Read the Neovim Manual

The built-in manual is the authoritative source. 30 chapters. Free. Always matches your version. No AI slop.

The Plan

One chapter per day = 6 weeks to complete mastery.

:help usr_01              " Open chapter 1
Ctrl-]                    " Follow link under cursor
Ctrl-o                    " Go back
:helpgrep <pattern>       " Search all help

Progress Tracker

Part 1: Getting Started (12 chapters)

Ch Help Tag Title Status Date

01

:help usr_01

About the manuals

[ ]

02

:help usr_02

The first steps in Vim

[ ]

03

:help usr_03

Moving around

[ ]

04

:help usr_04

Making small changes

[ ]

05

:help usr_05

Set your settings

[ ]

06

:help usr_06

Using syntax highlighting

[ ]

07

:help usr_07

Editing more than one file

[ ]

08

:help usr_08

Splitting windows

[ ]

09

:help usr_09

Using the GUI

[ ]

10

:help usr_10

Making big changes

[ ]

11

:help usr_11

Recovering from a crash

[ ]

12

:help usr_12

Clever tricks

[ ]

Part 2: Editing Effectively (13 chapters)

Ch Help Tag Title Status Date

20

:help usr_20

Typing command-line commands quickly

[ ]

21

:help usr_21

Go away and come back

[ ]

22

:help usr_22

Finding the file to edit

[ ]

23

:help usr_23

Editing other files

[ ]

24

:help usr_24

Inserting quickly

[ ]

25

:help usr_25

Editing formatted text

[ ]

26

:help usr_26

Repeating

[ ]

27

:help usr_27

Search commands and patterns

[ ]

28

:help usr_28

Folding

[ ]

29

:help usr_29

Moving through programs

[ ]

30

:help usr_30

Editing programs

[ ]

31

:help usr_31

Exploiting the GUI

[ ]

32

:help usr_32

The undo tree

[ ]

Part 3: Tuning Vim (6 chapters)

Ch Help Tag Title Status Date

40

:help usr_40

Make new commands

[ ]

41

:help usr_41

Write a Vim script

[ ]

42

:help usr_42

Add new menus

[ ]

43

:help usr_43

Using filetypes

[ ]

44

:help usr_44

Your own syntax highlighted

[ ]

45

:help usr_45

Select your language

[ ]

Quick Access

" Open user manual table of contents
:help usr_toc

" Open specific chapter
:help usr_03

" Search within help
:helpgrep pattern

" List all help matches
:lhelpgrep pattern
:lopen

Reading Workflow

  1. Open chapter: :help usr_XX

  2. Read section by section

  3. Try every command mentioned

  4. Take notes in corresponding .adoc file

  5. Mark chapter complete, add date

Neovim-Specific Additions

After completing the Vim user manual, review Neovim-specific docs:

:help lua-guide           " Lua integration
:help lsp                 " Language Server Protocol
:help treesitter          " Syntax parsing
:help nvim-defaults       " Neovim defaults vs Vim
:help vim-differences     " What's different in Neovim
:help news                " What's new in your version

Related