Introduction

Welcome to Learn Neovim The Hard Way, a book for those who believe in the power of persistence and repetition. Inspired by Steve Losh’s excellent Learn Vimscript the Hard Way, this book follows the same philosophy: there are no shortcuts to MASTERY. Learning Neovim requires focus, patience, and a commitment to practice.

The method is straightforward:

  • learn one thing
  • practice until you can do it without thinking
  • repeat once
  • repeat twice
  • repeat thrice
  • still not enough?
  • repeat repeat repeat
  • well... you get the point

Each chapter presents a new skill, but the key is to not rush. Take at least a few days to repeat the exercises, letting the actions become automatic to the point where your finger moves without thinking about it before moving to the next skill. Mastery isn’t achieved by speeding through content, but by building strong, lasting habits through repetition, more repetition, and yes, even more repetition.

This approach emphasizes the importance of slow but steady learning. By taking your time, practicing consistently, and committing each skill to muscle memory, you'll gradually transition into using Neovim as your daily tool without even realizing it. If you’ve ever gone through tutorials that left you overwhelmed with information and didn’t change your workflow at all, this book is your friend. No more consuming endless tutorials without real progress—Learn Neovim The Hard Way forces you to slow down, focus, and truly learn.

Remember, there’s no fast track to MASTERY. Just focused effort, one small step at a time. You’ll need to repeat the same tasks over and over, and there’s no way around that. PERIOD. This may seem like a slow process, but the long-term rewards are immense. Why? Because once you master Neovim, you’ll be spending so much of your time using it. As a programmer—or someone aspiring to be one—you’ll be writing code for the rest of your career. So, why not invest a little time now to master the tool that will shape your entire workflow?

Even if it takes a year (just for argument’s sake), what is that compared to the decades you’ll spend writing code? Neovim enhances the joy of coding and keeps improving every year. It’s a small investment if you plan to code for life. Plus, let’s be honest—using Neovim puts you in the ranks of the programmer's elite. (People really do get impressed when they hear you're using Neovim 😎.)

So buckle up because this journey will take time...