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NeovimToolingProductivity
September 20, 2025

My Neovim Setup: A Terminal-First IDE

How I configured Neovim with LSP, Telescope, and custom keybindings to create a fast, distraction-free development environment.

Why Neovim?

I tried VS Code. I tried JetBrains. They're great tools. But Neovim gives me something they cannot: complete control over every aspect of my editor, with zero mouse dependency.

Core Plugins

  • nvim-lspconfig for language server integration
  • Telescope for fuzzy finding everything
  • Treesitter for syntax-aware highlighting and code navigation
  • nvim-cmp for intelligent autocompletion
  • Harpoon for quick file navigation

The Key Insight

The power of Neovim is not in any single plugin -- it is in the composability. Every action is a combination of verbs and nouns. ciw (change inner word), da( (delete around parentheses), gd (go to definition). Once this language clicks, editing becomes thinking.

My Workflow

I live in tmux with three panes: Neovim takes 70% of the screen, a terminal for running builds takes 20%, and a small pane for Git operations takes the rest. Everything is keyboard-driven. My hands never leave the home row.

Written by

Shyam