What are the best Vim distributions ?

Question

3

Options
Considered

22

User
Recs.

Sep 2, 2023

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

3 Options Considered

Best Vim distributions	Price	Platforms	License
-- Neovim	-	Linux, Windows, macOS, *nix, Android	Apache
-- SpaceVim	-	-	-
-- Spacemacs	-	Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD	GPL-3.0-or-later

See Full List

I Recommend...

Built By the Slant team

Find the best product instantly.

4.7 star rating

Try it now - it's free

score 10 · Answer 1

Neovim

Top Pro

Modern code base

As a refactor over Vim, Neovim has greatly improved its code base. For example, some functionality is handled by libuv, the same code base that powers Node.js. See More

Specs

Platforms:Linux, Windows, macOS, *nix, Android

Top Pro

Still Vim but with upgraded features and some issues fixed

NeoVim was a complete rewrite of Vim, with new features added and underlying issues resolved thanks to the Vim code base. The keybindings and configuration are the same as Vim, so the switch can be pretty simple. See More

Top Pro

UI Agnostic

The core functionality is handled apart from the UI, meaning that Neovim can be embedded into any other GUI system, such as Atom. See More

See All

score 10 · Answer 2

SpaceVim

Top Pro

Beautiful GUI

Specs

Supported platforms:Windows; macOS; Linux

Top Pro

Hundreds of packages nicely organized in configuration layers

Top Pro

Mnemonic key bindings

See All

score 2 · Answer 3

Spacemacs

Top Pro

Excellent support for Elixir programming language

Elixir layer which uses the Alchemist package is the best way to edit Elixir code out there. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD

License:GPL-3.0-or-later

Top Pro

Daemon support

Has great daemon support, which can mitigate the issue of slow startup. See More

Top Pro

Great Clojure support

Top Pro

Can work in terminal mode

Sometimes you only have terminal access, over ssh or something. See More

Top Pro

Great CFEngine support

Syntax highlighting and org-babel extensions. See More

Top Pro

Manage R files easily

Top Pro

LaTeX support

LaTeX allows for auto-completion, syncing, and more. See More

Top Pro

Easily extended with community plugins

Top Pro

Manage many code bases easily

Top Pro

Remote file editing

Files can be edited in Spacemacs remotely. See More

Top Pro

Fast-paced development

New functionalities and fixes are added to Spacemacs every day, while release cycles are short. See More

Top Pro

Mnemonic and consistent keybindings

Space-lead key bindings are organized in mnemonic namespaces. For instance, buffer actions are under SPC b, file actions are under SPC f, project actions are under SPC p, search actions are under SPC s, and so on. Keybindings are consistent across the whole distribution thanks to a set of conventions. See More

Top Pro

Above average documentation quality

Documentation is mandatory for each new configuration layer and can be accessed directly within the editor in Org format. See More

Top Pro

Lowers the risk of RSI by using the spacebar as leader

Spacemacs got its name from the fact that it is uses the space bar as a default leader key. The key was chosen because it is easy to press and to hopefully lower the risk of RSI. See More

Top Pro

Offers a number of practical features

Spacemacs has some great features for taking notes, tracking to-do lists, and tracking time. See More

Top Pro

Great support from the community

The community surrounding Spacemacs is very active and there is a welcoming gitter chat for users to ask questions. See More

Top Pro

Great note-taking and agenda mode built-in

Allows for great organization applications that can be saved in future-proof format, plain text, can be integrated with org, LaTeX, markdown, HTML, Literate Programming and be committed to source control. See More

Top Pro

Cross-platform

Emacs runs on Gnu/Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. See More

Top Pro

Simple but powerful configuration architecture

At the heart of Spacemacs, the configuration layers group packages configuration into semantic units that can be toggled on and off. The architecture is simple but powerful, allowing the user to easily manage configuration dependencies between hundreds of packages. See More

Top Pro

Can be controlled fully with the keyboard

There's no need to reach for the mouse again since Spacemacs can be fully controlled with keyboard. See More

Top Pro

Gradual learning curve

Evil package is a first class citizen and Spacemacs embraces it from day one. Evil package allows Vim users to be productive very quickly while still allowing regular Emacs users to use Spacemacs. See More

Top Pro

Community-driven configuration

Spacemacs is the biggest community-driven Emacs starter-kit. See More

Top Pro

Combines the best parts of Vi and Emacs

Spacemacs combines the Emacs platform (with the full power of the Emacs plugin ecosystem) and the Vi keybindings (via EViL), all in the same box. See More

Top Pro

Works well with Common Lisp

Top Pro

Completely configured out of the box

Stuff like version control, file management, good default theme are all configured out of the box. See More

See All

What are the best Vim distributions ?

3 Options Considered

Neovim

My Recommendation for Neovim

My Recommendation for Neovim

Modern code base

Still Vim but with upgraded features and some issues fixed

UI Agnostic

SpaceVim

My Recommendation for SpaceVim

My Recommendation for SpaceVim

Beautiful GUI

Hundreds of packages nicely organized in configuration layers

Mnemonic key bindings

Spacemacs

My Recommendation for Spacemacs

My Recommendation for Spacemacs

Excellent support for Elixir programming language

Daemon support

Great Clojure support

Can work in terminal mode

Great CFEngine support

Manage R files easily

LaTeX support

Easily extended with community plugins

Manage many code bases easily

Remote file editing

Fast-paced development

Mnemonic and consistent keybindings

Above average documentation quality

Lowers the risk of RSI by using the spacebar as leader

Offers a number of practical features

Great support from the community

Great note-taking and agenda mode built-in

Cross-platform

Simple but powerful configuration architecture

Can be controlled fully with the keyboard

Gradual learning curve

Community-driven configuration

Combines the best parts of Vi and Emacs

Works well with Common Lisp

Completely configured out of the box

Don't see your favorite option? Add it.

One sec!