How I Switched from VS Code to Neovim ?

When I first started coding, Visual Studio Code (VSCode) was my editor of choice. It's widely regarded as the industry standard, and I was more than satisfied with its performance, especially on my new laptop. I didn’t feel it lacked anything crucial, and its speed was adequate for my needs. At that time, my focus was on improving my typing speed, aiming for over 150 words per minute (wpm), believing that faster typing equated to higher productivity. However, I often found myself relying heavily on the mouse for various tasks within VSCode, which I realized later was holding me back from reaching my full potential.

Discovering Neovim

One day, while browsing YouTube, I stumbled upon a channel called ThePrimeAgen . I was mesmerized by the speed and efficiency with which he navigated his editor, which looked nothing like VSCode. I noticed he rarely used the mouse for tasks such as creating or switching files. Intrigued, I discovered that he was using Neovim. This revelation led me down a rabbit hole of Neovim tutorials and showcases, and I was thoroughly impressed. Motivated by what I saw, I decided to make the switch to Neovim.

First Attempt: Big Mistake

My initial attempt to install Neovim directly on my laptop was a disaster. There's a common saying, "I don't know how to exit Vim" which rang true for me. Coming from a VSCode background, I struggled to even exit Neovim, let alone use it effectively. I encountered numerous errors, and there was a lack of coding suggestions, which led to frustration. Consequently, I uninstalled Neovim.

Vim Motion in VSCode

As a relatively new coder, I was not understanding ThePrimeAgen but still continued to watch his video because I was always impressed by his speed and efficiency. Inspired by him, I decided to incorporate Vim motions into my VSCode setup. I installed a Vim extension in VSCode and forced myself to learn Vim motions by selling my mouse to a friend. For almost a year, this hybrid setup worked well for me. However, as I customized VSCode further and used Vim commands for almost everything, I noticed a decline in performance. The lag became unbearable, prompting me to reconsider switching to Neovim.

Successful Transition and Configuration

After so many unsuccessfull attempts, this time transition was smoother. After switching to Clang/LLVM as my C compiler, Neovim installed without any issues. I opted for LazyVim to avoid the time-consuming task of writing my configuration from scratch. Then, I customized it with keymaps to suit my needs. Within a few days, I experienced a level of speed and efficiency that I had never felt with VSCode. Tasks like creating or deleting files, which used to lag in VSCode, were now seamless in Neovim. I may not be as fast as ThePrimeAgen, but I'm blazing through my work at my own pace.

Enhancing Workflow with Harpoon and Telescope

To further enhance my workflow, I installed Harpoon. While Telescope is a fantastic fuzzy finder, I found Harpoon invaluable for focusing on a few files at a time. Harpoon also support tmux out of the box which is a terminal multiplexer. But I use windows, so I can't use tmux. With Harpoon, I can mark files that I want to re-visit later and quickly switch between those frequently used files, boosting my productivity. The combination of tools has significantly streamlined my workflow.

Conclusion

Now, having used Neovim extensively, I can't imagine going back to VSCode. Neovim's performance is buttery smooth, and it has fundamentally changed how I interact with my laptop. I rely almost entirely on the keyboard, rarely touching the mouse. I've also customized Neovim with various extensions and Language Server Protocols (LSP) to fit my coding needs perfectly. I may not be as fast as ThePrimeAgen, but I'm blazing through my work at my own pace. You can check out my keymaps below -

# ~/.config/keymaps.lua

local keymap = vim.keymap
local opts = { noremap = true, silent = true }
local harpoon = require("harpoon")
harpoon:setup()

keymap.set("i", "kj", "<Esc>", opts)
keymap.set("n", "+", "<C-a>")
keymap.set("n", "-", "<C-x>")

# Visual Mode: moving lines

keymap.set("v", "J", ":m '>+1<CR>gv=gv")
keymap.set("v", "K", ":m '<-2<CR>gv=gv")

# search word with cursor in middle

keymap.set("n", "n", "nzzzv")
keymap.set("n", "N", "Nzzzv")

# Save file and quit

keymap.set("n", "<Leader>w", ":update<Return>", opts)
keymap.set("n", "<Leader>q", ":quit<Return>", opts)
keymap.set("n", "<Leader>Q", ":qa<Return>", opts)

keymap.set("n", "<s-tab>", ":tabprev<Return>", opts)

keymap.set("n", "<s-tab>", ":tabprev<Return>", opts)

keymap.set("n", "<C-a>", "gg<S-v>G")
keymap.set("n", "<C-m>", "<C-i>", opts)

# Tabs
keymap.set("n", "te", ":tabedit", opts)
keymap.set("n", "<tab>", ":tabnext<Return>", opts)
keymap.set("n", "<s-tab>", ":tabprev<Return>", opts)
keymap.set("n", "tw", ":tabclose<Return>", opts)

# Split Screen
keymap.set("n", "ss", ":split<Return>", opts)
keymap.set("n", "sv", ":vsplit<Return>", opts)
keymap.set("n", "sh", "<C-w>h")
keymap.set("n", "sk", "<C-w>k")
keymap.set("n", "sj", "<C-w>j")
keymap.set("n", "sl", "<C-w>l")

keymap.set("n", "<C-j>", function()
  vim.diagnostic.goto_next()
end, opts)

# Set Harpoon
keymap.set("n", "<leader>a", function()
  harpoon:list():add()
end)
keymap.set("n", "<leader>hw", function()
  harpoon.ui:toggle_quick_menu(harpoon:list())
end)
keymap.set("n", "he", function()
  harpoon:list():prev()
end)
keymap.set("n", "ht", function()
  harpoon:list():next()
end)

Thank you for reading and let me know if you enjoyed this post !