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Before You Begin

Make sure you’ve completed all the prerequisites before proceeding with the installation.
This installation will replace your existing Neovim configuration. If you have a current configuration you want to keep, back it up first:
mv ~/.config/nvim ~/.config/nvim.backup
mv ~/.local/share/nvim ~/.local/share/nvim.backup

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Installation Steps

1

Clone the Repository

Clone the Neovim from Scratch repository into your Neovim configuration directory:
git clone https://github.com/LunarVim/Neovim-from-scratch.git ~/.config/nvim
This places the configuration files in the standard location where Neovim looks for user configurations.
On Windows, the configuration directory is ~/AppData/Local/nvim instead of ~/.config/nvim.
2

Launch Neovim

Start Neovim for the first time:
nvim
On first launch, you’ll see Packer automatically install itself and begin downloading plugins. This process may take a minute or two depending on your internet connection.You’ll see output similar to:
Installing packer close and reopen Neovim...
Cloning into '~/.local/share/nvim/site/pack/packer/start/packer.nvim'...
3

Wait for Plugin Installation

Packer will automatically install all configured plugins. You’ll see a floating window showing the installation progress with status for each plugin.The installation includes:
  • LSP support (nvim-lspconfig, Mason)
  • Autocompletion (nvim-cmp and sources)
  • Syntax highlighting (Treesitter)
  • File navigation (Telescope, nvim-tree)
  • Git integration (Gitsigns)
  • UI enhancements (Lualine, Bufferline, Alpha)
  • And many more plugins
If you see any errors during the initial installation, try closing and reopening Neovim. The plugins.lua file is configured to automatically sync Packer whenever you save it.
4

Restart Neovim

After the initial plugin installation completes, close and reopen Neovim:
# Close Neovim
:q

# Reopen Neovim
nvim
On this second launch, you’ll notice Treesitter pulling in language parsers. This is normal and expected behavior.
5

Install Language Servers with Mason

Mason is used to install and manage LSP servers, formatters, and linters. To open Mason:
:Mason
The configuration automatically installs these language servers:
  • lua_ls - Lua language server
  • pyright - Python language server
  • jsonls - JSON language server
Mason will automatically install these servers on first launch. You can install additional servers through the Mason UI using the i key when hovering over a server name.
To see all available servers and tools:
  • Press i to install
  • Press X to uninstall
  • Press u to update
  • Press g? for help

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Verifying Your Installation

After installation, verify everything is working correctly:

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Check Plugin Status

Run the Packer status command: 
:PackerStatus
You should see all plugins listed with their installation status. A properly installed plugin shows a green checkmark.

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Check LSP Servers

Verify Mason has installed the language servers: 
:Mason
You should see the configured servers (lua_ls, pyright, jsonls) marked as installed.

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Test Key Bindings

Try some basic keybindings to ensure everything is working:
  • Press <Space> (the leader key) - You should see WhichKey popup showing available commands
  • Press <Space>f to see file-related commands
  • Press <Space>ff to open Telescope file finder
  • Press <Space>e to toggle the file explorer (nvim-tree)

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Configuration Files

The configuration is automatically loaded through the main entry point:
init.lua
require "user.options"
require "user.keymaps"
require "user.plugins"
require "user.colorscheme"
require "user.cmp"
require "user.lsp"
require "user.telescope"
require "user.gitsigns"
require "user.treesitter"
require "user.autopairs"
require "user.comment"
require "user.nvim-tree"
require "user.bufferline"
require "user.lualine"
require "user.toggleterm"
require "user.project"
require "user.impatient"
require "user.indentline"
require "user.alpha"
require "user.whichkey"
require "user.autocommands"
Each require statement loads a specific module from the lua/user/ directory. This modular approach makes it easy to understand and customize each aspect of the configuration.

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Updating the Configuration

To update Neovim from Scratch to the latest version: 
cd ~/.config/nvim
git pull
Then open Neovim and sync plugins: 
:PackerSync
The master branch uses pinned plugin versions for stability. Updates to the repository may include new pinned versions. If you’ve customized plugin commits in lua/user/plugins.lua, be aware that pulling updates may override your changes.

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Troubleshooting

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Plugins Fail to Install

If plugins fail to install:
  1. Check your internet connection
  2. Remove the Packer installation and try again: 
    rm -rf ~/.local/share/nvim/site/pack/packer
  3. Reopen Neovim to trigger automatic reinstallation

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LSP Not Working

If language servers aren’t working:
  1. Open Mason and ensure servers are installed: :Mason
  2. Check LSP status: :LspInfo
  3. Verify Mason installation path has correct permissions
  4. Try manually installing a server: :MasonInstall lua_ls

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Treesitter Errors

If you see Treesitter errors:
  1. Update Treesitter parsers: :TSUpdate
  2. Check installed parsers: :TSInstallInfo
  3. Ensure you have a C compiler installed (required for Treesitter)

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Configuration Not Loading

If your configuration isn’t loading:
  1. Verify the installation path: ~/.config/nvim should contain init.lua
  2. Check for syntax errors: nvim --headless +"lua print('Config OK')" +q
  3. Look for errors in :messages

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Next Steps

Now that you have Neovim from Scratch installed, you should:
  1. Complete the Prerequisites checks to ensure full functionality
  2. Explore the Key Mappings to learn the most important shortcuts
  3. Understand the Configuration to customize your setup
  4. Learn about Plugin Management to add or remove plugins

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