Vision
Neovim is a refactor, and sometimes redactor, in the tradition of Vim (which
itself derives from Stevie).
It is not a rewrite but a continuation and extension of Vim. Many clones and
derivatives exist, some very clever—but none are Vim. Neovim strives to be
a superset of Vim except for some intentionally-removed misfeatures. It is built
for users who want the good parts of Vim, and more.
Goals
- Provide a flexible, extensible Vim with a first-class, fast scripting alternative (lua/luajit)
- Provide a consistent user experience across platforms
- Leverage ongoing Vim development: harmony
- Maintain feature parity with Vim; avoid regressions
- Continue the Vim tradition of backwards compatibility, with few exceptions
- Keep the core small and fast
- Target all platforms supported by libuv
- Optimize out of the box, for new users but especially regular users
- Delegate to plugins, but preserve the utility of the editor core
Non-Goals
- Turn Vim into an IDE
- Limit third-party applications (such as IDEs!) built with Neovim
- Deprecate VimL
- Vi-compatibility
Principles
- Do Not Regress From Origin
- Decide outcomes by weighing cost and benefit
- Use automation to solve problems
- Enable new contributors: remove barriers to entry
- Unblock third parties and plugin authors: allow progress
- In matters of taste or ambiguity, favor tradition/compatibility...
- ...but prefer usability over tradition if the benefits are overwhelming
- Give usability a chance™
Project Management