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 is built
for users who want the good parts of Vim, and more.
Goals
- Flexible, extensible Vim with a first-class, fast scripting alternative (Lua/LuaJIT)
- 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