chopsticks

Vim for engineers. ~25 plugins, works over SSH.

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

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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.

24–25 plugins (tmux-navigator loads only inside tmux), LSP, linting, and a hand-built statusline. No bloat, no decorations, just tools.

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, goimports, rustfmt on save
Fuzzy find	files, buffers, grep, tags, marks, commands — FZF
Git	status, diff, blame, push, pull, conflict markers — fugitive + gitgutter
Run file	,cr — auto-detects Python, Go, Rust, JS, C, Shell, and more
Markdown	quiet writing defaults, browser preview (,mp), table of contents (,mt)
Diagnostics	:ChopsticksStatus — see what's installed, what's missing, how to fix it
TTY-aware	degrades gracefully on SSH, console, slow links — never breaks

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.

Profiles

Default profile: engineer.

" Put this in ~/.config/chopsticks.vim.
let g:chopsticks_profile = 'minimal'   " core navigation/editing/git/markdown
let g:chopsticks_profile = 'engineer'  " default: LSP, ALE, syntax extras
let g:chopsticks_profile = 'full'      " engineer + heavier Markdown feedback

minimal avoids LSP, ALE, completion plugins, extra language syntax plugins, Startify, UndoTree, and browser Markdown preview. full keeps those and opts into Markdown lint, format, spell, conceal, Marksman, and LSP virtual text.

Project updates leave ~/.config/chopsticks.vim alone, so put local choices there instead of editing the managed .vimrc. The ,? cheat sheet follows the active profile and only shows keys for enabled features.

Keys

Leader: ,

Ctrl+p    fuzzy find file          gd    go to definition
,rg       ripgrep project          K     hover docs
,e        toggle file sidebar      ,cr   run current file
,gs       git status               ,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 | ,fl lines | ,e browser | ,E browser (file dir) | ,, last file

Code

gd def | gy type | gi impl | gr refs | K docs | [g ]g diagnostics | [e ]e ALE errors | ,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 | ,F re-indent | ,W strip whitespace | [<Space> ]<Space> blank lines

Git

,gs status | ,gd diff | ,gb blame | ,gc commit | ,gp push | ,gl pull | ,gL log graph | ,gC FZF commits | ,gB buffer commits | ]x [x conflict

Windows

Ctrl+hjkl navigate (+ tmux) | ,z maximize | ,h ,l buffers | ,bd close buffer | ,= ,− resize | ,tv ,th terminal | Esc Esc exit terminal

Markdown

,mp preview in browser | ,mt table of contents

Toggle

F2 paste | F3 line numbers | F4 relative numbers | F6 invisible chars | ,ss spell check | ,af format on save

Utilities

,cp copy full path | ,cf copy filename | ,ev edit vimrc | ,sv reload vimrc | ,wa save all | :ChopsticksStatus diagnostics

LSP

:LspInstallServer    " auto-detects filetype
:LspStatus           " check what's running
:ChopsticksStatus    " see all tools + LSP + linters at a glance

pylsp, gopls, rust-analyzer, clangd, sqls — no Node.js. JS/TS servers need Node. Markdown LSP (marksman) is opt-in so prose buffers stay quiet by default.

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

Markdown

Markdown opens in writing mode: wrapped text, no spell noise, no concealed syntax, no sign column, no real-time markdownlint, and no Marksman diagnostics. The explicit commands still work:

,mp    " preview in browser
,mt    " table of contents

Opt into heavier Markdown tooling from your own vimrc before loading chopsticks:

let g:chopsticks_markdown_lint = 1
let g:chopsticks_markdown_format_on_save = 1
let g:chopsticks_markdown_lsp = 1
let g:chopsticks_markdown_spell = 1
let g:chopsticks_markdown_conceal = 1
let g:previm_enable_realtime = 1

For Markdown LSP, install or select marksman first.

Architecture

~/.vim/
├── .vimrc              thin loader
├── modules/
│   ├── env.vim         TTY detection, truecolor, skip built-in plugins
│   ├── plugins.vim     vim-plug + 24–25 plugins
│   ├── core.vim        settings, keymaps, performance
│   ├── ui.vim          solarized, statusline, startify
│   ├── editing.vim     easymotion, yank highlight, blank lines
│   ├── navigation.vim  fzf, netrw sidebar, windows, terminal
│   ├── lsp.vim         vim-lsp, asyncomplete
│   ├── lint.vim        ale, format-on-save
│   ├── git.vim         fugitive, gitgutter, conflict nav
│   ├── languages.vim   vim-go, markdown, filetype settings
│   └── tools.vim       run file, quickfix, cheat sheet, diagnostics

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

Performance

Metric	Value
Lazy-loaded	7 plugins (on command or filetype)
Built-in plugins skipped	12 (gzip, tar, zip, vimball, logiPat, etc.)
Large file threshold	10MB (auto-disables syntax + undo)
TTY large file	500KB (syntax disabled)

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
What's installed?	:ChopsticksStatus shows tools, LSP, linters

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