How to Install#

Prerequisites#

Before starting, ensure you have the following installed:

Required (All Users)#

• Neovim v0.11+ (earlier versions may work but are untested)
• Git - for plugin management
• ripgrep (rg) - for Telescope file searching
• fd - for Telescope extended file finding capabilities
• A Nerd Font installed and configured in your terminal

Language-Specific#

For Java Development:

• JDK 11 or later - SDKMan is recommended for Java installation

For Rust Development:

• Rust toolchain - Install via rustup
• rust-analyzer - Will be auto-installed via Mason on first use
• codelldb - Will be auto-installed via Mason for debugging

First Time Setup#

1. Clone this configuration to your Neovim config directory:

git clone https://github.com/sshaaf/neovim.git ~/.config/nvim

2. Open Neovim for the first time:

nvim

3. Lazy.nvim will automatically:

   • Install all plugins
   • Java: Install nvim-jdtls and jdtls language server via Mason
   • Rust: Install rustaceanvim, crates.nvim, rust-analyzer, and codelldb via Mason
   • Set up debugging support with nvim-dap for both languages
   • Configure neotest for testing

   Wait for all installations to complete (you’ll see progress notifications).

4. Verify installation by running:

:checkhealth

All checks should pass except for optional warnings (which can be ignored).

Optional: AI Assistant Setup#

This configuration includes CodeCompanion.nvim for AI-assisted coding using self-hosted LLMs via Ollama.

Installing Ollama#

1. Install Ollama (choose your platform):

   macOS:

   brew install ollama

   Linux:

   curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh

   Or download from: ollama.com

2. Start Ollama service:

   ollama serve

3. Pull a code model (recommended for Java development):

   ollama pull deepseek-coder:6.7b

   Alternative models:

   • ollama pull qwen2.5-coder:7b - Excellent code understanding
   • ollama pull codellama:13b - Solid all-around model
   • ollama pull starcoder2:15b - Good for completions

4. Verify Ollama is running:

   curl http://localhost:11434/api/tags

Using the AI Assistant#

Once Ollama is running with a model downloaded:

• <Space>ac - Open AI chat
• <Space>ae - Edit selection with AI (visual mode)
• <Space>ax - Explain code (visual mode)
• <Space>aa - Show AI actions menu

See Quick Reference for all AI keybindings.