRL-L to force Nvim to redraw.
- If you get the
Unable to init vscode-neovim: command 'type' already exists
message, uninstall other VSCode
extensions that use registerTextEditorCommand("type", …)
(like
VSCodeVim or
Overtype).
- On a Mac, the h, j, k and l movement keys may not repeat when held, to
fix this open Terminal and execute the following command:
defaults write com.microsoft.VSCode ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false
.
- To fix the remapped escape key not working in Linux, set
"keyboard.dispatch": "keyCode"
.
If you have any performance problems (cursor jitter usually) make sure you're not using vim plugins that increase
latency and cause performance problems.
Make sure to disable unneeded plugins, as many of them don't make sense with VSCode. Specifically, you don't need any
code highlighting, completion, LSP plugins, or plugins that spawn windows/buffers (nerdtree , fuzzy-finders, etc). Most
navigation/textobject/editing plugins should be fine.
For example, make sure you're not using anything that renders decorators very often:
- Line number extensions (VSCode has built-in support for normal/relative line numbers)
- Indent guide extensions (VSCode has built-in indent guides)
- Brackets highlighter extensions (VSCode has built-in feature)
If you're not sure, disable all other extensions, reload VSCode window, and see if the problem persists before
reporting it.
Composite escape keys
Set with compositeKeys
and tweak with compositeTimeout
.
Examples: add to your settings.json
:
jj to escape
{
"vscode-neovim.compositeKeys": {
"jj": {
"command": "vscode-neovim.escape",
},
},
}
jk to escape and save
{
"vscode-neovim.compositeKeys": {
"jk": {
// Use lua to execute any logic
"command": "vscode-neovim.lua",
"args": [
[
"local code = require('vscode')",
"code.action('vscode-neovim.escape')",
"code.action('workbench.action.files.save')",
],
],
},
},
}
Jumplist
VSCode's jumplist is used instead of Neovim's. This is to make VSCode native navigation (mouse click, jump to
definition, etc) navigable through the jumplist.
Make sure to bind to workbench.action.navigateBack
/ workbench.action.navigateForward
if you're using custom
mappings. Marks (both upper & lowercased) should work fine.
Multiple cursors
Multiple cursors work in:
- Insert mode
- Visual line mode
- Visual block mode
To spawn multiple cursors from visual line/block modes type ma/mA or mi/mI
(by default). The effect differs:
- For visual line mode, mi will start insert mode on each selected line on the first non whitespace
character and ma will on the end of line.
- For visual block mode, mi will start insert on each selected line before the cursor block and
ma after.
- mA/mI versions accounts for empty lines (only for visual line mode, for visual block mode
they're same as ma/mi).
See gif in action:
Note: The built-in multi-cursor support may not meet your needs. Please refer to the plugin
vscode-multi-cursor.nvim for more multi-cursor features
Remote development
We intend to use vscode-neovim as a UI extension, so when you're using remote development, vscode-neovim is enabled in
the Local Extension Host, and it should work out of the box.
If you prefer to use the remote environment's copy of Neovim, rather than the locally installed one, vscode-neovim
should be installed in the Remote Extension Host. You can set the following in your VSCode settings.json
:
{
"remote.extensionKind": {
"asvetliakov.vscode-neovim": ["workspace"]
}
}
Note: You will need to install neovim in the remote environment.
For more information:
⚡️ API
Load the module:
local vscode = require('vscode')
[!TIP]
The previously used module named "vscode-neovim" is now deprecated, so don't be confused if "vscode-neovim" is used in old discussions or other resources.
vscode.action()
: asynchronously executes a vscode command.
vscode.call()
: synchronously executes a vscode command.
vscode.on()
: defines a handler for some Nvim UI events.
vscode.has_config()
: checks if a vscode setting exists.
vscode.get_config()
: gets a vscode setting value.
vscode.update_config()
: sets a vscode setting.
vscode.notify()
: shows a vscode message (see also Nvim's vim.notify
).
vscode.to_op()
: A helper for map-operator
. See code_actions.lua for the
usage
g:vscode_clipboard
: Clipboard provider using VSCode's clipboard API. Used by default when in WSL. See
:h g:clipboard
for more details. Usage: vim.g.clipboard = vim.g.vscode_clipboard
vscode.eval()
: evaluate javascript synchronously in vscode and return the result
vscode.eval_async()
: evaluate javascript asynchronously in vscode
vscode.with_insert()
: perform operations in insert mode.
vscode.action(name, opts)
Asynchronously executes a vscode command.
Parameters:
name
(string): The name of the action, generally a vscode command.
opts
(table): Map of optional parameters:
args
(table): List of arguments passed to the vscode command. If the command only requires a single object
parameter, you can directly pass in a map-like table.
- Examples:
action('foo', { args = { 'foo', 'bar', … } })
action('foo', { args = { foo = bar, … } })
range
(table): Specific range for the action. Implicitly passed in visual mode. Has three possible forms (all
values are 0-indexed):
[start_line, end_line]
[start_line, start_character, end_line, end_character]
{start = { line = start_line, character = start_character}, end = { line = end_line, character = end_character}}
restore_selection
(boolean): Whether to preserve the current selection. Only valid when range
is specified.
Defaults to true
.
callback
: Function to handle the action result. Must have this signature:
function(err: string|nil, ret: any)
:
err
is the error message, if any
ret
is the result
- If no callback is provided, error will be shown as a VSCode notification.
Example: open definition aside (default binding):
nnoremap <C-w>gd <Cmd>lua require('vscode').action('editor.action.revealDefinitionAside')<CR>
Example: find in files for word under cursor (see the
vscode command definition
for the expected parameter format):
nnoremap ? <Cmd>lua require('vscode').action('workbench.action.findInFiles', { args = { query = vim.fn.expand('<cword>') } })<CR>
Example: use in lua script:
-- Format current document
vscode.action("editor.action.formatDocument")
do -- Comment the three lines below the cursor
local curr_line = vim.fn.line(".") - 1 -- 0-indexed
vscode.action("editor.action.commentLine", {
range = { curr_line + 1, curr_line + 3 },
})
end
do -- Comment the previous line
local curr_line = vim.fn.line(".") - 1 -- 0-indexed
local prev_line = curr_line - 1
if prev_line >= 0 then
vscode.action("editor.action.commentLine", {
range = { prev_line , prev_line },
})
end
end
do -- Find in files for word under cursor
vscode.action("workbench.action.findInFiles", {
args = { query = vim.fn.expand('<cword>') }
})
end
Currently, two built-in actions are provided for testing purposes:
_ping
returns "pong"
_wait
waits for the specified milliseconds and then returns "ok"
do -- Execute _ping asynchronously and print the result
vscode.action("_ping", {
callback = function(err, res)
if err == nil then
print(res) -- outputs: pong
end
end,
})
end
vscode.call(name, opts, timeout)
Synchronously executes a vscode command.
Parameters:
name
(string): The name of the action, generally a vscode command.
opts
(table): Same as vscode.action().
timeout
(number): Timeout in milliseconds. The default value is -1, which means there is no timeout.
Returns: the result of the action
Example: format selection (default binding):
xnoremap = <Cmd>lua require('vscode').call('editor.action.formatSelection')<CR>
nnoremap = <Cmd>lua require('vscode').call('editor.action.formatSelection')<CR><Esc>
nnoremap == <Cmd>lua require('vscode').call('editor.action.formatSelection')<CR>
Example: use in lua script:
-- Execute _ping synchronously and print the result
print(vscode.call("_ping")) -- outputs: pong
-- Wait for 1 second and print the return value 'ok'
print(vscode.call("_wait", { args = { 1000 } })) -- outputs: ok
-- Wait for 2 seconds with a timeout of 1 second
print(vscode.call("_wait", { args = { 2000 } }), 1000)
-- error: Call '_wait' timed out
vscode.on(event, callback)
Currently no available events for user use.
vscode.has_config(name)
Check if configuration has a certain value.
Parameters:
name
(string|string[]): The configuration name or an array of configuration names.
Returns:
boolean|boolean[]
: Returns true
if the configuration has a certain value, false
otherwise. If name
is an
array, returns an array of booleans indicating whether each configuration has a certain value or not.
Examples:
-- Check if the configuration "not.exist" exists
print(vscode.has_config("not.exist"))
-- Should return: false
-- Check multiple configurations
vim.print(vscode.has_config({ "not.exist", "existing.config" }))
-- Should return: { false, true }
vscode.get_config(name)
Get configuration value.
Parameters:
name
(string|string[]): The configuration name or an array of configuration names.
Returns:
unknown|unknown[]
: The value of the configuration. If name
is an array, returns an array of values corresponding
to each configuration.
Examples:
-- Get the value of "editor.tabSize"
print(vscode.get_config("editor.tabSize")) -- a number
-- Get multiple configurations
vim.print(vscode.get_config({ "editor.fontFamily", "editor.tabSize" }))
-- Should return: { "the font family", "the editor tabSizse" }
vscode.update_config(name, value, target)
Update configuration value.
Parameters:
name
(string|string[]): The configuration name or an array of configuration names.
value
(unknown|unknown[]): The new value for the configuration.
target
("global"|"workspace"): The configuration target. Optional
Examples:
-- Update the value of "editor.tabSize"
vscode.update_config("editor.tabSize", 16, "global")
-- Update multiple configurations
vscode.update_config({ "editor.fontFamily", "editor.tabSize" }, { "Fira Code", 14 })
vscode.notify(msg)
Show a vscode notification
You can set vscode.notify
as your default notify function.
vim.notify = vscode.notify
vscode.eval(code[, opts, timeout])
Evaluate javascript inside vscode and return the result. The code is executed in an async function context (so await
can be used). Use a return
statement to return a value back to lua. Arguments passed from lua are available as the
args
variable. The evaluated code has access to the
VSCode API through the vscode
global.
Tips:
- Make sure to
await
on asynchronous functions when accessing the API.
- Use the global
logger
(e.g. logger.info(...)
) to log messages to the output of vscode-neovim.
- JSON serializable values (primitives and simple objects) can be returned and will be automatically serialized then
deserialized to an equivalent lua value. If the return value is not JSON serializable then an error will be raised.
globalThis['some_name'] = ...
can be used to persist values between calls.
Parameters:
code
(string): The javascript to execute.
opts
(table): Map of optional parameters:
args
(any): a value to make available as the args
variable in javascript. Can be a single value such as a
string or a table of multiple values.
timeout
(number): The number of milliseconds to wait for the evalution to complete before cancelling. By default
there is no timeout.
Returns:
- The result of executing the provided code.
Examples:
local current_file = vscode.eval("return vscode.window.activeTextEditor.document.fileName")
local current_tab_is_pinned = vscode.eval("return vscode.window.tabGroups.activeTabGroup.activeTab.isPinned")
vscode.eval("await vscode.env.clipboard.writeText(args.text)", { args = { text = "some text" } })
vscode.eval_async(code[, opts])
Like vscode.eval()
but returns immediately and evaluates in the background instead.
Parameters:
code
(string): The javascript to execute.
opts
(table): Map of optional parameters:
args
(any): a value to make available as the args
variable in javascript. Can be a single value such as a
string or a table of multiple values.
callback
: Function to handle the eval result. Must have this signature: function(err: string|nil, ret: any)
:
err
is the error message, if any
ret
is the result
- If no callback is provided, error will be shown as a VSCode notification.
vscode.with_insert(callback)
Perform operations in insert mode. If in visual mode, this function will preserve the selection after switching to
insert mode.
Parameters:
callback
(function): Callback function to run after switching to insert mode
Example: make editor.action.addSelectionToNextFindMatch
work correctly in any mode.
vim.keymap.set({ "n", "x", "i" }, "<C-d>", function()
vscode.with_insert(function()
vscode.action("editor.action.addSelectionToNextFindMatch")
end)
end)
Example: make "editor.action.refactor" work correctly on the selection and support snippet manipulation after entering
VSCode snippet mode.
vim.keymap.set({ "n", "x" }, "<leader>r", function()
vscode.with_insert(function()
vscode.action("editor.action.refactor")
end)
end)
Builtin module overrides
vim.ui
: use VSCode's UI components.
vim.lsp.buf
: execute corresponding VSCode LSP commands.
VimScript
Note: Since 1.0.0, vimscript functions are deprecated. Use the Lua api instead.
VSCodeNotify()
/VSCodeCall()
: deprecated, use Lua require('vscode').call()
instead.
VSCodeNotifyRange()
/VSCodeCallRange()
: deprecated, use Lua
require('vscode').call(…, {range:…})
instead.
VSCodeNotifyRangePos()
/VSCodeCallRangePos()
: deprecated, use Lua
require('vscode').call(…, {range:…})
instead.
You can also use v:lua.require("vscode")
to access the API from VimScript.
⌨️ Keybindings (shortcuts)
There are three types of default/user keybindings in vscode-neovim:
- Neovim keybindings: These are the keybindings that are defined in the extension's vimscript files or the user's
init.vim
file. These provide code navigation, buffer management, and other neovim-specific overrides.
- VSCode keybindings: These are the keybindings that are defined in the extension's
package.json
or the user's
keybindings.json
file. These provide the ability to interact with VSCode's built-in features, and are used to make
VSCode more Vim-like.
- VSCode passthrough keybindings: These are the keybindings that are defined in the extension's
package.json
or
the user's keybindings.json
file, but simply pass the keypress through to Neovim. These are used to allow Neovim
to handle certain keypresses that would otherwise be handled by VSCode.
This document only mentions some special cases, it is not an exhaustive list of keybindings and commands. Use VSCode and
Nvim features to see documentation and all defined shortcuts:
- Run the
Preferences: Open Keyboard Shortcuts
vscode command and search for "neovim" to see all vscode and
passthrough keybindings.
- Use the Nvim
:help
command to see the documentation for a given neovim command or keybinding. For example try
:help :split
or :help zo
.
- Note that
:help
for <C-…>
bindings is spelled CTRL-…
. For example to see the help for <c-w>
, run
:help CTRL-W
.
- Search the online Nvim documentation: https://neovim.io/doc/user/
Keybinding Passthroughs
Every special (control/alt/non-alphanumerical) keyboard shortcut must be explicitly defined in VSCode to send to neovim.
By default, only bindings that are used by Neovim by default are sent.
Note: if you want to pass additional control keys without adding a custom passthrough, see below.
To add a custom passthrough, for example A-h in normal mode, add to your keybindings.json
:
{
"command": "vscode-neovim.send",
// the key sequence to activate the binding
"key": "alt+h",
// don't activate during insert mode
"when": "editorTextFocus && neovim.mode != insert",
// the input to send to Neovim
"args": "<A-h>",
}
Insert mode control keys passthrough
Set by vscode-neovim.ctrlKeysForInsertMode
.
Default: ["a", "d", "h", "j", "m", "o", "r", "t", "u", "w"]
Normal mode control keys passthrough
Set by ctrlKeysForNormalMode
.
Default:
["a", "b", "d", "e", "f", "h", "i", "j", "k", "l", "m", "o", "r", "t", "u", "v", "w", "x", "y", "z", "/", "]"]
Cmdline mode special keys passthrough
Always enabled.
- Tab, Up, Down
- Ctrl keys:
<C-h>
<C-w>
<C-u>
<C-n>
<C-p>
<C-l>
<C-g>
<C-t>
- All
<C-r>
prefixed keys
Disable passthrough for certain filetypes
Set by editorLangIdExclusions
.
Disable keybindings defined by this extension in certain filetypes. Please note that this will not affect all
keybindings.
Remove other vscode or passthrough keybindings
If the above configuration flags do not provide enough control, you can remove the keybindings by editing your
keybindings.json
or using the VSCode keybindings editor:
Code navigation bindings
Key |
VSCode Command |
= / == |
editor.action.formatSelection |
gh / K |
editor.action.showHover |
gd / C-] |
editor.action.revealDefinition Also works in vim help. |
gf |
editor.action.revealDeclaration |
gH |
editor.action.referenceSearch.trigger |
gO |
workbench.action.gotoSymbol |
C-w gd / C-w gf |
editor.action.revealDefinitionAside |
gD |
editor.action.peekDefinition |
gF |
editor.action.peekDeclaration |
Tab |
togglePeekWidgetFocus Switch between peek editor and reference list. |
C-n / C-p |
Navigate lists, parameter hints, suggestions, quick-open, cmdline history, peek reference list |
💡 To specify the default peek mode, modify editor.peekWidgetDefaultFocus
in your settings.
Explorer/list navigation bindings
Key |
VSCode Command |
j or k |
list.focusDown/Up |
h or l |
list.collapse/select |
Enter |
list.select |
gg |
list.focusFirst |
G |
list.focusLast |
o |
list.toggleExpand |
C-u or C-d |
list.focusPageUp/Down |
zo or zO |
list.expand |
zc |
list.collapse |
zC |
list.collapseAllToFocus |
za or zA |
list.toggleExpand |
zm or zM |
list.collapseAll |
/ or Escape |
list.toggleKeyboardNavigation |
Explorer file manipulation bindings
Key |
VSCode Command |
r |
renameFile |
d |
deleteFile |
y |
filesExplorer.copy |
x |
filesExplorer.cut |
p |
filesExplorer.paste |
v |
explorer.openToSide |
a |
explorer.newFile |
A |
explorer.newFolder |
R |
workbench.files.action.refreshFilesExplorer |
Key |
VSCode Command |
K |
editor.action.showHover |
h |
editor.action.scrollLeftHover |
j |
editor.action.scrollDownHover |
k |
editor.action.scrollUpHover |
l |
editor.action.scrollRightHover |
gg |
editor.action.goToTopHover |
G |
editor.action.goToBottomHover |
C-f |
editor.action.pageDownHover |
C-b |
editor.action.pageUpHover |
📟 Neovim Commands
Default commands and bindings are available for file/scroll/window/tab management.
File management
See vscode-file-commands.vim for file commands reference.
The extension aliases various Nvim commands (:edit
, :enew
, :find
, :quit
, etc.) to equivalent vscode commands.
Also their normal-mode equivalents (where applicable) such as C-w q, etc.
Tab management
See vscode-tab-commands.vim for tab commands reference.
The extension aliases various Nvim tab commands (:tabedit
, :tabnew
, :tabfind
, :tabclose
, :tabnext
,
:tabprevious
, :tabfirst
, :tablast
) to equivalent vscode commands. Also their normal-mode equivalents (where
applicable) such as gt, etc.
Buffer/window management
See vscode-window-commands.vim for file commands reference.
The extension aliases various Nvim buffer/window commands (:split
, :vsplit
, :new
, :vnew
, :only
) to equivalent
vscode commands. Also their normal-mode equivalents (where applicable) such as C-w s, etc.
💡 Split size distribution is controlled by workbench.editor.splitSizing
setting. By default, it's distribute
,
which is equal to vim's equalalways
and eadirection = 'both'
(default).
To use VSCode command 'Increase/decrease current view size' instead of separate bindings for width and height:
workbench.action.increaseViewSize
workbench.action.decreaseViewSize
Copy this into init.vim
function! s:manageEditorSize(...)
let count = a:1
let to = a:2
for i in range(1, count ? count : 1)
call VSCodeNotify(to ==# 'increase' ? 'workbench.action.increaseViewSize' : 'workbench.action.decreaseViewSize')
endfor
endfunction
" Sample keybindings. Note these override default keybindings mentioned above.
nnoremap <C-w>> <Cmd>call <SID>manageEditorSize(v:count, 'increase')<CR>
xnoremap <C-w>> <Cmd>call <SID>manageEditorSize(v:count, 'increase')<CR>
nnoremap <C-w>+ <Cmd>call <SID>manageEditorSize(v:count, 'increase')<CR>
xnoremap <C-w>+ <Cmd>call <SID>manageEditorSize(v:count, 'increase')<CR>
nnoremap <C-w>< <Cmd>call <SID>manageEditorSize(v:count, 'decrease')<CR>
xnoremap <C-w>< <Cmd>call <SID>manageEditorSize(v:count, 'decrease')<CR>
nnoremap <C-w>- <Cmd>call <SID>manageEditorSize(v:count, 'decrease')<CR>
xnoremap <C-w>- <Cmd>call <SID>manageEditorSize(v:count, 'decrease')<CR>
🎨 Highlights
There are two ways to customize highlight colors:
Set colors in nvim
Note: Due to the support for the syntax
option requiring processing of syntax highlights, all built-in
highlight groups may be overridden or cleared. Therefore, please do not link any highlights to the built-in
highlight groups.
Set colors in vscode
🧰 Developing
Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for details on how to contribute to this project.
❤️ Credits & External Resources