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how I switched from vscode to neovim

this note was originally a tweet here :)

I recently switched from vscode to neovim (tweet thread here). This is a big change for me considering ive been using vscode for five years now, and ive gotten alot of questions about how i did the switch. so im going to try lay it out briefly here:

  • started from not knowing any vim keybinds (aka vim motions)
  • first learned what the main/core vim motions are by installing neovim and doing :Tutor (google this if you are confused)
  • finished Tutor (about 30 mins)
  • did the first 7 levels of http://vim-adventures.com (stopped after it started getting really puzzly and not just about learning the motions) (1-2 hrs)
  • installed the vim vscode extension to use vim motions within vs code - didnt try to learn new motions until i got the core ones down. hjkl, w, b, e, d, c, / can take you most of the way there
  • started to focus on learning some more advanced keybinds about text manipulation, navigation, searching
  • after a week i started to feel comfortable with the core bindings and started to feel held back in vscode by things like native file navigation and search
  • i decided to switch to neovim, and started my neovim setup by watching and following "The Only Video You Need to Get Started with Neovim" by @teej_dv. highly recommend this video on youtube
  • did some small other setup to make it fit what i want to do, and been getting faster and learning more motions since