---
type: reference
title: Neovim and LazyVim
description: Two nvim entry points on the workstations — vanilla `nvim` and the `lazyvim` NVIM_APPNAME profile — plus the wallpaper palette hook and the fresh-box install procedure.
tags:
  - editor
  - nvim
  - lazyvim
  - dotfiles
  - blankpad
verified: 2026-10-19
timestamp: 2026-10-19
---

# Neovim and LazyVim

Two editors share one binary. Plain `nvim` is **vanilla** (no user config at
all — quick edits, agent-spawned edits, `git commit` buffers). The LazyVim
distribution lives in a **separate `NVIM_APPNAME` profile**, reached with the
`lazyvim` shell function. Keeping them apart is deliberate: a distro in
`~/.config/nvim` would slow down and surprise every throwaway `nvim file` call.

| | vanilla | LazyVim |
|---|---|---|
| command | `nvim` | `lazyvim` (= `NVIM_APPNAME=lazyvim nvim`) |
| config | `~/.config/nvim` (empty) | `~/.config/lazyvim` → tracked at `dotfiles/lazyvim/` |
| plugins/state | none | `~/.local/share/lazyvim`, `~/.local/state/lazyvim`, `~/.cache/lazyvim` — runtime, **never tracked** |
| vim (not nvim) | `~/.vimrc` absent → Vim 9.2 stock defaults | — |

The function is defined in `dotfiles/zz-blankpad/zsh/.zshrc`; `vim` and bare
`nvim` stay untouched on purpose.

## Fresh box

1. `git clone http://192.168.0.143:3000/dank/command-center.git ~/.omp` — the
   profile arrives as `dotfiles/lazyvim/` (dotfiles tier, see
   [live-sync](live-sync.md)).
2. `ln -s ~/.omp/dotfiles/lazyvim ~/.config/lazyvim` — files, not the whole
   directory, are the repo convention elsewhere, but this tree is nvim-only and
   the plugin manager rewrites `lazy-lock.json` in place.
3. `NVIM_APPNAME=lazyvim nvim --headless "+Lazy! sync" +qa` — bootstraps
   lazy.nvim, then every plugin. Needs network (GitHub) once.
4. `:LazyHealth` inside `lazyvim` to confirm.

Requirements met on blankpad: nvim ≥ 0.11 with LuaJIT, git, ripgrep, `fd`,
`fzf`, `lazygit`, a Nerd Font. `tree-sitter` CLI is **not** installed and is
**not** needed — nvim-treesitter downloads/compiles parsers with `cc` on the
first real session. Language servers install on demand through mason.

## The wallpaper palette (`lua/matugen.lua`)

LazyVim's colorscheme is overridden by a base16 palette kept in
`lua/matugen.lua`, applied through `RRethy/base16-nvim` on every `ColorScheme`
event (`lua/plugins/matugen.lua`) — so `:colorscheme <anything>` still lands on
the palette, and `v:colors_name` keeps reporting the underlying theme, which
LazyVim's own plugin tweaks depend on.

The module also registers a `SIGUSR1` handler that re-requires itself: a real
`matugen` install (theme generator, not installed here) writing this file from
a template can hot-retheme a live editor with `pkill -USR1 -x nvim`. Without
matugen the palette is a static snapshot — the file is the source of truth.

To recolor by hand: edit the `base00`–`base0F` table, then send `SIGUSR1` (or
restart). Highlight groups for pickers live below the table; unlisted groups are
harmless no-ops.

## Do not

* Do not clone `LazyVim/starter` over `~/.config/nvim` — the official recipe,
  but it destroys the vanilla quick-edit path this box relies on.
* Do not commit `~/.local/share/lazyvim` (≈200 MB of checkouts). `lazy-lock.json`
  inside the profile *is* tracked: it pins plugin revisions.

## See Also

* [applications](applications.md) — the editor's place in the CachyOS/Niri stack.
* [tmux](tmux.md) — extended-keys setup that the same terminals need.