Milind Daraniya

Elevate Your Text Editing: Installing Neovim on Ubuntu

Published October 11th, 2023 13 min read

Neovim is a modern, feature-rich text editor that serves as an enhanced alternative to the classic Vim. If you're seeking a powerful tool for code editing, scripting, and writing, Neovim is an excellent choice. In this post, we'll guide you through the process of installing Neovim on an Ubuntu system, complete with an example of the installation output.

Step 1: Update Package Lists

Before installing any software, it's a good practice to update your package lists:

sudo apt update

Step 2: Install Neovim

Now, let's install Neovim using the package manager:

sudo apt install neovim

Step 3: Verify the Installation

Once the installation is complete, you can verify that Neovim is successfully installed by checking its version:

nvim --version

Example Output:

After running the nvim --version command, you might see an output similar to the following:

NVIM v0.5.1
Build type: Release
LuaJIT 2.1.0-beta3
Compilation: /usr/bin/cc -U_FORTIFY_SOURCE -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=1 -O2 -g -Wall -Wconversion -Wshadow -Wextra -pedantic -Wvla -fstack-protector-strong -fdiagnostics-color=auto -DINCLUDE_GENERATED_DECLARATIONS -D_GNU_SOURCE -DNVIM_MSGPACK_HAS_FLOAT32 -DNVIM_UNIBI_HAS_VAR_FROM -I/build/neovim-O3XPwK/neovim-0.5.1/build/config -I/build/neovim-O3XPwK/neovim-0.5.1/src -I/usr/include -I/build/neovim-O3XPwK/neovim-0.5.1/build/src/nvim/auto -I/build/neovim-O3XPwK/neovim-0.5.1/build/include

Benefits of Neovim on Ubuntu

  1. Modern Features: Neovim offers modern features and capabilities while retaining the power and extensibility of Vim.
  2. Extensibility: Neovim supports a rich ecosystem of plugins and extensions, making it customizable to suit your needs.
  3. Terminal Integration: Neovim's terminal emulator integration allows you to run shell commands without leaving the editor.
  4. Efficient Text Editing: Neovim provides efficient text editing and navigation, enhancing your productivity.

By installing Neovim on your Ubuntu system, you'll gain access to a versatile and efficient text editor that can significantly enhance your coding and writing workflows.