to-vim-tmux-zsh

Turning Vim, tmux, and zsh into Developer Superpowers.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Neovim (>= 0.11.0)
• Nerd Fonts
• oh-my-zsh
• powerlevel10k — zsh theme
• zsh-autosuggestions — zsh plugin
• zsh-syntax-highlighting — zsh plugin
• omz-plugin-pnpm — zsh plugin (pnpm completions)

Steps

# Clone the repository
git clone git@github.com:FengShangWuQi/to-vim-tmux-zsh.git ~/Documents/to-vim-tmux-zsh

# Create symlinks (back up existing files first if needed)
ln -s ~/Documents/to-vim-tmux-zsh/.config/nvim ~/.config/nvim
ln -s ~/Documents/to-vim-tmux-zsh/.tmux.conf ~/.tmux.conf
ln -s ~/Documents/to-vim-tmux-zsh/.tmux.conf.local ~/.tmux.conf.local
ln -s ~/Documents/to-vim-tmux-zsh/.zshrc ~/.zshrc
ln -s ~/Documents/to-vim-tmux-zsh/.p10k.zsh ~/.p10k.zsh

On first launch of nvim, lazy.nvim will automatically install all plugins.

Neovim

Why Neovim over Vim:

• Lua configuration — write config in a real programming language, far more readable and maintainable than VimScript
• Built-in LSP client — native Language Server Protocol support for completion, go-to-definition, refactoring, and more
• Built-in Tree-sitter — syntax-tree-based highlighting and code analysis, more accurate than regex matching
• Async architecture — libuv-based async I/O, plugins never block the editor
• Modern plugin ecosystem — Telescope, lazy.nvim, blink.cmp and other active plugins are Neovim-exclusive, with a faster-growing community

A lean configuration based on kickstart.nvim, ready to use out of the box.

Modes

Neovim is a modal editor — keys behave differently depending on the current mode:

Mode	Enter with	Purpose
Normal	Esc	Default mode for navigation and commands
Insert	i / a / o	Text input
Visual	v / V / Ctrl-v	Text selection
Command	:	Execute commands (e.g. :w save, :q quit)

New to Vim? Run :Tutor inside Neovim to follow the built-in tutorial.

Basic Operations

# Movement

h j k l                 Left Down Up Right
w / b                   Next / previous word
0 / $                   Start / end of line
gg / G                  Top / bottom of file
Ctrl-d / Ctrl-u         Scroll half-page down / up

# Editing

i / a                   Insert before / after cursor
o / O                   Open new line below / above
x                       Delete character under cursor
dd                      Delete entire line
yy                      Yank (copy) entire line
p                       Paste
u / Ctrl-r              Undo / redo
.                       Repeat last action

# Compound operations (verb + range)

dw                      Delete a word
ciw                     Change inner word
di"                     Delete inside quotes
ya)                     Yank around parentheses (including parens)

Leader Key

The Leader key is Space. Press Space and wait briefly — which-key will pop up a panel showing all available follow-up keys.

Search (Telescope)

Keybinding	Action
<leader>sf	Search files
<leader>sg	Live grep (search content)
<leader>sw	Search word under cursor
<leader>s.	Recent files
<leader>sr	Resume last search
<leader>/	Fuzzy search in current file
<leader><leader>	Switch buffer
<leader>sh	Search help tags
<leader>sk	Search keymaps
<leader>ss	Search Telescope pickers
<leader>sd	Search diagnostics
<leader>sc	Search commands
<leader>s/	Search in open files
<leader>sn	Search Neovim config files

File Tree (Neo-tree)

Opening nvim automatically shows the file tree. Use Ctrl-l to switch to the editor and Ctrl-h to switch back to the tree.

Keybinding	Action
Ctrl-t	Toggle file tree
Ctrl-f	Reveal current file in tree

Inside the tree: Enter to open, a to add, d to delete, r to rename, m to move.

Code Navigation & Editing (LSP)

Keybinding	Action
grd	Go to definition
grr	Find references
grn	Rename symbol
gra	Code action
gri	Go to implementation
gO	Document symbols
gW	Workspace symbols
grt	Go to type definition
grD	Go to declaration
K	Hover documentation
<leader>f	Format current file
<leader>th	Toggle inlay hints

Auto-completion triggers as you type. Use Ctrl-n / Ctrl-p to navigate and Ctrl-y to confirm. Files are auto-formatted on save.

Formatting requires prettierd or prettier: npm install -g @fsouza/prettierd prettier. Lua files use stylua (auto-installed via Mason).

Comments

Keybinding	Action
gcc	Toggle line comment
gc + motion	Toggle comment over motion (e.g. gcap to comment a paragraph)

Git

Keybinding	Action
]h / [h	Next / previous hunk
<leader>hs	Stage hunk
<leader>hr	Reset hunk
<leader>hu	Undo stage hunk
<leader>hp	Preview hunk
<leader>hb	Blame current line
<leader>hd	Diff current file
<leader>gd	Open Git diff
<leader>gh	File history
<leader>gH	Branch history

Windows & Splits

Keybinding	Action
Ctrl-h/j/k/l	Move focus between windows
:vs / :sp	Vertical / horizontal split
:q	Close current window

Emmet

Keybinding	Action
<leader>xe	Wrap selection with Emmet abbreviation

Text Objects & Editing Enhancements (mini.nvim)

Keybinding	Action
sa + range + char	Add surrounding (e.g. saiw" to quote a word)
sd + char	Delete surrounding (e.g. sd" to remove quotes)
sr + old + new	Replace surrounding (e.g. sr"' to change " to ')

• mini.ai — enhanced text objects, supports function arguments and more
• mini.pairs — auto-pair brackets and quotes

Other Keybindings

Keybinding	Action
Esc	Clear search highlight
Esc Esc	Exit terminal mode
<leader>q	Open diagnostics list

Other Features

• guess-indent — auto-detect file indentation style
• todo-comments — highlight TODO / FIXME / NOTE comments in code
• wakatime — coding time tracking (requires a WakaTime account)
• render-markdown — render Markdown in-buffer (headings, tables, code blocks, etc.)
• markdown.nvim — Markdown editing enhancements (list management, bold/italic shortcuts, etc.)

Common Commands

:w                      Save
:q                      Quit (warns if unsaved)
:wq or ZZ               Save and quit
:Mason                  Manage language servers (install / update LSP)
:Lazy                   Manage plugins
:RenderMarkdown toggle  Toggle Markdown rendering
:checkhealth            Check environment health

Learning Resources

• Learn Vim — beginner-friendly Vim/Neovim book
• kickstart.nvim — config template with comments as documentation
• Learn Lua in Y Minutes — 10-15 minute Lua primer

tmux

A terminal multiplexer — manage multiple sessions, windows, and panes in a single terminal. Sessions persist after disconnecting.

Based on gpakosz/.tmux, with a Powerline-style status bar out of the box. Configuration is split into two layers: .tmux.conf (base framework — do not edit) and .tmux.conf.local (personal customization).

Core Concepts

Server ── Session ── Window ── Pane
              │          │        └── Pane: a split region within a window
              │          └── Window: like a browser tab
              └── Session: a collection of windows, can be detached and reattached

Prefix Key

tmux keybindings require pressing a prefix key first, then the action key. This config supports two prefix keys:

• Ctrl-b (default)
• Ctrl-a (GNU Screen compatible)

Session Management

# Terminal commands
tmux new -s <name>           Create a new session
tmux a -t <name>             Attach to a session
tmux ls                      List all sessions
tmux kill-session -t <name>  Kill a session

Keybinding	Action
<prefix> d	Detach from current session
<prefix> s	Session picker
<prefix> $	Rename current session
<prefix> C-c	Create new session
<prefix> C-f	Find session
<prefix> ( / )	Switch to previous / next session

Window Management

Keybinding	Action
<prefix> c	Create new window
<prefix> ,	Rename current window
<prefix> &	Close current window
<prefix> C-h / C-l	Previous / next window
<prefix> Tab	Jump to last active window
<prefix> w	Window list

Pane Management

Keybinding	Action
<prefix> -	Horizontal split
<prefix> _	Vertical split
<prefix> h / j / k / l	Vim-style pane navigation
<prefix> H / J / K / L	Resize pane
<prefix> x	Close current pane
<prefix> z	Maximize / restore current pane
<prefix> q	Show pane numbers, press number to jump
<prefix> { / }	Swap with pane above / below
<prefix> m	Toggle mouse mode

Copy Mode

Press <prefix> Enter to enter copy mode (Vi-style):

Keybinding	Action
v	Begin selection
y	Yank (copy) selection
Escape	Cancel
<prefix> b	List paste buffers
<prefix> p	Paste

Other

Keybinding	Action
<prefix> r	Reload configuration
<prefix> e	Edit .tmux.conf.local
<prefix> ?	List all keybindings
<prefix> S	Save session (tmux-resurrect)
<prefix> R	Restore session (tmux-resurrect)

Learning Resources

• The Tao of tmux — the most recommended tmux guide
• tmux Cheat Sheet — quick reference
• gpakosz/.tmux — the base framework for this config

zsh

A powerful shell with better completion, syntax highlighting, and theming.

Based on oh-my-zsh + Powerlevel10k theme, providing a beautiful prompt and a rich plugin ecosystem.

Plugins

Plugin	Description
zsh-autosuggestions	Suggests commands from history, press → to accept
zsh-syntax-highlighting	Real-time syntax highlighting, invalid commands turn red
z	Jump to frequent directories, e.g. z proj jumps to the best match
git	Git aliases (gst = git status, gco = git checkout, etc.)
tmux	tmux aliases (ta = tmux attach, etc.)
npm	npm completions
pnpm	pnpm completions

Common Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl-a / Ctrl-e	Move cursor to start / end of line
Ctrl-w	Delete previous word
Ctrl-u / Ctrl-k	Delete to start / end of line
Ctrl-r	Search command history
Ctrl-l	Clear screen
↑	Search history by prefix (based on current input)
→	Accept autosuggestion

Custom Aliases

alias python="python3"
alias setproxy="export ALL_PROXY=socks5://127.0.0.1:1080"
alias unsetproxy="unset ALL_PROXY"

Common Commands

p10k configure              # Reconfigure Powerlevel10k theme
omz update                  # Update oh-my-zsh

Measure startup time:

for i in $(seq 1 5); do /usr/bin/time /bin/zsh -i -c exit; done

Learning Resources

• A User's Guide to ZSH — the most comprehensive zsh guide
• oh-my-zsh Plugins — plugin directory
• Powerlevel10k — theme documentation