Modern Neovim Config with lazy.nvim

Beginner15 min

Set up a modern Neovim configuration from scratch using lazy.nvim as the plugin manager with a clean directory structure.

Prerequisites

-Neovim 0.9+ installed
-Git installed

Steps

Back up existing config and create directory structure

Save any existing Neovim config and set up the standard directory layout.

$ mv ~/.config/nvim ~/.config/nvim.bak 2>/dev/null; mkdir -p ~/.config/nvim/lua/plugins

Neovim reads init.lua from ~/.config/nvim/ on Linux/macOS or ~/AppData/Local/nvim/ on Windows.

Bootstrap lazy.nvim in init.lua

Create the init.lua with the lazy.nvim bootstrap code that auto-installs the plugin manager.

$ cat > ~/.config/nvim/init.lua << 'EOF' -- Bootstrap lazy.nvim local lazypath = vim.fn.stdpath("data") .. "/lazy/lazy.nvim" if not vim.loop.fs_stat(lazypath) then vim.fn.system({ "git", "clone", "--filter=blob:none", "https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim.git", "--branch=stable", lazypath }) end vim.opt.rtp:prepend(lazypath) -- Leader key (must be before lazy) vim.g.mapleader = " " vim.g.maplocalleader = " " -- Core options vim.opt.number = true vim.opt.relativenumber = true vim.opt.tabstop = 4 vim.opt.shiftwidth = 4 vim.opt.expandtab = true vim.opt.smartindent = true vim.opt.termguicolors = true vim.opt.signcolumn = "yes" vim.opt.clipboard = "unnamedplus" -- Load plugins require("lazy").setup("plugins") EOF

Add a starter plugin spec

Create a plugin spec file that installs a colorscheme and essential plugins.

$ cat > ~/.config/nvim/lua/plugins/init.lua << 'EOF' return { { "catppuccin/nvim", name = "catppuccin", priority = 1000, config = function() vim.cmd.colorscheme("catppuccin") end }, { "nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter", build = ":TSUpdate" }, { "nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim", dependencies = { "nvim-lua/plenary.nvim" } }, } EOF

Launch Neovim and install plugins

Open Neovim to trigger lazy.nvim's automatic plugin installation.

$ nvim --headless '+Lazy sync' +qa

Run :Lazy inside Neovim to see the plugin manager UI, update plugins, and check health.

Verify the setup

Check that Neovim starts cleanly with no errors.

$ nvim +checkhealth

Full Script

full-script.sh

#!/bin/bash
# Neovim Config Setup with lazy.nvim
set -euo pipefail

NVIM_DIR="${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/nvim"

echo "=== Setting Up Neovim Config ==="

# Backup existing config
if [ -d "$NVIM_DIR" ]; then
  echo "Backing up existing config to $NVIM_DIR.bak"
  mv "$NVIM_DIR" "$NVIM_DIR.bak"
fi

mkdir -p "$NVIM_DIR/lua/plugins"

echo "Created directory structure:"
find "$NVIM_DIR" -type d

echo ""
echo "=== Next Steps ==="
echo "1. Create $NVIM_DIR/init.lua with lazy.nvim bootstrap"
echo "2. Add plugin specs in $NVIM_DIR/lua/plugins/"
echo "3. Run 'nvim' to auto-install plugins"
echo ""
echo "=== Useful Commands ==="
echo ":Lazy          Open plugin manager"
echo ":Lazy sync     Install/update plugins"
echo ":Lazy health   Check plugin status"
echo ":checkhealth   Run Neovim health checks"

FAQ

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#!/bin/bash # Neovim Config Setup with lazy.nvim set -euo pipefail NVIM_DIR="${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/nvim" echo "=== Setting Up Neovim Config ===" # Backup existing config if [ -d "$NVIM_DIR" ]; then echo "Backing up existing config to $NVIM_DIR.bak" mv "$NVIM_DIR" "$NVIM_DIR.bak" fi mkdir -p "$NVIM_DIR/lua/plugins" echo "Created directory structure:" find "$NVIM_DIR" -type d echo "" echo "=== Next Steps ===" echo "1. Create $NVIM_DIR/init.lua with lazy.nvim bootstrap" echo "2. Add plugin specs in $NVIM_DIR/lua/plugins/" echo "3. Run 'nvim' to auto-install plugins" echo "" echo "=== Useful Commands ===" echo ":Lazy Open plugin manager" echo ":Lazy sync Install/update plugins" echo ":Lazy health Check plugin status" echo ":checkhealth Run Neovim health checks"