chopsticks

Vim for engineers. 29 plugins, 19ms startup, works over SSH.

---

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/m1ngsama/chopsticks/main/get.sh | bash

---

Why

You SSH into a server. You need to edit code. You want LSP, fuzzy find, git integration, format-on-save — not a 20-minute setup.

chopsticks gives you a production-ready Vim config in one command. Pure VimScript — no Node.js for the core. Degrades gracefully on TTY. Works the same on your MacBook and your headless Arch box.

19ms startup with 29 plugins, LSP, linting, and a hand-built statusline. Faster than most people's empty vimrc.

What's in the box

Feature	Description
LSP	completion, go-to-def, hover, rename, code actions — pure VimScript (vim-lsp)
Lint + format	ALE runs black, prettier, gofmt, rustfmt on save
Fuzzy find	files, buffers, grep, tags, marks, commands — FZF
Git	status, diff, blame, push, pull, conflict markers — fugitive + gitgutter
Zen mode	,zen — Goyo + Limelight
Run file	,cr — auto-detects Python, Go, Rust, JS, C, Shell, and more
TTY-aware	degrades gracefully on SSH, console, slow links — never breaks
19ms startup	lazy-loaded plugins, deferred LSP init, zero redundant work

Install

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/m1ngsama/chopsticks/main/get.sh | bash

Or manually:

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

Supports macOS (brew), Debian/Ubuntu (apt), Arch (pacman), Fedora (dnf).

First launch installs plugins automatically (30-60s). Restart vim when done.

Keys

Leader: , — press ,? for the full cheat sheet inside vim.

Ctrl+p    fuzzy find file          gd    go to definition
,rg       ripgrep project          K     hover docs
,gs       git status               ,cr   run current file
,zen      zen mode                 ,f    format
,w        save                     ,q    quit
jk        exit insert mode         ,?    cheat sheet

All keybindings

Files

Ctrl+p find | ,b buffers | ,rg grep | ,rG grep word | ,fh recent | ,e browser | ,, last file

Code

gd def | gy type | gi impl | gr refs | K docs | [g ]g diagnostics | ,rn rename | ,ca action | ,o outline | ,cr run

Edit

s+2ch jump | gc comment | cs"' surround | Alt+j/k move line | ,u undo tree | ,y clipboard | ,* replace word

Git

,gs status | ,gd diff | ,gb blame | ,gc commit | ,gp push | ]x [x conflict

Windows

Ctrl+hjkl navigate (+ tmux) | ,z maximize | ,h ,l buffers | ,tv terminal | Esc Esc exit terminal

Writing

,zen zen mode | ,mp markdown preview | ,mt table of contents

LSP

:LspInstallServer    " auto-detects filetype
:LspStatus           " check what's running

pylsp, gopls, rust-analyzer, clangd, marksman, sqls — no Node.js. JS/TS servers need Node.

ALE and vim-lsp coexist cleanly (ale_disable_lsp=1). ALE handles linting + formatting. vim-lsp handles everything else.

Architecture

~/.vim/
├── .vimrc              thin loader (12 lines)
├── modules/
│   ├── env.vim         TTY detection, truecolor
│   ├── plugins.vim     vim-plug + 29 plugins
│   ├── core.vim        settings, keymaps, performance
│   ├── ui.vim          solarized, statusline, startify
│   ├── editing.vim     easymotion, yank highlight
│   ├── navigation.vim  fzf, netrw, windows, terminal
│   ├── lsp.vim         vim-lsp, asyncomplete
│   ├── lint.vim        ale, format-on-save
│   ├── git.vim         fugitive, gitgutter
│   ├── writing.vim     markdown, previm, zen mode
│   ├── languages.vim   vim-go, filetype settings
│   └── tools.vim       cheat sheet, run file, helpers
└── tutor/
    └── chopsticks.tutor

Each module is self-contained. Comment out one line in .vimrc to disable it. Add your own with call s:load('mine').

Learn

:ChopsticksLearn     " interactive tutorial — 10 lessons
,?                   " cheat sheet (every binding)

Performance

Metric	Value
Startup time	19ms (29 plugins loaded)
Lazy-loaded	8 plugins (on command or filetype)
Built-in plugins skipped	10 (gzip, tar, zip, vimball, etc.)
Runtime lint delay	200ms (no thrashing during edits)
Large file threshold	10MB (auto-disables syntax + undo)
TTY large file	500KB (syntax disabled)

Measured with vim --startuptime. We benchmark every change.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
Plugins not loading	:PlugInstall then :PlugUpdate
LSP not starting	:LspInstallServer for current filetype
Colors wrong	export COLORTERM=truecolor in shell rc
Ctrl+s freezes	stty -ixon in shell rc
Everything slow	Large file? Auto-disabled >10MB

More in the wiki.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md. The two rules that matter: no Node.js dependencies, and don't regress startup time.

License

MIT