[Voklen]

For me this feels similar to why I use Helix[1]. I used to use VSCodium and had tried to switch to Vim or Neovim multiple times but didn't manage because of all the plugin configuration to be able to program. Then I saw an HN post about Helix, started it up and it just worked and so haven't used anything else since.

I find the Helix keybindings easier to learn because you see what text will be affected by any operation before you do it. And by using Helix I've found I've been able to pick up Vim keybindings as well so can use it on a server.

I think it would help if it didn't have such a jarring default colour scheme though.

[1] https://helix-editor.com/

[jdeaton]

Helix has been trying to implement a plugins system for like 2 years that should tell you everything you need to know about its future prospects

[imjonse]

A plugin system is much less of an issue when Helix has built-in functionality for most of what comes as plugins in Vim. That said integration with git or with code assistants/chat is something that is probably better done via plugins hence it is still on the roadmap.

But in my experience of ~10 months of Helix vs +20 years of Vim, the former is a much more pleasant and hassle-free experience, mostly because of it offering autocompletion, matching, fuzzy file picker, multiple cursors, LSP and go to definition, and other features with no or minimal configuration and the guarantee of stability and support (something that can not always be said when picking among the competing Vim plugins for same)

[robinsonrc]

In fairness Helix provides a lot of functionality out of the box and features are gradually being added all the time. The lack of plugin system is not a problem for many people, and I’d rather they take their time and get it right. I certainly don’t think it’s the case that they’re “trying” and failing to implement plugins - it’s clearly going to happen when the time is right.

[cayley_graph]

And, oddly, they chose to do their own Scheme implementation for it. Not that I'm against Scheme in particular, but a lot of other people justifiably seem to be. It doesn't have the speed or learn-it-in-10-minutes of Lua (nvim) or the historical excuse of Elisp/Vimscript (emacs/vim) or the ecosystem of Typescript (vscode). Strange choice.

[dcre]

I use Helix and don’t miss plugins.

[WuxiFingerHold]

If you're happy with Helix, do nothing, it you find yourself missing features, try this: https://lazyvim-ambitious-devs.phillips.codes/

I love Helix and used it a bit, but the lack of plugins (and thereby features) made me switch.

[danielvaughn]

I also heard about Helix and have been curious about it, for the same reason. If I’m going to learn Vim keybindings, it’s because I want to move fast. Tweaking configuration files for an evening is the exact opposite of moving fast.

[seanhunter]

The idea that you constantly need to tweak your config files in vim/neovim is a bizarre myth that seems to have sprung up because vim is so flexible that some people love messing about with config. You can just copy something like vim-sensible to give sensible defaults and get going - you absolutely don't have to do a bunch of tinkering. I have used vim and then neovim for 24 years now and most of my config customization I did more than 15 years ago when I decided to add a bunch of extra keybindings.

I very occasionally will add a plugin or tweak something (eg if I want a new snippet or something) but it's really not necessary to have a big complex config and I would say I spend well under 5 minutes per year on config.

I really wanted to like helix but there are a few really fundamental things that are really crucial to most of my workflows that were just missing (eg reflow text) when I tried it.

[lenkite]

Just use https://astronvim.com/. I haven't touched my config for more than a month. With astronvim community, other people do the hard work.

I also tried the "pure" config from scratch way but its just way too much work to maintain, esp if you want all the goodies. Also, not an expert in Lua so my config sucked. Simply better to use an existing, well-maintained neovim distro. I tried all of them and liked astronvim the best.

[dcre]

Give Helix a try. If you happen not to depend intensely on a few big IDE features it's missing, it's wonderful.