Setting Up Neovim, NVChad, LSP, and GitHub Copilot on MAC or Linux

---

1. Install Neovim

1. Download the AppImage from Neovim Releases.
2. Make it executable:

   chmod +x nvim.appimage

3. Move it into your $PATH (e.g., /usr/local/bin):

   sudo mv nvim.appimage /usr/local/bin/nvim

Make sure /usr/local/bin is in your $PATH.

---

2. Install NVChad

Follow NVChad’s quickstart.

Make sure any pre-requisites are installed like NerdFont and ripgrep. Installation instructions are linked for those in the link above. Note: Personally, I use iTerm2 on my MAC with the NerdFont “FiraCode Nerd Font” set to font weight of “Medium” and a font size of “14”. I enable “Anti-aliased” and disable “Ligatures”

First remove any existing Neovim configuration:

rm -rf ~/.config/nvim
rm -rf ~/.local/state/nvim
rm -rf ~/.local/share/nvim

Then clone NVChad and start Neovim. It will automatically start installing Plugins. Wait for the plugins to finish installing:

git clone https://github.com/NvChad/starter ~/.config/nvim && nvim

When the installation finishes inside Neovim, run:

:MasonInstallAll

Then exit and reopen Neovim.

---

3. Install Language Servers

Inside Neovim, run:

:Mason

Press / to search for these packages and press i to install:

• Python: pyright, black, flake8
• JavaScript/TypeScript: typescript-language-server, prettier, eslint_d
• Go: gopls, gofumpt, golangci-lint
• Rust: rust-analyzer, rustfmt, clippy

Note: Actually typescript-language-server is not supported by NVChad as its not supported (yet) by nvim-lspconfig. See nvchad lsp doc and configs.md. However, it does not hurt to install regardless – or – pick another supported one (see configs.md).

Note: for each language, we install an LSP, formatter and linter from Mason.

---

4. Configure Neovim for LSP

After installing with Mason, you must enable the servers in your NVChad config. One clean method is to list them in the configs/lspconfig.lua file.

Example

Open ~/.config/nvim/lua/configs/lspconfig.lua and locate this section:

-- load defaults i.e lua_lsp
require("nvchad.configs.lspconfig").defaults()

local lspconfig = require "lspconfig"

local servers = { "html", "cssls", "gopls", "rust_analyzer", "pyright" }
local nvlsp = require "nvchad.configs.lspconfig"

for _, lsp in ipairs(servers) do
  lspconfig[lsp].setup {
    on_attach = nvlsp.on_attach,
    on_init = nvlsp.on_init,
    capabilities = nvlsp.capabilities,
  }
end

Here, we simply added "gopls", "pyright", and "rust_analyzer" to the existing servers array. With that in place, the LSPs should work as soon as you open the corresponding file types in Neovim. Note: only the LSPs supported by configs.md (see link above) will work.

Exit neovim. Open neovim against a test golang or python file to make sure it works. Note you can cycle through suggestions with Ctrl-n and Ctrl-p and select with Tab.

You can confirm everything is working with:

:LspInfo

and

:messages

---

5. Get GitHub Copilot for NVChad

Note: You need Node.js version 18 or newer. Check out https://nodejs.org/en/download.

1. Install the Copilot plugin by editing ~/.config/nvim/lua/plugins/init.lua. Important: At the end and inside of the return { ... } block, add:

   -- Enable Copilot
   {
     "github/copilot.vim",
     lazy = false,
     config = function()
       vim.g.copilot_no_tab_map = true
       vim.g.copilot_assume_mapped = true
     end
   }

2. Remap Copilot acceptance so that <C-l> is used instead of <Tab> (NVChad uses <Tab> already). In ~/.config/nvim/lua/mappings.lua, add:

-- Copilot Suggestion Acceptance Key
map('i', '<C-l>', function ()
    vim.fn.feedkeys(vim.fn['copilot#Accept'](), '')
end, { desc = 'Copilot Accept', noremap = true, silent = true })

Run :Copilot inside Neovim, follow the prompts. Note the “one-time code” provided in the messages area. A browser will open to Github’s authentication page. Authenticate with the account that uses Copilot and input the “one-time code”.

---

6. Add Theme Picker

NVChad has a built-in theme picker. To enable a shortcut for it, add this to ~/.config/nvim/lua/mappings.lua:

-- Theme Picker Key
map("n", "<C-t>", function()
    require("nvchad.themes").open { style = "compact" }
end, {})

Reload Neovim and press Ctrl-t in Normal mode to open the theme picker. Use Ctrl-n and Ctrl-p to navigate, and press Enter to select a theme.

Note: I picked dark_horizons

---

7. Change Copilot Suggestion Color

By default, Copilot suggestions can be hard to see as they look similar to the comments. You can adjust the highlight colors by appending the following to ~/.config/nvim/lua/options.lua:

-- Copilot Suggestion Colors
vim.api.nvim_set_hl(0, "CopilotSuggestion", { fg = "#83a598" })
vim.api.nvim_set_hl(0, "CopilotAnnotation", { fg = "#83a598" })

---

9. Optional – Fix Clipboard Copy / Paste for Windows WSL

Append to the end of ~/.config/nvim/lua/options.lua:

-- WSL clipboard
vim.g.clipboard = {
  name = 'WslClipboard',
  copy = {
    ['+'] = 'clip.exe',
    ['*'] = 'clip.exe',
  },
  paste = {
    ['+'] = 'pwsh.exe -c [Console]::Out.Write($(Get-Clipboard -Raw).tostring().replace("`r", ""))',
    ['*'] = 'pwsh.exe -c [Console]::Out.Write($(Get-Clipboard -Raw).tostring().replace("`r", ""))',
  },
  cache_enabled = 0,
}

8. Summary of Changes

After installing Neovim and NVChad, these are the files that might have been updated in ~/.config/nvim:

• lua/configs/lspconfig.lua – lists the servers you want to use.
• lua/mappings.lua – custom key mappings (Copilot acceptance, theme picker).
• lua/options.lua – custom options (Copilot suggestion colors).
• lua/plugins/init.lua – additional plugins (e.g., github/copilot.vim).