Prashant P
Prashant P

Neovim - Crafting a Minimal Yet Capable Editor

I’ve tried the batteries-included distros — LazyVim, NvChad — and they’re impressive. But they often offer too much, while plain Neovim feels lacking. So like most long-time users, I ended up crafting my own: start from a baseline, add just enough to get the job done, and keep control of the rest.

The result is nvim-pro — cutting-edge but pragmatic. This is a high-level overview of what it offers and where to learn it. The repository is always the source of truth.

What it is

A cohesive, keyboard-driven editor for polyglot work. I’ve programmed in Java for nearly two decades, and also work across Go, TypeScript/React, and Rust — so nvim-pro is built for switching languages without switching mental models.

The philosophy is minimal but essential: no plugins you don’t need, native Neovim 0.12 LSP (no lspconfig wrapper), lazy loading, and fast startup. Think system design — you don’t add services you won’t use.

What it offers

  • Native LSP (Neovim 0.12) with first-class support for Java, Go, Rust, TypeScript/React, and Lua.
  • Java, done properly — jdtls with Lombok, a debug adapter, per-project workspace isolation, multi-module Maven support, and automatic import folding. Historically the painful part; here it works out of the box.
  • Keyboard-first workflow — <Space> leader, window and buffer management with no mouse dependency, and Ctrl-h/j/k/l navigation.
  • Completion & formatting — Blink.cmp for fast completion, Conform.nvim for format-on-save with per-language formatters.
  • Debugging — nvim-dap with F-key controls and UI panels for variables, call stack, and console.
  • Files & pickers — Oil.nvim (edit directories like a buffer) and Snacks (picker, git, terminal, zoxide).
  • Aesthetics that align — six transparent colorschemes (default kanagawa-wave), chosen to match the terminal so everything shares one palette.
  • Optional AI — an in-editor bridge to the Claude CLI (claudecode.nvim) under the <leader>a keys, if you want it.

Pairs well with, but doesn’t require, Ghostty + Herdr

I run it inside Ghostty with Herdr (my tmux replacement). Paired that way, the theme carries across Ghostty, Herdr, and Neovim, and Ctrl-h/j/k/l flows seamlessly between editor splits and Herdr panes.

That’s an enhancement, not a dependency. nvim-pro works in any terminal — the Herdr integration (herdr-splits) stays inactive outside Herdr, so a standalone nvim or an IDE terminal behaves normally.

Getting started

# Fresh install (back up any existing config first)
mv ~/.config/nvim ~/.config/nvim.bak 2>/dev/null
git clone https://github.com/craftyprash/nvim-pro.git ~/.config/nvim
nvim

On first launch, Lazy.nvim bootstraps and Mason installs the LSP servers and formatters. To trial it alongside your current config instead:

git clone https://github.com/craftyprash/nvim-pro.git ~/.config/nvim-pro
NVIM_APPNAME=nvim-pro nvim

Requires Neovim 0.12+, a Nerd Font (JetBrainsMono), and a few CLI tools: ripgrep, fd, lazygit, zoxide.

Where to learn it

The repo carries the full documentation and a set of hands-on tutorials — start there rather than a long note here:

  • Tutorials — a guided series covering navigation, LSP and code, editing, the terminal, debugging, Java and Quarkus workflows, git, and Claude Code.
  • KEYBINDINGS.md — complete keybinding reference.
  • LSP.md — LSP setup and troubleshooting, including the Java details.
  • README.md — technical overview.

Final thoughts

This isn’t meant to be everyone’s editor. If you want batteries-included, stick with LazyVim or NvChad. nvim-pro is for learning how the pieces fit and then making it yours.

Clone it. Try it. Fork it. Cut the noise, focus on code.

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