Why I Switched from VSCode to Neovim

The Journey from GUI to Terminal

After years of using VSCode, I finally made the switch to Neovim (nvim) and haven't looked back. Neovim has a ton of benefits that i'm going to talk about, but one of the most important is the longer battery life and performance boost. Now, i have quite a decent laptop, but i started to experience bottlenecks when i tried to run Vscode along with docker or a minikube cluster.

My battery life of about 8 hrs would reduce to 4-5 hrs at most and that's when i realized i need a change. Setting up nvim and learning vim motions hasn't been walk in the park, it has a steep learning curve but once you do it you are hooked. it kinda feels like escaping the matrix. Using neovim elevates you to a higher point of consciousness where you can look down upon the poor lost souls using tools like vscode, intelliJ and emacs😂.

Key Benefits of Neovim

⚡ Performance and Speed

Lightning fast startup: Neovim starts in milliseconds, not seconds
Minimal resource usage: Uses significantly less RAM and CPU compared to Electron-based editors
Efficient text manipulation: Modal editing makes complex text operations incredibly fast

🎯 Modal Editing Mastery

Vim motions: Navigate and edit text without touching the mouse
Composable commands: Combine motions, operators, and text objects for powerful editing
Muscle memory: Once learned, Vim keybindings become second nature and work everywhere

🔧 Ultimate Customization

Lua configuration: Modern, fast scripting language for configuration
Plugin ecosystem: Thousands of plugins available through package managers like lazy.nvim
Complete control: Every aspect of the editor can be customized to your exact needs

🌐 Universal Availability

SSH-friendly: Edit files on remote servers seamlessly
Terminal native: Works perfectly in any terminal environment
Platform agnostic: Same experience across Linux, macOS, and Windows

🚀 Developer Productivity Features

Built-in LSP client: Native Language Server Protocol support
Treesitter integration: Advanced syntax highlighting and code analysis
Telescope.nvim: Fuzzy finding for files, buffers, and more
Git integration: Excellent Git workflow with plugins like fugitive and gitsigns

Why I Made the Switch

The VSCode Pain Points

Heavy resource consumption (especially with multiple extensions)
Slower startup times
Limited customization compared to Neovim's flexibility
Mouse dependency breaking coding flow

The Neovim Advantages

Speed: Everything is faster - startup, file operations, searching
Focus: Terminal-based workflow keeps me in the zone
Efficiency: Vim motions make editing incredibly efficient
Learning: Forced me to become a better developer by understanding my tools deeply

The Learning Curve

Yes, there's a learning curve, but it's worth it:

Week 1-2: Frustrating but educational - learning basic motions
Month 1: Becoming productive, discovering the power of modal editing
Month 3+: Muscle memory kicks in, editing becomes effortless

Essential Plugins That Made the Transition Smooth

lazy.nvim: Plugin manager
nvim-lspconfig: LSP configuration
telescope.nvim: Fuzzy finder
nvim-treesitter: Syntax highlighting
which-key.nvim: Keybinding helper
neo-tree.nvim: File explorer
lualine.nvim: Status line

Configuration Philosophy

My Neovim config follows these principles:

Minimal but powerful
Fast startup time
Consistent keybindings
IDE-like features without the bloat

The Obligatory Vim Meme

    How to exit Vim:

    Step 1: Try to exit Vim
    Step 2: Google "how to exit vim"
    Step 3: :q!
    Step 4: Realize you've joined the cult
    Step 5: Why would i ever want to exit vim

    ┌─────────────────────────────────┐
    │ Before Vim:  😄 Happy Developer  │
    │ Learning Vim: 😫 Confused        │
    │ After Vim:   😎 Vim Master       │
    │ Without Vim: 😭 Lost Soul ☠️     │
    └─────────────────────────────────┘

    "I don't always edit text,
     but when I do, I prefer Vim motions
     in every single application I use."

Conclusion

Switching from VSCode to Neovim was challenging but ultimately rewarding. The speed, efficiency, and deep customization options make it worth the initial investment in learning. Once you experience the power of modal editing and the satisfaction of a perfectly tuned editor, there's no going back.

Pro tip: You don't have to go cold turkey. Try Vim motions in VSCode first with the Vim extension, then gradually transition to Neovim when you're comfortable.

if you don't use Neovim eventually you'll find yourself alone in a urinal, i walk in, turn my head and look at you then say this three words "i use neovim, BTW", you'll immediatly feel smaller, like your editor is not just well endowed as you thought

-Peteron kinyanjui