Configuration

Global Vim Settings

Neovide supports settings via global variables with a neovide prefix. They enable configuring many parts of the editor and support dynamically changing them at runtime.

init.vim and init.lua helpers

Hello, is this Neovide?

Not really a configuration option, but g:neovide only exists and is set to v:true if this Neovim is in Neovide. Useful for configuring things only for Neovide in your init.vim/init.lua:

VimScript:

if exists("g:neovide")
    " Put anything you want to happen only in Neovide here
endif

Lua:

if vim.g.neovide then
    -- Put anything you want to happen only in Neovide here
end

You can also query the version with:

echo g:neovide_version

Lua:

vim.print(vim.g.neovide_version)

Or inspect the more detailed channel information:

Lua:

lua vim.print(vim.api.nvim_get_chan_info(vim.g.neovide_channel_id))

Display

Font

VimScript:

set guifont=Source\ Code\ Pro:h14

Lua:

vim.o.guifont = "Source Code Pro:h14" -- text below applies for VimScript

Controls the font used by Neovide. Also check the config file to see how to configure features. This is the only setting which is actually controlled through an option, and as such it's also documented in :h guifont. But to sum it up and also add Neovide's extension:

• The basic format is Primary\ Font,Fallback\ Font\ 1,Fallback\ Font\ 2:option1:option2:option3, while you can have as many fallback fonts as you want (even 0) and as many options as you want (also even 0).
• Fonts
  • are separated with , (commas).
  • can contain spaces by either escaping them or using _ (underscores).
• Options
  • apply to all fonts at once.
  • are separated from the fonts and themselves through : (colons).
  • can be one of the following:
    • hX — Sets the font size to X points, while X can be any (even floating-point) number.
    • wX (available since 0.11.2) — Sets the width relative offset to be X points, while X can be again any number. Negative values shift characters closer together, positive values shift them further apart.
    • b — Sets the font bold.
    • i — Sets the font italic.
    • #e-X (available since 0.10.2) — Sets edge pixels to be drawn opaquely or with partial transparency, while X is a type of edging:
      • antialias (default)
      • subpixelantialias
      • alias
    • #h-X (available since 0.10.2) - Sets level of glyph outline adjustment, while X is a type of hinting:
      • full (default)
      • normal
      • slight
      • none
• Some examples:
  • Hack,Noto_Color_Emoji:h12:b — Hack at size 12 in bold, with Noto Color Emoji as fallback should Hack fail to contain any glyph.
  • Roboto_Mono_Light:h10 — Roboto Mono Light at size 10.
  • Hack:h14:i:#e-subpixelantialias:#h-none

Line spacing

VimScript:

set linespace=0

Lua:

vim.opt.linespace = 0

Controls spacing between lines, may also be negative. Setting linespace can result in vertical gaps when rendering box drawing characters, see Box Drawing section on how to fix this.

Scale

VimScript:

let g:neovide_scale_factor = 1.0

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_scale_factor = 1.0

Available since 0.10.2.

In addition to setting the font itself, this setting allows to change the scale without changing the whole font definition. Very useful for presentations. See the FAQ section about this for a nice recipe to bind this to a hotkey.

Text Gamma and Contrast

VimScript:

let g:neovide_text_gamma = 0.0
let g:neovide_text_contrast = 0.5

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_text_gamma = 0.0
vim.g.neovide_text_contrast = 0.5

Available since 0.13.0.

You can fine tune the gamma and contrast of the text to your liking. The defaults is a good compromise that gives readable text on all backgrounds and an accurate color representation. But if that doesn't suit you, and you want to emulate the Alacritty font rendering for example you can use a gamma of 0.8 and a contrast of 0.1.

Note a gamma of 0.0, means standard sRGB gamma or 2.2. Also note that these settings don't necessarily apply immediately due to caching of the fonts.

Pixel geometry

VimScript:

let g:neovide_pixel_geometry = "RGBH"
let g:neovide_pixel_geometry = "RGBH"

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_pixel_geometry = "RGBH"
vim.g.neovide_pixel_geometry = "RGBH"

Available since 0.16.0.

Required for the guifont option #e-subpixelantialias to work. Defaults to "Unknown".

Represents the physical location of the red, green, and blue light-emitting elements of your monitor. Possible options are "RGBH" (red on the left, green in the middle, and blue on the right, layed out horizontally), "BGRH" (horizontal, but flipped), "RGBV" (red on top, blue on bottom), "BGRV" (blue on top, red on bottom), and "Unknown" (effectively disables subpixel antialiasing).

Most monitors are RGBH. If your monitor is rotated, it's probably something else.

Padding

VimScript:

let g:neovide_padding_top = 0
let g:neovide_padding_bottom = 0
let g:neovide_padding_right = 0
let g:neovide_padding_left = 0

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_padding_top = 0
vim.g.neovide_padding_bottom = 0
vim.g.neovide_padding_right = 0
vim.g.neovide_padding_left = 0

Available since 0.10.4.

Controls the space between the window border and the actual Neovim, which is filled with the background color instead.

Background Color (Removed in 0.16.0, Previously macOS only)

This legacy configuration has now been fully removed. Neovide controls the title bar color automatically, and setting g:neovide_background_color no longer has any effect.

If you want a transparent title bar, simply configure g:neovide_opacity (or its alias g:neovide_transparency) and, if needed, g:neovide_normal_opacity to tune how opaque the buffer content should remain.

Title Bar Color (Currently Windows only)

Available since 0.14.0.

Setting g:neovide_title_background_color to a value that can be parsed by csscolorparser-rs will set color the title window to that value.

VimScript:

let g:neovide_title_background_color = "green"
let g:neovide_title_text_color = "pink"

lua:

vim.g.neovide_title_background_color = string.format(
    "%x",
    vim.api.nvim_get_hl(0, {id=vim.api.nvim_get_hl_id_by_name("Normal")}).bg
)

vim.g.neovide_title_text_color = "pink"

Corner Preference (Currently Windows only)

Available since 0.16.0.

VimScript:

let g:neovide_corner_preference = "round"

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_corner_preference = "round"

Setting g:neovide_corner_preference controls the preferred window corner style when supported by Windows.

Accepted values:

• default
• round
• round_small
• do_not_round

Window Blur (Currently macOS only)

VimScript:

let g:neovide_window_blurred = v:true

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_window_blurred = true

Available since 0.12.

Setting g:neovide_window_blurred toggles the window blur state.

The blurred level respects the g:neovide_opacity value between 0.0 and 1.0.

Floating Blur Amount

VimScript:

let g:neovide_floating_blur_amount_x = 2.0
let g:neovide_floating_blur_amount_y = 2.0

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_floating_blur_amount_x = 2.0
vim.g.neovide_floating_blur_amount_y = 2.0

Available since 0.9.

Setting g:neovide_floating_blur_amount_x and g:neovide_floating_blur_amount_y controls the blur radius on the respective axis for floating windows.

Floating Shadow

VimScript:

let g:neovide_floating_shadow = v:true
let g:neovide_floating_z_height = 10
let g:neovide_light_angle_degrees = 45
let g:neovide_light_radius = 5

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_floating_shadow = true
vim.g.neovide_floating_z_height = 10
vim.g.neovide_light_angle_degrees = 45
vim.g.neovide_light_radius = 5

Available since 0.12.0.

Setting g:neovide_floating_shadow to false will disable the shadow borders for floating windows. The other variables configure the shadow in various ways:

• g:neovide_floating_z_height sets the virtual height of the floating window from the ground plane
• g:neovide_light_angle_degrees sets the angle from the screen normal of the casting light
• g:neovide_light_radius sets the radius of the casting light

Floating Corner Radius

VimScript:

let g:neovide_floating_corner_radius = 0.0

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_floating_corner_radius = 0.0

Setting g:neovide_floating_corner_radius to 0.0 will disable the corner radius. The value of floating_corner_radius ranges from 0.0 to 1.0, representing a percentage of the line height.

Transparency

VimScript:

let g:neovide_opacity = 0.8
let g:neovide_normal_opacity = 0.8

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_opacity = 0.8
vim.g.neovide_normal_opacity = 0.8

Available since 0.14.0.

Setting g:neovide_opacity to a value between 0.0 and 1.0 will set the opacity of the window to that value.

g:neovide_normal_opacity sets the opacity for the normal background color. Set it to 1 to disable.

Show Border (Currently macOS only)

VimScript:

let g:neovide_show_border = v:true

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_show_border = true

Draw a grey border around opaque windows only.

Default: true

Position Animation Length

VimScript:

let g:neovide_position_animation_length = 0.15

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_position_animation_length = 0.15

Determines the time it takes for a window to complete animation from one position to another position in seconds, such as :split. Set to 0 to disable.

Scroll Animation Length

VimScript:

let g:neovide_scroll_animation_length = 0.3

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_scroll_animation_length = 0.3

Sets how long the scroll animation takes to complete, measured in seconds. Note that the timing is not completely accurate and might depend slightly on have far you scroll, so experimenting is encouraged in order to tune it to your liking.

Far scroll lines

Available since 0.12.0.

VimScript:

let g:neovide_scroll_animation_far_lines = 1

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_scroll_animation_far_lines = 1

When scrolling more than one screen at a time, only this many lines at the end of the scroll action will be animated. Set it to 0 to snap to the final position without any animation, or to something big like 9999 to always scroll the whole screen, much like Neovide <= 0.10.4 did.

Progress Bar

VimScript:

let g:neovide_progress_bar_enabled = v:true
let g:neovide_progress_bar_height = 5.0
let g:neovide_progress_bar_animation_speed = 200.0
let g:neovide_progress_bar_hide_delay = 0.2

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_progress_bar_enabled = true
vim.g.neovide_progress_bar_height = 5.0
vim.g.neovide_progress_bar_animation_speed = 200.0
vim.g.neovide_progress_bar_hide_delay = 0.2

Available since 0.16.0.

• g:neovide_progress_bar_enabled sets whether the progress bar is enabled.
• g:neovide_progress_bar_height sets the height of the progress bar in pixels.
• g:neovide_progress_bar_animation_speed sets the speed of the progress bar animation.
• g:neovide_progress_bar_hide_delay sets the delay in seconds before the progress bar is hidden after reaching 100%.

Hiding the mouse when typing

VimScript:

let g:neovide_hide_mouse_when_typing = v:false

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_hide_mouse_when_typing = false

By setting this to v:true, the mouse will be hidden as soon as you start typing. This setting only affects the mouse if it is currently within the bounds of the neovide window. Moving the mouse makes it visible again.

Mouse drag selection in message area

VimScript:

let g:neovide_message_area_drag_selection = v:false

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_message_area_drag_selection = false

Available since 0.16.0.

Set this to v:false to disable drag selection in Neovide message windows, for example :messages or shell command output. This is enabled by default.

Underline automatic scaling

VimScript:

let g:neovide_underline_stroke_scale = 1.0

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_underline_stroke_scale = 1.0

Available since 0.12.0.

Setting g:neovide_underline_stroke_scale to a floating point will increase or decrease the stroke width of the underlines (including undercurl, underdash, etc.). If the scaled stroke width is less than 1, it is clamped to 1 to prevent strange aliasing.

Note: This is currently glitchy if the scale is too large, and leads to some underlines being clipped by the line of text below.

Theme

VimScript:

let g:neovide_theme = 'auto'

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_theme = 'auto'

Available since 0.11.0.

Set the background option when Neovide starts. Possible values: light, dark, auto. On systems that support it, auto will mirror the system theme, and will update background when the system theme changes.

Available since 0.16.0.

NOTE: The meaning of the setting has changed in 0.16.0. The default value of the Neovim background option is now always automatically set, and updates according to the system theme, as long as the user has not set it to something else.

Sets the theme of the Neovide window on systems that supports it.

• auto - Use the system theme
• light - Set the window theme to light
• dark - Set the window theme to dark
• bg_color - Determine window theme from the Neovide normal/background color

bg, which would mirror the Neovim background option is not supported yet, due to technical challenges. If you need that now it's best to set both neovide_theme and background to the same.

The default is auto, except when using --frame transparent on macOS to preserve the old visual look with that configuration.

Supported platforms:

• Windows
• MacOS
• Linux Wayland with client-side decorations (Most notably Gnome)

Layer grouping

VimScript:

let g:experimental_layer_grouping = v:false

Lua:

vim.g.experimental_layer_grouping = false

Available since 0.13.1.

Group non-emtpy consecutive layers (zindex) together, so that the shadows and blurring is done for the whole group instead of each individual layer. This can get rid of some shadowing and blending artifacts, but cause worse problems like #2574.

Functionality

Refresh Rate

VimScript:

let g:neovide_refresh_rate = 60

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_refresh_rate = 60

Setting g:neovide_refresh_rate to a positive integer will set the refresh rate of the app. This is limited by the refresh rate of your physical hardware, but can be lowered to increase battery life.

This setting is only effective when not using vsync, for example by passing --no-vsync on the commandline.

Idle Refresh Rate

VimScript:

let g:neovide_refresh_rate_idle = 5

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_refresh_rate_idle = 5

Available since 0.10.

Setting g:neovide_refresh_rate_idle to a positive integer will set the refresh rate of the app when it is not in focus.

This might not have an effect on every platform (e.g. Wayland).

No Idle

VimScript:

let g:neovide_no_idle = v:true

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_no_idle = true

Setting g:neovide_no_idle to a boolean value will force neovide to redraw all the time. This can be a quick hack if animations appear to stop too early.

Confirm Quit

VimScript:

let g:neovide_confirm_quit = v:true

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_confirm_quit = true

If set to true, quitting while having unsaved changes will require confirmation. Enabled by default.

Detach On Quit

Possible values are always_quit, always_detach, or prompt. Set to prompt by default.

VimScript:

let g:neovide_detach_on_quit = 'always_quit'

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_detach_on_quit = 'always_quit'

This option changes the closing behavior of Neovide when it's used to connect to a remote Neovim instance. It does this by switching between detaching from the remote instance and quitting Neovim entirely.

Fullscreen

VimScript:

let g:neovide_fullscreen = v:true

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_fullscreen = true

Setting g:neovide_fullscreen to a boolean value will set whether the app should take up the entire screen. This uses the so called "windowed fullscreen" mode that is sometimes used in games which want quick window switching.

Simple Fullscreen (MacOS only)

VimScript:

let g:neovide_macos_simple_fullscreen = v:true

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_macos_simple_fullscreen = true

Available since 0.15.1.

Setting neovide_macos_simple_fullscreen will hide the dock and menu bar for MacOS.

This won’t work if the window was already in the native fullscreen.

Remember Previous Window Size

VimScript:

let g:neovide_remember_window_size = v:true

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_remember_window_size = true

Setting g:neovide_remember_window_size to a boolean value will determine whether the window size from the previous session or the default size will be used on startup. The commandline option --size will take priority over this value.

Profiler

VimScript:

let g:neovide_profiler = v:false

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_profiler = false

Setting this to v:true enables the profiler, which shows a frametime graph in the upper left corner.

Cursor hack

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_hack = v:true

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_hack = true

Prevents the cursor from flickering to the command line when it shouldn't. This will be disabled by default when Neovim properly sends the UI busy events and the hack is no longer needed. NOTE: In some cases the hack itself is buggy and prevents the cursor from moving to the command line when it should. In that case you can try to disable it, especially if you are not using cursor animations and the flickering does not bother as much.

Highlight Matching Pair (macOS only)

VimScript:

let g:neovide_highlight_matching_pair = v:true

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_highlight_matching_pair = true

Available since 0.16.0.

When enabled, Neovide highlights the matching pair using the system find indicator. The default is false.

Input Settings

macOS Option Key is Meta

Possible values are both, only_left, only_right, none. Set to none by default.

VimScript:

let g:neovide_input_macos_option_key_is_meta = 'only_left'

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_input_macos_option_key_is_meta = 'only_left'

Available since 0.13.0.

Interprets <kbd>Alt</kbd> + <kbd>whatever</kbd> actually as <M-whatever>, instead of sending the actual special character to Neovim.

IME

VimScript:

let g:neovide_input_ime = v:true

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_input_ime = true

Available since 0.11.0.

This lets you disable the IME input. For example, to only enables IME in input mode and when searching, so that you can navigate normally, when typing some East Asian languages, you can add a few auto commands:

augroup ime_input
    autocmd!
    autocmd InsertLeave * execute "let g:neovide_input_ime=v:false"
    autocmd InsertEnter * execute "let g:neovide_input_ime=v:true"
    autocmd CmdlineLeave [/\?] execute "let g:neovide_input_ime=v:false"
    autocmd CmdlineEnter [/\?] execute "let g:neovide_input_ime=v:true"
augroup END

local function set_ime(args)
    if args.event:match("Enter$") then
        vim.g.neovide_input_ime = true
    else
        vim.g.neovide_input_ime = false
    end
end

local ime_input = vim.api.nvim_create_augroup("ime_input", { clear = true })

vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd({ "InsertEnter", "InsertLeave" }, {
    group = ime_input,
    pattern = "*",
    callback = set_ime
})

vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd({ "CmdlineEnter", "CmdlineLeave" }, {
    group = ime_input,
    pattern = "[/\\?]",
    callback = set_ime
})

macOS Multi-window (Editors)

Available since 0.16.0.

Neovide can show multiple windows on macOS either as separate OS windows or as native tabs inside a single host window.

Set system-native-tabs = true to merge windows into a tab group. The native tab bar stays hidden until more than one tab exists to keep a clean single-window look.

Use Window > New Window (cmd+n) or the Dock menu to open another Neovide window. If native tabs are enabled, new windows become tabs in the host window.

If you have native tabs enabled, the Window menu shows an Editors entry and the Editors hotkey becomes available. You can also remap the in-app tab cycling shortcuts.

macOS Global Activation Shortcuts

Neovide registers system-wide shortcuts on macOS:

• Pinned <kbd>⌘</kbd> + <kbd>⌃</kbd> + <kbd>Z</kbd> toggles the most recently used Neovide window. If that window is already active, the shortcut hides it; otherwise it brings the window to the front.
• Editors <kbd>⌘</kbd> + <kbd>⌃</kbd> + <kbd>N</kbd> opens the Editors (tab overview) view so you can pick another Neovide window. This shortcut is only available when system-native-tabs = true and if only one window exists, it behaves the same as the pinned shortcut.

Customize them by setting the environment variables:

launchctl setenv NEOVIDE_SYSTEM_PINNED_HOTKEY "ctrl+shift+z"
launchctl setenv NEOVIDE_SYSTEM_SWITCHER_HOTKEY "ctrl+shift+n"

Use cmd, ctrl, alt, and shift for modifiers and a single character for the key.

To disable a shortcut entirely, set the corresponding variable to false or leave it empty.

If a shortcut does not work, it may conflict with another global shortcut or be rejected by the system. Check the Neovide log for warnings.

You can also configure them inside config.toml:

system-pinned-hotkey = "ctrl+shift+z"
system-switcher-hotkey = "ctrl+shift+n"

When system-native-tabs is enabled, you can also customize the in-app tab navigation shortcuts:

system-tab-prev-hotkey = "cmd+shift+["
system-tab-next-hotkey = "cmd+shift+]"

These work only while Neovide is focused so the keypress never reaches Neovim, mirroring the native macOS tab cycling workflow.

Set either value to false (or an empty value) to disable that shortcut and pass the keypress through to Neovim.

macOS may prompt you to grant Neovide Accessibility/Input Monitoring permissions the first time you use this feature so the shortcut can be detected outside the app.

Touch Deadzone

VimScript:

let g:neovide_touch_deadzone = 6.0

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_touch_deadzone = 6.0

Setting g:neovide_touch_deadzone to a value equal or higher than 0.0 will set how many pixels the finger must move away from the start position when tapping on the screen for the touch to be interpreted as a scroll gesture.

If the finger stayed in that area once lifted or the drag timeout happened, however, the touch will be interpreted as tap gesture and the cursor will move there.

A value lower than 0.0 will cause this feature to be disabled and all touch events will be interpreted as scroll gesture.

Touch Drag Timeout

VimScript:

let g:neovide_touch_drag_timeout = 0.17

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_touch_drag_timeout = 0.17

Setting g:neovide_touch_drag_timeout will affect how many seconds the cursor has to stay inside g:neovide_touch_deadzone in order to begin "dragging"

Once started, the finger can be moved to another position in order to form a visual selection. If this happens too often accidentally to you, set this to a higher value like 0.3 or 0.7.

Cursor Settings

Animation Length

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_animation_length = 0.150

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_animation_length = 0.150

Setting g:neovide_cursor_animation_length determines the time it takes for the cursor to complete its animation in seconds. Set to 0 to disable.

Short Animation Length

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_short_animation_length = 0.04

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_short_animation_length = 0.04

Setting g:neovide_cursor_short_animation_length determines the time it takes for the cursor to complete its animation in seconds for short horizontal travels of one or two characters, like when typing.

Animation Trail Size

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_trail_size = 1.0

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_trail_size = 1.0

Range 0.0 to 1.0

Setting g:neovide_cursor_trail_size changes how much the back of the cursor trails the front. Set to 1.0 to make the front jump to the destination immediately with a maximum trail size. A lower value makes a smoother animation, with a shorter trail, but also adds lag.

Antialiasing

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_antialiasing = v:true

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_antialiasing = true

Enables or disables antialiasing of the cursor quad. Disabling may fix some cursor visual issues.

Animate in insert mode

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_animate_in_insert_mode = v:true

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_animate_in_insert_mode = true

If disabled, when in insert mode (mostly through i or a), the cursor will move like in other programs and immediately jump to its new position.

Animate switch to command line

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_animate_command_line = v:true

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_animate_command_line = true

If disabled, the switch from editor window to command line is non-animated, and the cursor jumps between command line and editor window immediately. Does not influence animation inside of the command line.

Unfocused Outline Width

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_unfocused_outline_width = 0.125

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_unfocused_outline_width = 0.125

Specify cursor outline width in ems. You probably want this to be a positive value less than 0.5. If the value is <=0 then the cursor will be invisible. This setting takes effect when the editor window is unfocused, at which time a block cursor will be rendered as an outline instead of as a full rectangle.

Animate cursor blink

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_smooth_blink = v:false

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_smooth_blink = false

If enabled, the cursor will smoothly animate the transition between the cursor's on and off state. The built in guicursor neovim option needs to be configured to enable blinking by having a value set for both blinkoff, blinkon and blinkwait for this setting to apply.

Use covered cell colors for cursor fallback

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_cell_color_fallback = v:false

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_cell_color_fallback = false

If enabled, Neovide will use the resolved colors of the grid cell under the cursor when the guicursor highlight does not explicitly define cursor foreground or background colors. This makes the block cursor adapt to the text highlighting beneath it. Explicit cursor colors still take precedence.

Cursor Particles

There are a number of vfx modes you can enable which produce particles behind the cursor. These are enabled by setting g:neovide_cursor_vfx_mode to one string or an array of the following constants.

None at all

VimScript:

" a string
let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = ""

" or an array
let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = ["", ""]

Lua:

<!-- a string -->
vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = ""

<!-- or an array -->
vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = {"", ""}

The default, no particles at all.

Railgun

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = "railgun"

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = "railgun"

Torpedo

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = "torpedo"

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = "torpedo"

Pixiedust

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = "pixiedust"

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = "pixiedust"

Sonic Boom

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = "sonicboom"

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = "sonicboom"

Ripple

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = "ripple"

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = "ripple"

Wireframe

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = "wireframe"

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_mode = "wireframe"

Particle Settings

Options for configuring the particle generation and behavior.

Particle Opacity

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_opacity = 200.0

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_opacity = 200.0

Sets the transparency of the generated particles.

Particle Lifetime

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_lifetime = 0.5
let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_highlight_lifetime = 0.2

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_lifetime = 0.5
vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_highlight_lifetime = 0.2

Sets the amount of time the generated particles should survive.

neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_highlight_lifetime applies to sonicboom, ripple and wireframe, and the rest to neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_lifetime

If neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_highlight_lifetime is set to 0 then neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_lifetime is used.

Particle Density

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_density = 0.7

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_density = 0.7

Sets the number of generated particles. The unit is the amount of particles per lines of travel.

Particle Speed

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_speed = 10.0

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_speed = 10.0

Sets the speed of particle movement in pixels / second.

Particle Phase

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_phase = 1.5

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_phase = 1.5

Only for the railgun vfx mode.

Sets the mass movement of particles, or how individual each one acts. The higher the value, the less particles rotate in accordance to each other, the lower, the more line-wise all particles become.

Particle Curl

VimScript:

let g:neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_curl = 1.0

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_cursor_vfx_particle_curl = 1.0

Only for the railgun vfx mode.

Sets the velocity rotation speed of particles. The higher, the less particles actually move and look more "nervous", the lower, the more it looks like a collapsing sine wave.

Automatic settings, should be turned on/off for debug purposes only

Note: These settings will be removed when the features are deemed stable. In most cases they are only here because the automatic detection of Neovim nightly versions does not always work.

Autodetect mouse grid

VimScript:

let g:neovide_has_mouse_grid_detection = v:true

Lua:

vim.g.neovide_has_mouse_grid_detection = true

Available since 0.16.0.

Requires Neovim 0.12.0.

Neovim will detect the mouse grid for much better mouse compatibility when enabled. This is automaticaly enabled starting from Neovim Nightly September 20. 2025. You should not try to enable it manually for unsupported versions, since the behaviour is undefined.