kickstart.nvim — AI Engineering Edition

An AI Engineering take on kickstart.nvim: Python/ML notebooks, TypeScript/JavaScript, Rust/C++, data & config files, Markdown docs, and an AI assistant (OpenCode) — all on a fork that stays syncable with upstream.

• Small, single-file core: init.lua is the upstream file, near-untouched.
• All AI Engineering features live in lua/custom/plugins/ (the official escape hatch kickstart documents), with an explicit loader.
• PR-your-features or keep your fork in sync with nvim-lua/kickstart.nvim by fast-forwarding just master.

NOT a Neovim distribution — a starting point, documented top-to-bottom.

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Table of Contents

• What's inside
• Installation
• AI Engineering Stack
• Keymaps
• How it's structured
• FAQ
• Install Recipes
• Alternative Neovim installation methods

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What's inside

Area	What you get	Where
Python / ML	basedpyright LSP (Pylance features), ruff lint+format, debugpy debugging, type checking	lsp.lua, format.lua, debug.lua
Notebooks	edit .ipynb as plain text (jupytext.nvim) + run cells in a live Jupyter kernel (molten-nvim)	notebooks.lua
TypeScript/JS	ts_ls LSP, inlay hints, prettierd formatting	lsp.lua, format.lua
Rust	rust_analyzer with clippy + inlay hints	lsp.lua
C/C++	clangd LSP	lsp.lua
Data & config	csvview.nvim (CSV/TSV), yamlls, taplo	data.lua, lsp.lua
Markdown & docs	render-markdown.nvim (obsidian preset), markdownlint	markdown.lua, format.lua
AI assistant	opencode.nvim — ask/review/fix/document with OpenCode	ai.lua
Quality of life	oil.nvim, undotree, flash.nvim	qol.lua

Everything installs automatically through Mason (:Mason to inspect). Nothing blocks: run :checkhealth and fix only the tools you actually want.

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Installation

Install Neovim

Targets the latest stable (0.11+) and nightly. Check your version with nvim --version. If your package manager ships an outdated Neovim, see Alternative installation methods.

Install External Dependencies

• Basic utils: git, make, unzip, C Compiler (gcc)
• ripgrep (used by Telescope)
• A Nerd Font — enabled by default in this fork (vim.g.have_nerd_font = true). If you don't use one, flip it back to false.
• Clipboard tool (xclip/xsel/win32yank) depending on your platform.
• Optional, per-language tooling (used by Mason to resolve non-LSP tools):
  • Python: a python3 with jupyter + ipykernel (for molten-nvim), and jupytext (for jupytext.nvim). E.g. python3 -m pip install jupyter ipykernel jupytext. Activating a virtualenv before opening Neovim makes both molten and the Python debugger use it automatically.
  • TypeScript/JS: node + npm.
  • OpenCode: the opencode CLI on $PATH (see opencode.ai). opencode.nvim starts an integrated server (opencode --port) if none is running.

Note

See Install Recipes for Windows and Linux specifics.

Install Kickstart

Note

Backup your previous configuration (if any exists).

Neovim's configurations are located at (depending on your OS):

OS	PATH
Linux, MacOS	$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nvim, ~/.config/nvim
Windows (cmd)	%localappdata%\nvim\
Windows (powershell)	$env:LOCALAPPDATA\nvim\

Linux / MacOS

git clone https://github.com/Faycall1l/kickstart.nvim.git "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}"/nvim

Windows (PowerShell)

git clone https://github.com/Faycall1l/kickstart.nvim.git $env:LOCALAPPDATA\nvim

On first launch, vim.pack will download all plugins and Mason will install the toolchain automatically. Then run :checkhealth to see what's ready.

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AI Engineering Stack

Python / ML (<leader> + LSP defaults)

• basedpyright — pyright fork with Pylance-ported features: completions, inlay hints, semantic tokens, type checking (basic), navigation, refactors.
• ruff — linting (nvim-lint) and formatting (ruff_format) on save via conform.
• debugpy — full debugging via nvim-dap (see Keymaps).

Jupyter notebooks

Editing an .ipynb:

• jupytext.nvim transparently opens notebooks as py:percent text — so it's readable, diffable, and basedpyright/ruff work inside notebook code.
• molten-nvim runs cells against a live Jupyter kernel. Output appears as virtual text or in a floating window; plots/images/LateX are supported.
• ]n / [n jump between cells.

The full keymaps under <leader>m ([M]olten):

Key	Action
<leader>mi	Initialize kernel
<leader>mc	Re-run current cell
<leader>ml	Evaluate current line
<leader>me (n/x)	Evaluate operator / visual selection
<leader>ms / <leader>mh	Show / hide output
<leader>md	Delete cell
<leader>mr	Restart kernel

Data & config files

• csvview.nvim auto-enables on *.csv / *.tsv: Excel-like navigation (<Tab> / <Enter>), text objects (if / af). Toggle with <leader>xv, inspect with <leader>xi.
• YAML / TOML get yamlls / taplo LSPs; both are formatted on save.

Markdown

render-markdown.nvim (obsidian preset) turns Markdown buffers into rendered docs. Toggle with <leader>tr. markdownlint lints Markdown via nvim-lint.

AI assistant (OpenCode)

<leader>a is the [A]I Assistant group:

Key	Action
<leader>aa	Ask OpenCode (prompt input)
<leader>as	Select prompt / command
<leader>ae	Explain @this
<leader>ar	Review @this
<leader>af	Fix @diagnostics
<leader>at	Add tests for @this
<leader>ad	Document @this
<leader>an / <leader>ac	New / compact session

Context placeholders: @this, @buffer, @diagnostics, @quickfix, etc. When OpenCode proposes an edit, the target file opens in a new tab with :diffpatch — accept whole (da), hunk (dp), or reject (dr).

Debugging (Python)

Key	Action
<F5>	Start / continue
<F1> / <F2> / <F3>	Step into / over / out
<F7>	Toggle DAP UI
<leader>db / <leader>dB	Toggle / conditional breakpoint
<leader>dc	Continue
<leader>ds	Toggle UI
<leader>dt	Terminate
<leader>dp	DAP REPL

debugpy is auto-installed via Mason; pytest is the default test runner, and the active virtualenv is used when set.

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Keymaps

Upstream keymaps are preserved. Added leader groups:

Prefix	Group
<leader>a	[A]I Assistant
<leader>m	[M]olten
<leader>o	[O]il
<leader>d	[D]ebug

Plus: <leader>u undotree, <leader>xv / <leader>xi csvview, <leader>tr render-markdown, s/S/r/R flash jumps, - open oil.

Also upstream quality-of-life shortcuts still apply (<leader>f format, <leader>sh help search, etc.) — press <space> and which-key will show them.

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How it's structured

init.lua                      <- upstream, near-untouched (Nerd Font flag + loader)
lua/custom/plugins/
  init.lua                    <- explicit, dependency-aware loader
  config.lua                  <- PATH, Mason toolchain, which-key groups
  lsp.lua                     <- basedpyright, ts_ls, rust_analyzer, clangd, yamlls, taplo
  treesitter.lua              <- extra parsers
  format.lua                  <- conform override + nvim-lint
  notebooks.lua               <- jupytext.nvim + molten-nvim
  data.lua                    <- csvview.nvim
  markdown.lua                <- render-markdown.nvim
  debug.lua                   <- nvim-dap + debugpy
  qol.lua                     <- oil.nvim, undotree, flash.nvim
  ai.lua                      <- opencode.nvim
lua/kickstart/                <- upstream modules (health, optional plugins)

Keeping in sync with upstream

master tracks nvim-lua/kickstart.nvim. All downstream work happens on dev/ai-engineering and feature/* branches. To resync:

git checkout master
git pull upstream master
git checkout dev/ai-engineering
git merge master

Because the AI layer lives entirely in lua/custom/plugins/, merges stay conflict-free almost always — that "escape hatch" directory is upstream's promise.

Updating

Plugins use the built-in vim.pack:

:lua vim.pack.update()                    -- install/update all plugins
:lua vim.pack.update(nil, { offline = true }) -- inspect pending updates

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FAQ

• What if I want to update or uninstall?
  • Uninstall: remove your config directory and local data directory (e.g. ~/.config/nvim and ~/.local/share/nvim).
  • Reinstall plugins from scratch: rm -rf ~/.local/share/nvim/pack (or the matching path for your NVIM_APPNAME).
• Do I need to install all the AI tools?
  • No. Mason only installs the toolchain on :Mason/first run. Run :checkhealth and ignore warnings for languages you don't use.
• Notebooks require Jupyter — do I need the full JupyterLab?
  • No. molten-nvim needs a kernel, i.e. jupyter + ipykernel (python3 -m pip install jupyter ipykernel). jupytext is used only when opening .ipynb files as text.
• Why is init.lua still one file? Why are my plugins split?
  • init.lua stays upstream to make syncing trivial; the split lua/custom/plugins/ layer is the officially documented integration point and keeps each concern in one small file.
• What happened to lazy.nvim?
  • Upstream kickstart migrated to Neovim's built-in vim.pack manager; this fork follows that.

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Install Recipes

After installing all dependencies, continue with Install Kickstart.

Windows Installation

Windows with Microsoft C++ Build Tools and CMake

Kickstart's default config is make-only for telescope-fzf-native.nvim. If make is unavailable, a CMake fallback can be enabled in the PackChanged hook inside init.lua (upstream documents both variants inline).

Windows with gcc/make using chocolatey

choco install -y neovim git ripgrep wget fd unzip gzip mingw make tree-sitter

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

wsl --install
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:neovim-ppa/unstable -y
sudo apt update
sudo apt install make gcc ripgrep fd-find tree-sitter-cli unzip git xclip neovim

Linux Install

Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:neovim-ppa/unstable -y
sudo apt update
sudo apt install make gcc ripgrep fd-find tree-sitter-cli unzip git xclip neovim

Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install make gcc ripgrep fd-find tree-sitter-cli unzip git xclip curl
curl -LO https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest/download/nvim-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
sudo rm -rf /opt/nvim-linux-x86_64
sudo mkdir -p /opt/nvim-linux-x86_64
sudo chmod a+rX /opt/nvim-linux-x86_64
sudo tar -C /opt -xzf nvim-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
sudo ln -sf /opt/nvim-linux-x86_64/bin/nvim /usr/local/bin/

Fedora

sudo dnf install -y gcc make git ripgrep fd-find tree-sitter-cli unzip neovim

Arch

sudo pacman -S --noconfirm --needed gcc make git ripgrep fd tree-sitter-cli unzip neovim

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Alternative Neovim installation methods

Bob

Bob is a Neovim version manager:

rustup default stable && rustup update stable
cargo install bob-nvim
bob use stable

Homebrew

brew install neovim

Flatpak

Install flatpak then flatpak install flathub io.neovim.nvim.

mise

mise plugins install neovim
mise use neovim@stable

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Enjoy your AI Engineering Neovim! ✨