My Cozy Laravel Neovim Setup

Hey there! 👋 This is my carefully crafted Neovim configuration that I've been using and refining while working on Laravel projects. After trying countless setups and configurations, this one finally feels just right - it's fast, smart, and makes Laravel development a breeze.

What makes it special? It's got everything I need for Laravel work - from super-smart PHP completion to Blade template support, and it handles all those little things that used to slow me down. And yes, it works great with Tailwind CSS too!

I originally built this for myself, but figured it might help other Laravel devs who want to give Neovim a shot. Trust me, once you get this set up, you'll wonder how you ever coded Laravel projects without it.

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have the following installed:

1. Neovim (version 0.8.0 or higher)

   # For macOS (using Homebrew)
   brew install neovim
   
   # For Ubuntu/Debian
   sudo apt install neovim
   
   # For Windows (using Chocolatey)
   choco install neovim

2. Node.js (required for CoC)

   # For macOS
   brew install node
   
   # For Ubuntu/Debian
   curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo -E bash -
   sudo apt install nodejs
   
   # For Windows
   choco install nodejs

3. Git

   # For macOS
   brew install git
   
   # For Ubuntu/Debian
   sudo apt install git
   
   # For Windows
   choco install git

4. Ripgrep (for better search functionality)

   # For macOS
   brew install ripgrep
   
   # For Ubuntu/Debian
   sudo apt install ripgrep
   
   # For Windows
   choco install ripgrep

Installation

1. First, install vim-plug (Plugin Manager):

   # For Unix (Linux/macOS)
   sh -c 'curl -fLo "${XDG_DATA_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share}"/nvim/site/autoload/plug.vim --create-dirs \
       https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junegunn/vim-plug/master/plug.vim'
   
   # For Windows (PowerShell)
   iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junegunn/vim-plug/master/plug.vim |`
       ni "$env:LOCALAPPDATA/nvim-data/site/autoload/plug.vim" -Force

2. Create the Neovim configuration directory:

   # For Unix (Linux/macOS)
   mkdir -p ~/.config/nvim
   
   # For Windows
   mkdir $env:LOCALAPPDATA\nvim

3. Copy the provided init.vim into your Neovim configuration directory:

   # For Unix (Linux/macOS)
   cp init.vim ~/.config/nvim/
   
   # For Windows
   copy init.vim $env:LOCALAPPDATA\nvim\

4. Open Neovim and install plugins:

   nvim

   Then inside Neovim, run:

   :PlugInstall
   

5. Install CoC extensions (this will happen automatically when you open Neovim)

Features

• 🧠 Intelligent code completion (CoC + Copilot)
• 🔍 Fuzzy file finding and searching (Telescope)
• 📁 File explorer (nvim-tree)
• 🎨 Beautiful UI with Tokyo Night theme
• 📦 Auto-pairs and surround functionality
• 🔄 Better syntax highlighting (TreeSitter)
• ⚡ Fast and efficient performance optimizations

Key Mappings

Space is the leader key. Here are some essential keybindings to get you started:

File Navigation

• <Space>ff - Find files
• <Space>fg - Live grep (search in files)
• <Space>fb - Browse buffers
• <Space>e - Toggle file explorer

Code Navigation

• gd - Go to definition
• gy - Go to type definition
• gi - Go to implementation
• gr - Find references
• K - Show documentation

Window Management

• Ctrl + Arrow Keys - Navigate between windows
• <Space>qq - Quit
• <Space>bd - Close buffer
• [b and ]b - Previous/Next buffer

Code Completion

• Ctrl + Space - Trigger completion
• Tab - Navigate completion menu
• Enter - Select completion

Copilot

• Ctrl + J - Accept suggestion
• Ctrl + n - Next suggestion
• Ctrl + p - Previous suggestion
• Ctrl + \ - Dismiss suggestion

Code Actions

• <Space>ac - Code action menu
• <Space>fm - Format file

Customization

The configuration includes:

• Case-insensitive search
• 4-space indentation
• Line numbers with relative numbering
• True color support
• Mouse support in all modes
• System clipboard integration
• Persistent undo history

Troubleshooting

1. If you see errors about missing plugins:

   • Run :PlugInstall inside Neovim
   • Restart Neovim

2. If CoC shows errors:

   • Make sure Node.js is installed
   • Run :CocInfo to check CoC status
   • Run :CocInstall [extension] for any missing extensions

3. If file icons are not showing:

   • Make sure you have a Nerd Font installed and configured in your terminal

4. If Telescope search is not working:

   • Verify that ripgrep is installed
   • Run rg --version in your terminal to confirm

For more detailed troubleshooting, check the error messages in:

• :messages
• :CocInfo
• :checkhealth

Support

If you encounter any issues:

1. Run :checkhealth inside Neovim to diagnose common problems
2. Check if all prerequisites are installed correctly
3. Make sure your Neovim version is 0.8.0 or higher (:version)