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Installation

timvim is distributed as a Nix flake, so you can try it, build it or run it locally without touching your existing Neovim setup.

Prerequisites

You will need

  • Nix with flakes enabled (see below).
  • A Nerd Font (for example JetBrainsMono Nerd Font) so icons render correctly. timvim bundles JetBrains Mono Nerd Font, but your terminal must be set to use a Nerd Font.
  • A Kitty-compatible terminal if you want inline image preview via the Kitty graphics protocol.

Install Nix and enable flakes

If you do not already have Nix, install it with the official installer:

sh <(curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install) --daemon

Then enable flakes by adding this line to ~/.config/nix/nix.conf:

experimental-features = nix-command flakes

Restart your shell afterwards so the change takes effect.

Determinate Systems installer

The Determinate Systems installer enables flakes for you out of the box:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf -L https://install.determinate.systems/nix | sh -s -- install

Run without installing

The quickest way to try timvim is to run it straight from GitHub:

nix run github:timlinux/nix-vim

This downloads and launches the editor without changing anything on your system.

Clone and run locally

To hack on the configuration, clone the repository and run from the checkout:

git clone https://github.com/timlinux/nix-vim.git
cd nix-vim
nix run

Build the package

To produce the wrapped Neovim package (a result symlink) without launching:

nix build

The build output is a self-contained Neovim with all runtime dependencies — ripgrep, fd, fzf, git, language servers and Node.js — already on its PATH.

First run is slower

The initial nix run or nix build fetches and builds the closure. Once it is in your Nix store, subsequent launches are near-instant.

Next steps

For a permanent install, see Home Manager. To learn what you will see on start-up, head to First Launch.