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🛠️ Installation

FtVim uses a starter template model. You clone the starter repository which then loads FtVim as a plugin. This keeps your configuration separate from FtVim's core, making updates easy.

Standard Installation​

1. Backup Your Current Configuration​

# Backup existing configuration (if any)
mv ~/.config/nvim ~/.config/nvim.bak
mv ~/.local/share/nvim ~/.local/share/nvim.bak
mv ~/.local/state/nvim ~/.local/state/nvim.bak
mv ~/.cache/nvim ~/.cache/nvim.bak

2. Clone the Starter Template​

git clone https://github.com/FtVim/starter ~/.config/nvim

3. Start Neovim​

nvim

On first launch, lazy.nvim will automatically install all plugins. This may take a minute.

Parallel Installation​

Want to try FtVim without replacing your current configuration? Use NVIM_APPNAME:

# Clone to a separate directory
git clone https://github.com/FtVim/starter ~/.config/ftvim

# Run with NVIM_APPNAME
NVIM_APPNAME=ftvim nvim

This keeps FtVim completely isolated from your main Neovim configuration.

tip

You can create an alias for convenience:

alias ftvim='NVIM_APPNAME=ftvim nvim'

Post-Installation​

After installation, you may want to:

  1. Install language servers - Open Neovim and run :Mason to install LSP servers for your languages
  2. Enable extras - See Extras for optional features like 42 support or Copilot
  3. Customize - See Configuration to personalize FtVim

Updating​

To update FtVim and all plugins:

:Lazy update

Uninstalling​

To completely remove FtVim:

rm -rf ~/.config/nvim
rm -rf ~/.local/share/nvim
rm -rf ~/.local/state/nvim
rm -rf ~/.cache/nvim