Neovim Easy Configuration

A simple editor configuration for Neovim with CUA (Common User Access) shortcuts, tab bar, mouse support, and menu bar. Uses the Berg colorscheme, inspired by Bloomberg terminals.

Features

• Starts in insert mode — behaves like a normal text editor
• CUA keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, etc.)
• Tab bar for open buffers
• Mouse support
• Menu bar (File/Edit/View/Help)
• Berg theme — dark and light variants (F4 to toggle)

Screenshots

Dark theme (Berg)

Light theme (Berg Light)

Installation

Quick install

Linux / macOS

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/norandom/nvim-simple/main/install.sh | bash

Windows

Install Neovim with winget (recommended):

winget install --exact --id Neovim.Neovim

Close and reopen PowerShell after winget finishes, then verify the installation:

nvim --version

If winget is unavailable, Scoop is an alternative:

scoop install neovim

Install this configuration:

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/norandom/nvim-simple/main/install.ps1 | iex

Or clone/download this repository and run the installer from its directory:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process Bypass
.\install.ps1

The process-scoped execution-policy change applies only to the current PowerShell session. The installer uses Neovim's Windows config directory, normally %LOCALAPPDATA%\nvim.

It will:

• Back up any existing Neovim config
• Download and install the configuration
• Install vim-plug and all plugins
• Set up the Berg colorscheme

Manual installation

1. Ensure you have Neovim installed
2. Clone this repository: git clone https://github.com/norandom/nvim-simple.git
3. Copy the nvim directory to:
   • Linux/macOS: ~/.config/nvim
   • Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\nvim
4. Open Neovim - plugins will auto-install on first run

Temporary trial (no install)

Try the configuration without installing:

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/norandom/nvim-simple/main/nvim/init.vim > /tmp/nvim-config.vim && nvim -u /tmp/nvim-config.vim +PlugInstall +qall && nvim -u /tmp/nvim-config.vim

Keyboard shortcuts

CUA mode (standard editor shortcuts)

• Ctrl+C - Copy selected text
• Ctrl+X - Cut selected text
• Ctrl+V - Paste text
• Ctrl+A - Select all text
• Ctrl+S - Save file
• Ctrl+Z - Undo
• Ctrl+Y - Redo

File operations

• Ctrl+N - New file
• Ctrl+O - Open file
• Ctrl+W - Close current tab/buffer

Tab navigation

• Ctrl+T - Open new tab
• Ctrl+Tab - Next tab
• Ctrl+Shift+Tab - Previous tab

Interface

• F10 - Open menu bar
• F2 - Toggle file explorer (NERDTree)
• Esc - Exit insert mode (but arrow keys return to insert mode)

Movement in insert mode

• Arrow Keys - Move cursor while staying in insert mode
• Home/End - Move to beginning/end of line
• Page Up/Down - Page navigation

Terminal mode

• F3 - Open terminal in new tab
• Ctrl+C - Send interrupt signal (works in terminal mode)
• Ctrl+PageUp/PageDown - Navigate between tabs from terminal
• Esc - Exit terminal mode to normal mode (for scrolling/copying)

Menu bar

Press F10 to access the menu bar with the following options:

File menu

• New (Ctrl+N)
• Open (Ctrl+O)
• Save (Ctrl+S)
• Save As
• Close (Ctrl+W)
• Exit

Edit menu

• Undo (Ctrl+Z)
• Redo (Ctrl+Y)
• Cut (Ctrl+X)
• Copy (Ctrl+C)
• Paste (Ctrl+V)
• Select All (Ctrl+A)

View menu

• File Explorer (F2)
• Toggle Line Numbers

Help menu

• About

Plugins used

• vim-plug - Plugin manager
• vim-airline - Status line and tab line
• vim-buftabline - Buffer tabs
• vim-quickui - Menu bar interface
• nerdtree - File explorer
• vim-devicons - File icons

Theme configuration

The configuration uses the Berg colorscheme, based on Bloomberg terminal aesthetics:

• Dark theme with black background (#000000)
• Orange primary text (#f49f31) for contrast
• Red comments (#d54135)
• Supports Treesitter and LSP
• Custom highlights for Telescope, NvimTree, GitSigns

Customization

The main configuration file is nvim/init.vim. You can modify:

• Color scheme settings
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Plugin configurations
• Menu bar contents

Recent bug fixes

Terminal Neovim compatibility

• Fixes E519 error by patching vim-buftabline to work with terminal Neovim (the guioptions issue)
• Ctrl+C in terminal sends interrupt signal to running processes
• Patches are applied automatically on first load

Troubleshooting

If plugins don't load:

1. Open Neovim
2. Run :PlugInstall to install plugins
3. Restart Neovim

If colors look wrong:

1. Make sure your terminal supports 256 colors or true color
2. Check that termguicolors is enabled

Development

The repository uses pre-commit to lint the maintained Vimscript with Vint and check Lua formatting with StyLua. The vendored nvim/autoload/plug.vim file is excluded from Vint.

Install the Git hook once after cloning:

pre-commit install

Run every check manually with:

pre-commit run --all-files

Philosophy

This config makes Neovim behave like a normal text editor. Standard shortcuts, mouse support, tabs, a menu bar. You get the ergonomics of a conventional editor without giving up Neovim's underlying power.