chopsticks - Vim Configuration

A native Vim configuration optimized for engineering workflows. Designed for Vim 8.0+ with automatic fallbacks for minimal environments (TTY, no Node.js).

Quick Install

git clone https://github.com/m1ngsama/chopsticks.git ~/.vim
cd ~/.vim && ./install.sh

See QUICKSTART.md for the 5-minute guide.

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Design Principles

• KISS: No icon fonts, no unicode glyphs, plain ASCII throughout
• Tiered LSP: CoC (full) with vim-lsp fallback - works with or without Node.js
• TTY-aware: Automatic detection and optimization for console environments
• Engineering-first: Git workflow, session management, project-local config

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Requirements

Requirement	Minimum	Notes
Vim	8.0+	vim9script not required
git	any	For cloning and fugitive
curl	any	For vim-plug auto-install
Node.js	14.14+	Optional, enables CoC LSP
ripgrep (rg)	any	Optional, enables :Rg search
fzf	any	Optional, enables :Files/:GFiles
ctags	any	Optional, enables :TagbarToggle

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Installation

Automatic

git clone https://github.com/m1ngsama/chopsticks.git ~/.vim
cd ~/.vim
./install.sh

The script:

1. Checks for a working Vim installation
2. Backs up your existing ~/.vimrc if present
3. Creates a symlink: ~/.vimrc -> ~/.vim/.vimrc
4. Installs vim-plug
5. Runs :PlugInstall to download all plugins
6. Optionally installs CoC language servers (if Node.js is available)

Manual

git clone https://github.com/m1ngsama/chopsticks.git ~/.vim
ln -sf ~/.vim/.vimrc ~/.vimrc
curl -fLo ~/.vim/autoload/plug.vim --create-dirs \
    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junegunn/vim-plug/master/plug.vim
vim +PlugInstall +qall

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LSP: Tiered Backend System

Code intelligence is provided by one of two backends, selected automatically:

Condition	Backend	Features
Vim 8.0.1453+ AND Node.js 14.14+	CoC	Full LSP, snippets, extensions ecosystem
Vim 8.0+ (no Node.js)	vim-lsp	LSP via language server binaries, asyncomplete
Any Vim	ALE	Linting and auto-fix (always active)

Both backends expose identical key mappings (gd, K, [g, ]g, <leader>rn, <leader>ca).

CoC setup (with Node.js)

Install language server extensions from inside Vim:

:CocInstall coc-pyright       " Python
:CocInstall coc-tsserver      " JavaScript / TypeScript
:CocInstall coc-go            " Go
:CocInstall coc-rust-analyzer " Rust
:CocInstall coc-json coc-yaml " JSON, YAML
:CocInstall coc-html coc-css  " HTML, CSS

vim-lsp setup (without Node.js)

Install language server binaries for your languages, then run:

:LspInstallServer   " auto-installs servers for the current filetype

Supported: pylsp, gopls, rust-analyzer, typescript-language-server, bash-language-server, and all others covered by vim-lsp-settings.

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Key Mappings

Leader key: , (comma)

Press , and wait 500ms for an interactive guide to all bindings (vim-which-key).

Files and Buffers

Key	Action
Ctrl+n	Toggle file tree (NERDTree)
,n	Reveal current file in NERDTree
Ctrl+p	Fuzzy file search (FZF)
,b	Search open buffers (FZF)
,rg	Project-wide search (ripgrep+FZF)
,rt	Search tags (FZF)
,gF	Search git-tracked files (FZF)
,l	Next buffer
,h	Previous buffer
,bd	Close current buffer
,,	Switch to last file

Windows and Tabs

Key	Action
Ctrl+h/j/k/l	Navigate between windows
<Leader>=	Increase window height
<Leader>-	Decrease window height
<Leader>+	Increase window width
<Leader>_	Decrease window width
,tn	New tab
,tc	Close tab
,tl	Toggle to last tab

Code Intelligence (CoC / vim-lsp)

Key	Action
gd	Go to definition
gy	Go to type definition
gi	Go to implementation
gr	Show references
K	Hover documentation
[g	Previous diagnostic
]g	Next diagnostic
,rn	Rename symbol
,f	Format selection
,ca	Code action (cursor)
,qf	Quick-fix current line (CoC)
,cl	Run code lens (CoC)
,o	File outline
,ws	Workspace symbols
,cD	Diagnostics list
,cr	Resume last CoC list
Tab	Next completion item
Shift+Tab	Previous completion item
Enter	Confirm completion

Text objects (CoC only): if/af (function), ic/ac (class)

Linting (ALE)

Key	Action
[e	Next error/warning
]e	Previous error/warning
,aD	Show error details

Signs: X = error, ! = warning

Git Workflow (fugitive)

Key	Action
,gs	Git status
,gc	Git commit
,gp	Git push
,gl	Git pull
,gd	Git diff
,gb	Git blame
,gF	Search git-tracked files (FZF)

Engineering Utilities

Key	Action
,ev	Edit ~/.vimrc
,sv	Reload ~/.vimrc
,F	Format entire file (= indent)
,W	Strip trailing whitespace
,wa	Save all open buffers
,wd	Change CWD to current buffer's dir
,cp	Copy file path to clipboard
,cf	Copy filename to clipboard
,y	Yank to system clipboard
,Y	Yank line to system clipboard
,*	Search+replace word under cursor
,qo	Open quickfix list
,qc	Close quickfix list
,tv	Open terminal (vertical split)
,th	Open terminal (horizontal, 10r)
Esc	Exit terminal mode

Navigation and Editing

Key	Action
s+2ch	EasyMotion jump to any location
Space	Toggle code fold
Y	Yank to end of line (like D, C)
n / N	Search next/prev (cursor centered)
Ctrl+d/u	Half-page scroll (cursor centered)
>	Indent (keeps visual selection)
<	Dedent (keeps visual selection)
[q / ]q	Previous/next quickfix (vim-unimpaired)
[e / ]e	Previous/next ALE error/warning
F2	Toggle paste mode
F3	Toggle line numbers
F4	Toggle relative line numbers
F5	Toggle undo history (UndoTree)
F8	Toggle code tag browser (Tagbar)
0	Jump to first non-blank character
Alt+j/k	Move line up/down

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Features

vim-startify: Startup Screen

Opens when Vim is launched without a file argument. Shows:

• Recently opened files
• Sessions for the current directory
• Bookmarks

Session auto-saves on quit. Auto-loads Session.vim if found in the current directory. Auto-changes to git root on file open.

vim-which-key: Keybinding Guide

Press , and pause for 500ms. A popup lists all available leader bindings organized by group. Useful for onboarding and discovering shortcuts.

indentLine: Indent Guides

Draws | characters at each indent level. Disabled automatically in TTY environments and for filetypes where it causes display problems (JSON, Markdown, help).

Session Management

:Obsess              " Start tracking session
:Obsess!             " Stop tracking

Sessions are stored in ~/.vim/sessions/ and automatically resumed by vim-prosession on the next Vim launch in the same directory.

Project-Local Config

Place a .vimrc in any project root:

" project/.vimrc
set shiftwidth=2
let g:ale_python_black_options = '--line-length=100'

Loaded automatically. Security-restricted via set secure.

Large File Handling

Files over 10MB automatically disable syntax highlighting and undo history to prevent Vim from freezing.

TTY / Console Support

Detected automatically when $TERM is linux or screen, or when running on a basic built-in terminal. In TTY mode:

• True color and cursorline disabled
• Powerline separators replaced with plain ASCII
• FZF preview windows disabled
• NERDTree auto-open skipped
• Syntax column limit reduced to 120
• Simpler status line used

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Language Support

Language	Indent	Formatter	Linter
Python	4sp	black + isort	flake8, pylint
JavaScript	2sp	prettier	eslint
TypeScript	2sp	prettier	eslint, tsserver
Go	tab	gofmt, goimports	gopls, golint
Rust	4sp	rustfmt	cargo
Shell	2sp	-	shellcheck
YAML	2sp	prettier	yamllint
HTML/CSS	2sp	prettier	-
Markdown	2sp	prettier	-
JSON	2sp	prettier	-
Dockerfile	2sp	-	hadolint

Install linters separately (e.g. pip install black flake8, npm i -g prettier). ALE runs them asynchronously and auto-fixes on save.

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Plugin List

Navigation

• NERDTree - File tree explorer
• fzf + fzf.vim - Fuzzy finder
• CtrlP - Fallback fuzzy finder (no fzf dependency)

Git

• vim-fugitive - Git commands inside Vim
• vim-gitgutter - Diff signs in the sign column

LSP and Completion

• coc.nvim - Full LSP + completion (requires Node.js 14.14+)
• vim-lsp - Pure VimScript LSP client (fallback, no Node.js)
• vim-lsp-settings - Auto-configure language servers for vim-lsp
• asyncomplete.vim - Async completion (used with vim-lsp)

Linting

• ALE - Asynchronous Lint Engine (always active)

UI

• vim-airline - Status and tabline
• vim-startify - Startup screen
• vim-which-key - Keybinding hint popup
• indentLine - Indent guide lines (non-TTY)
• undotree - Undo history visualizer
• tagbar - Code structure sidebar

Editing

• vim-surround - Change surrounding quotes, brackets, tags
• vim-commentary - gc to toggle comments
• auto-pairs - Auto-close brackets and quotes
• vim-easymotion - Jump anywhere with 2 keystrokes
• vim-unimpaired - Bracket shortcut pairs
• targets.vim - Extra text objects
• vim-snippets - Snippet library (used with CoC/UltiSnips)

Language Packs

• vim-polyglot - Syntax for 100+ languages
• vim-go - Go development tools

Session

• vim-obsession - Continuous session saving
• vim-prosession - Project-level session management

Color Schemes

• gruvbox (default), dracula, solarized, onedark

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Color Scheme

Change in .vimrc (find the colorscheme line):

colorscheme dracula    " or: gruvbox, solarized, onedark

True color is enabled automatically when the terminal supports it ($COLORTERM=truecolor). Falls back to 256-color, then 16-color (TTY).

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Troubleshooting

Plugins not installed:

:PlugInstall
:PlugUpdate

CoC not working:

node --version   # must be >= 14.14

vim-lsp server not starting:

:LspInstallServer          " install server for current filetype
:LspStatus                 " check server status

Colors look wrong:

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
export TERM=xterm-256color

ALE not finding linters:

which flake8 black prettier eslint   # confirm tools are on PATH

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References

• amix/vimrc
• vim-plug
• coc.nvim
• vim-lsp
• vim-lsp-settings

License

MIT