BabaVim

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Quick Start Guide ​

BabaVim: Neovim setup for research workflows.

Prerequisites ​

macOS: Homebrew Package Manager ​

If you don't have Homebrew installed:

bash
# Install Homebrew
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

See https://brew.sh/ for more information.

Arch Linux: Pacman and AUR Helper ​

Ensure your system is up to date:

bash
# Update system
sudo pacman -Syu

# Install AUR helper (yay recommended)
sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel git
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay && makepkg -si

Essential Tools ​

macOS ​

bash
# Neovim 0.12+ (install from HEAD as 0.12 is not yet in stable)
brew install neovim --HEAD

# Fuzzy finding utilities
brew install ripgrep fd

# Git interface
brew install lazygit

# Node.js (language servers, markdown preview)
brew install node

Arch Linux ​

bash
# Neovim 0.12+ (install from AUR as 0.12 is not yet in official repos)
yay -S neovim-nightly-bin
# or
paru -S neovim-nightly-bin

# Fuzzy finding utilities
sudo pacman -S ripgrep fd

# Git interface (AUR)
yay -S lazygit

# Node.js (language servers, markdown preview)
sudo pacman -S nodejs npm

Academic Workflow Tools ​

macOS ​

bash
# LaTeX support
brew install --cask mactex-no-gui   # or mactex for full installation

# PDF viewer for LaTeX sync
brew install --cask skim

# Typst typesetting
brew install typst

# Julia programming (optional)
brew install julia

# R programming (optional)
brew install r

Arch Linux ​

bash
# LaTeX support
sudo pacman -S texlive-most texlive-lang

# PDF viewer for LaTeX sync
sudo pacman -S zathura zathura-pdf-mupdf

# Typst typesetting (AUR)
yay -S typst

# Julia programming (optional, AUR)
yay -S julia-bin

# R programming (optional, AUR)
yay -S r

Installation ​

Clone Configuration ​

bash
git clone https://github.com/SimonAB/nvim-config.git ~/.config/nvim
cd ~/.config/nvim

First Launch ​

bash
# Launch Neovim - plugins install automatically
nvim

First launch sequence:

  1. vim.pack installs plugins (~2 minutes)
  2. System theme detected and applied
  3. Mason prompts for language server installation
  4. Dashboard displays recent files

Essential Keymaps ​

vim
<Space>              " Show all available commands (Which-Key)
<Space>f             " Find files (Telescope)
<Space>g             " Live grep in project
<Space>e             " Toggle file explorer
<Ctrl-h/j/k/l>       " Navigate between windows
<Shift-h/l>          " Navigate between buffers

Terminal Integration ​

vim
<Ctrl-t>             " Toggle terminal
<Space>Tt            " Terminal toggle (vertical)
<Space>Th            " Horizontal terminal
<Space>Tv            " Vertical terminal
<Space>Tf            " Floating terminal
<Ctrl-i>             " Send line to terminal
<Ctrl-c>             " Send code block to terminal
<Ctrl-s>             " Send visual selection to terminal (visual mode)

LSP Operations ​

vim
gd                   " Go to definition
K                    " Show documentation
<Space>Lf            " Format document
<Space>Lr            " Restart LSP
<Space>LR            " Show references
<Space>Ll            " List active LSP servers

Document Processing ​

vim
" LaTeX (localleader is \)
\lv                  " Forward search (LaTeX → PDF)
\ll                  " Compile document
\lc                  " Clean auxiliary files

" Markdown
<Space>Kp            " Start preview
<Space>Kt            " Toggle preview (or wait for table operations menu)
<Space>Ktf           " Format table
<Space>Ktn/Ktp       " Navigate table cells
<Space>Kto/KtO      " Insert row below/above
<Space>Kti/KtI      " Insert column right/left

" Quarto
<Space>Qp            " Preview document
<Space>Qr            " Render document

" Typst
\tp                  " Toggle preview
\tc                  " Compile PDF

Julia Development ​

vim
<Space>Jrh           " Horizontal Julia REPL
<Space>Jrv           " Vertical Julia REPL
<Space>Jrf           " Floating Julia REPL
<Space>Jp            " Project status
<Space>Ji            " Instantiate project
<Space>Jt            " Run tests

Julia REPLs: --threads=auto

Configuration ​

Theme Management ​

vim
<Space>YTp           " Open theme picker (Telescope)
<Space>Yc            " Cycle through themes
<Space>YTs           " Show current theme
<Space>Yz            " Toggle Zen Mode (markdown writing mode)
<Space>z             " Quick Zen Mode toggle

Themes: Catppuccin, OneDark, Tokyo Night, Nord, GitHub Dark/Light.

Language Server Installation ​

vim
<Space>MA            " Install academic LSP servers (LaTeX, Python, R, Julia)
<Space>MR            " Install all recommended servers
<Space>MU            " Update all packages
<Space>MS            " Show Mason status
:Mason               " Open Mason interface

Academic workflow servers:

  • LaTeX: texlab
  • Python: pyright, ruff-lsp
  • R: r-languageserver
  • Julia: julials
  • Lua: lua-language-server
  • Markdown: marksman

Spell Checking ​

vim
<Space>Ys            " Toggle spell check
<Space>Yse           " Set spell language to English (British)
<Space>Ysf           " Set spell language to French

LaTeX Workflow Setup ​

macOS: Configure Skim for SyncTeX ​

  1. Open Skim → Preferences → Sync
  2. Set Preset to: Custom
  3. Set Command to: /Users/<username>/.config/nvim/scripts/skim_inverse_search.sh
    • Use absolute path, no tilde (~)
  4. Set Arguments to: %line "%file"

In Skim:

  • Cmd+Shift+Click on PDF to jump to corresponding line in Neovim

Arch Linux: Configure Zathura for SyncTeX ​

VimTeX automatically configures Zathura for inverse search. If needed, create or edit ~/.config/zathura/zathurarc:

Simplest solution (recommended):

set synctex true
set synctex-editor-command "nvim --headless -c \"VimtexInverseSearch %{line} '%{input}'\""

Alternative (if using nvr):

set synctex true
set synctex-editor-command "nvr --servername /tmp/nvim_server --remote-silent +%{line} '%{input}'"

Note: VimTeX may handle this automatically. Test first without manual configuration.

In Zathura:

  • Ctrl+Click on PDF to jump to corresponding line in Neovim

Test LaTeX Integration ​

bash
cd ~/Documents/your-latex-project
nvim main.tex

In Neovim:

vim
\ll                  " Compile document
\lv                  " Open PDF and jump to cursor position

Underline, strikethrough, highlight (lua-ul) ​

This config expects lua-ul with soul-compatible command names (LuaLaTeX/OpenType-friendly). In your preamble use (order matters: luacolor before lua-ul):

latex
\usepackage{luacolor}          % required for \hl (highlight); must be before lua-ul
\usepackage[soul]{lua-ul}      % provides \ul, \uline, \st, \sout, \hl (same names as soul)

Do not load soul or ulem; lua-ul with the [soul] option gives you the same \ul, \st, \hl (and \uline, \sout) with better kerning and OpenType support. The editor will style these commands in the buffer and TOC.

Obsidian Integration ​

Configure Obsidian vault path in lua/keymaps.lua (line ~709):

lua
local obsidian_path = "/Users/<username>/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents/Notebook"

Obsidian Keymaps ​

vim
<Space>Oo            " Find files in Obsidian vault
<Space>On            " New note
<Space>Oc            " Toggle checkbox
<Space>Op            " Paste image
<Space>Ol            " Insert link
<Space>Ob            " Show backlinks

Julia Setup ​

Install Julia Language Server ​

julia
using Pkg
Pkg.add("LanguageServer")

Julia REPL Workflow ​

  1. Open Julia file: nvim script.jl
  2. Launch REPL: <Space>Jrv (vertical split)
  3. Send code:
    • Current line: <Ctrl-i>
    • Code block: <Ctrl-c>
    • Selection: <Ctrl-s> (visual mode)

Project Management ​

vim
<Space>Jp            " Check project status
<Space>Ji            " Instantiate dependencies
<Space>Ju            " Update packages
<Space>Jt            " Run tests

Troubleshooting ​

Plugins Not Loading ​

vim
:checkhealth         " Diagnose issues
:Mason               " Verify language servers
:messages            " Check error messages

LSP Not Working ​

vim
<Space>Ll            " List active LSP servers
<Space>Lr            " Restart LSP
:LspInfo             " Check LSP client status

Terminal Issues ​

bash
# Verify toggleterm installation
nvim -c "lua print(pcall(require, 'toggleterm'))"

# Test terminal mapping
<Space>Th            " Try horizontal terminal

LaTeX SyncTeX Not Working ​

macOS (Skim) ​

bash
# Check script exists
ls ~/.config/nvim/scripts/skim_inverse_search.sh

# Test script manually
~/.config/nvim/scripts/skim_inverse_search.sh 10 "/absolute/path/to/test.tex"

# Check debug log
tail -f /tmp/inverse_search.log

Arch Linux (Zathura) ​

bash
# Verify Zathura configuration
cat ~/.config/zathura/zathurarc

# Test inverse search command manually (if configured)
nvim --headless -c "VimtexInverseSearch 10 '/absolute/path/to/test.tex'"

# Or with nvr (if using nvr)
nvr --servername /tmp/nvim_server --remote-silent +10 "/absolute/path/to/test.tex"

Feature Discovery ​

Which-Key Integration ​

Press <Space> (500ms delay) to view commands grouped by functionality:

  • B: Buffer operations
  • C: Configuration management
  • G: Git operations
  • J: Julia development
  • L: LSP operations
  • M: Mason package management
  • Q: Quarto operations
  • T: Terminal operations
  • Y: Toggle options

Search Keymaps ​

vim
:WhichKey            " Show all keymaps
:WhichKey <Space>    " Show leader keymaps

Next Steps ​

  1. Install language servers: <Space>MA
  2. Configure theme: <Space>YTp
  3. Setup LaTeX: Configure Skim for bidirectional sync
  4. Customise: Add keymaps to lua/keymaps.lua
  5. Explore: Press <Space> to view command groups

Advanced Usage ​

Custom Keymaps ​

Add to lua/keymaps.lua:

lua
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>custom", function()
    -- Your custom functionality
end, { desc = "Custom command" })

Adding Plugins ​

Edit lua/plugins.lua:

lua
local essential_plugins = {
    { url = "https://github.com/user/plugin", name = "plugin" },
}

Resources ​

Press <Space> to view available commands.

Released under the MIT License.

BabaVim